By Jill Alphonso

CELEBRITY homes hold a certain appeal for voyeurs who chase fame and fortune.

After all, what celebrity obsessed person wouldn't want to stand in, say, the bedroom of James Dean, where many exploits must have taken place, in the bathroom where Marilyn Monroe might have drawn a bath?

For this reason, some former residences of stars, like the famous Graceland, have been turned into museums.

And they certainly draw in the numbers. When Charlie Chaplin's Swiss home was opened to the public for a day last year, a turnout of 8,000 attended. The home is slated to be opened as a museum in 2010.

And 982,000 people visited Anne Frank's Amsterdam home and secret annex in 2006.

The latest home and museum in waiting is that of martial arts legend Bruce Lee. The actor's former Kowloon Tong home in Hong Kong was up for sale, but was withdrawn from the buyers' market yesterday.

Its owner, billionaire and philanthropist Yu Panglin, told the South China Morning Post that he is considering donating it to the Hong Kong community in order for it to be turned into a museum.

Lee, star of films like Fist Of Fury (1972) and Enter The Dragon (1973), rented the home with wife Linda Lee-Cadwell in his final years. He died under mysterious circumstances in 1973.

Lee's childhood residence and the Golden Harvest studio, where he filmed his most famous movies, have been demolished.

Fans of Lee have been calling for the preservation of the Kowloon property, which was used as a love hotel five years ago, said The China Post.

Mr Yu bought the house for HK$850,000 in the 1960s and has received offers as high as HK$105 million (S$18.3 million) after putting it on the market.

"I may consider donating the property if the majority thinks we should preserve it," he said.

The government confirmed that it is looking into turning the house into a museum.

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