Setting of Sellers' 'Being There' is destroyed by fire

Up to 70 firefighters fought to control the flames at the Pasadena mansion in South San Rafael Avenue, which has been used for a number of movie shoots.

The blaze destroyed the house, which had also been used to film scenes from the Sylvester Stallone movie, Rocky V.

The owners of the 16,000 sq ft mansion were not at home when the fire started and the cause is unknown.

"The house was fully engulfed - an inferno, for lack of a better term," Lisa Derderian, a spokeswoman for the Pasadena Fire Department, said of the house, despite fire crews attempts.