Photo Credit: John Mayer by Christina / CC by 2.0
John Mayer and McG are dropping a reported $60 million to buy the historic Jim Henson Studio lot (and former A&M Records HQ) in Hollywood.
Grammy-winning singer John Mayer and filmmaker McG have teamed up to buy the historic Hollywood home of The Muppets in Hollywood. The storied property at 1416 N. La Brea in Los Angeles, formerly home of A&M Studios and Charlie Chaplin Studios, has been the subject of speculation that the Church of Scientology was closing in on a bid.
But a spokesperson for the Henson family told Deadline that even if the Church of Scientology had intentions to bid on the property, they were not up for consideration as a potential buyer.
“The Henson family is not in any business dealings with the Church of Scientology, and that organization is not in consideration as a potential buyer of the property,” they said. “It is still the family’s intention to move The Jim Henson Company to a new location it can share with Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, but at this time the family is not in escrow to any buyer.”
The Jim Henson Company put the lot on the sale block in an effort to move the production company and its Burbank-based Jim Henson’s Creature Shop into one facility. The current Hollywood lot could not accommodate both facilities.
Meanwhile, a rep for Mayer told The Hollywood Reporter, “John Mayer and McG are under contract to buy Henson Studios.” The exact amount of the purchase price has not been disclosed.
Jim Henson Studios was the owner and a major presence on the lot after acquiring it in 1999. The buildings and facilities there have been a presence in Hollywood’s film industries since its earliest days, having served as the base for Charlie Chaplin and his studio since 1917. Chaplin sold it in 1953, and the lot was used for television productions like Perry Mason and Adventures of Superman.
In 1966, A&M Records made the lot its headquarters before eventually selling to Henson for a reported $12.5 million. Real estate filings show the appraised value of the lot was $21.9 million in 2017.
John Mayer already has offices at the Jim Henson lot and uses the studio there to record.