Famous San Francisco movie and TV houses: Here's how much they actually cost

Robin Williams in the kitchen in a scene from the film "Mrs. Doubtfire." How much does the famous home really cost? Keep clicking to find out. Robin Williams in the kitchen in a scene from the film "Mrs. Doubtfire." How much does the famous home really cost? Keep clicking to find out. Photo: Archive Photos, Getty Images Photo: Archive Photos, Getty Images Image 1 of / 38 Caption Close Famous San Francisco movie and TV houses: Here's how much they actually cost 1 / 38 Back to Gallery

"Life imitates art" goes the old saying — a statement that hardly applies to the palatial residences of movie and television characters.

Take Donald Sutherland's house in the classic 1978 "Invasion of the Body Snatchers." Sutherland, a health inspector, resides in a swanky 4-bedroom Telegraph Hill home that today would cost $4.89 million to purchase or $14,252 a month to rent, according to Zillow.

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Health inspectors in San Francisco earn an average of $61,237, according to Salary.com, which works out to $5,103 a month. The odds of Sutherland's character being able to afford such an abode in real life are slim, although perhaps he got a discount after stumbling upon clones spawning in his backyard.

The mansion the orphans in "Party of Five" call home is an even greater stretch. Zillow estimates the home to cost $11.26 million. Seeing as the family's sole source of income is a restaurant – upscale eatery Salinger's – they'd have to sell a lot of roast beef to afford that mortgage.

When it comes to the San Franciscan houses in classic cinema, fantasy reigns over reality. We tracked down some of the most famous houses from movies and television and calculated what they really would cost, using Zillow's price estimates. See the homes in the above gallery.

Read Michelle Robertson’s latest stories and send her news tips at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com.