About Zorthian Ranch

ABOUT ZORTHIAN RANCH
Zorthian Ranch is a 45-acre mountainside retreat established by Jirayr Zorthian in 1945. It has horses, llamas, chickens, dogs, goats, and an overgrown yard. Up until Zorthian’s death in 2004, the ranch served as a haven of bohemian life and a backdrop for his artistic expression—salvaged wood, bed springs, rusted vehicles, broken concrete, movie set pieces, beer bottles, old props, more than one kitchen sink, and other junk he could recycle into various sculptures and architecture. He fortified rock walls with discarded telephone poles and railroad ties, tires, and bowling balls. He built towers, inlaid bridges, walkways, and built a pool on the side of the mountain. Jirayr hosted legendary parties attended by the famous and freaky, artists, musicians, nobel prize winning scientists, movie stars, playmates, writers, and kindly neighbors. Most describe Zorthian as a bohemian Socrates wearing long red underwear who had women dressed up as nymphs dance around him for his birthday. A little research supports that his two favorite things in life were pigs and women, and the nymphs fed him grapes.

“As time went by and my forays up the mountain became more frequent, and under the influence of atmosphere and setting, I began to think of Zorthian as the genuine article: an authentic bohemian. I came to recognize that he was one of the few among us who was truly interesting. And slowly I began to understand that his entire life was being conducted as an ongoing work of performance art.” —The Last Bohemian, RIP by Paul J, Karlstrom, L.A. Weekly