Lee Marvin's name is known around the world, and now his home is, too.
The Academy Award-winning actor's Tucson residence has been on the market since April 2007. And while no one expected the $6 million home to sell quickly with the housing market slumping, the listing has, in some ways, pitted Marvin's name against the struggling economy.
"Typically homes like this, there is a cachet about them that outlives the market," said Russell Long, vice president of Long Realty. "People are interested in the home because of the history."
Photo galleries and video tours of the stuccoed adobe home can be found all over the Internet.
Perched in Tucson's Catalina Foothills on a little more than 12 acres, Marvin's 7,200-square-foot residence sports six bedrooms, a gourmet kitchen and a tennis court, among other amenities.
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"It's a wonderful, beautiful neighborhood," said Marvin's widow, Pamela, who lives there.
Pamela Marvin said she and her husband visited the Old Pueblo in 1971 while he was filming "Pocket Money," which also featured the late Paul Newman.
Marvin had filmed in Tucson before and loved the town.
"Then I fell in love with it, too," Pamela said.
So, the couple began looking for a home and found this one just as they were heading to Africa to film "Shout at the Devil," which was released in 1976 with Roger Moore.
Acclaimed Tucson architect Josias Joesler designed the home, which was built in 1936. At one time, former Democratic Congressman Mo Udall lived there.
Because of this rich history, Pamela Marvin said she is not willing to sell to someone who might split the site's 12 acres into lots. The next owner should have an interest in preserving the architecture and the home's history.
To that end, Long has been advertising the Marvin residence in art magazines and Christie's Great Estates, the real estate arm of the famed fine-art auction house. The listing briefly appeared on the free-classifieds Web site Craigslist, but it has since been removed and Long said he didn't know who placed that listing.
"There are people who collect homes, in the way that some people collect cars," Long said, expressing optimism that a sale will come in time.
Lee Marvin died of a heart attack in 1987 at age 63. He won his Oscar in 1965 for his role in "Cat Ballou."
Pamela Marvin described the sale of the home as a rite of passage.
"You want to simplify your life a little bit," she said. "It's a house for children."