Advertisement

Hot Property Newsletter: Back down to earth

Share

We love bringing you homes with eye-popping asking and sales prices. But not every Hollywood celebrity owns a home in the million-dollar plus range. This week we’re sneaking in a couple of deals of note that closed for less than $1 million.

Our Home of the Week takes a look at one of L.A.’s most imagination-fueled architecture styles: Storybook. Asymmetrical arches and elaborate Gothic windows bring a 1920s vibe to this Los Feliz house. Take the Fox 11 video tour of the $1.988-million listing.

Once you’re done reading about these deals, visit and like our Facebook page, where you can find Hot Property stories and updates throughout the week.

Advertisement

Neal J. Leitereg and Lauren Beale

Room for energy hats

Gerald Casale, the singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who founded the new wave band Devo, has sold his place in Palm Desert for $950,000.

The Midcentury Modern-style house, which dates to 1963, features slate and cork floors, walls of glass and a rock fireplace. A vaulted-ceiling living room, two kitchens, an office, four bedrooms and four bathrooms are within the roughly 3,200 square feet of living space.

The backyard contains a saltwater swimming pool, a succulent garden and a firepit.

Casale, 70, co-wrote much of Devo’s material, including the seminal hit “Whip It.” The musician turned to his design talents to help create the band’s energy dome hats and radiation suits.

Advertisement

But there’s no pool

Actress Morena Baccarin of the “Deadpool” films has sold an investment property in the Atwater Village neighborhood of Los Angeles for $935,000.

The property, fronted by a gated courtyard filled with cacti and succulents, includes two side-by-side Spanish-style residences dating to 1925. The character-filled units each have one bedroom, one bathroom, a kitchen and a living room for a combined total of 952 square feet of living space.

A detached studio/office sits in what was once the garage.

Baccarin, 39, has been on the shows “Firefly,” “Homeland” and “Gotham.” She has played actor Ryan Reynolds’ love interest in the last two “Deadpool” films.

Now you see it …

The home of magician-comedian Justin Willman of “Magic for Humans” has sold in the Hollywood Hills for $1.618 million.

Advertisement

Dating to the early 1920s, the 2,134-square-foot house was updated by Willman’s wife, interior designer Jillian Sipkins. Features of the Mediterranean-style home include arched doorways, exposed beams and Saltillo floors. There are four bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms.

Willman, 38, has been a frequent guest on such talk shows as “The Tonight Show,” “Ellen” and “Conan.” He has hosted the cooking competition show “Cupcake Wars” and the game show “Win, Lose or Draw.”

Right for entertaining

Caroline Hjelt of the Swedish electropop duo Icona Pop has become a homeowner in Hollywood Hills, having bought a Midcentury Modern house there through a trust for $1.485 million.

Vaulted ceilings bring a sense of spaciousness to the 2,500 square feet of party-ready interiors. A metal-clad fireplace in the living room adds a techno vibe. There are three bedrooms and three bathrooms.

Advertisement

The two-story residence is set on close to a quarter-acre with a swimming pool.

Hjelt and Aino Jawo formed the band in 2009. Their singles include “Girlfriend,” “All Night” and “Get Lost.” They are working on a third studio album.

Onto his next project?

Kevin Jonas, the eldest member of the onetime teen idol band the Jonas Brothers, has sold his custom home in Montville, N.J., for $2.25 million.

It’s a safe bet that every inch of the 6,907-square-foot Hamptons-inspired Colonial was entirely to his liking. These days, the 30-year-old struts his stuff as a homebuilder.

The partially stone-clad house is set on more than two acres of wooded hillside. Outdoor amenities include a saltwater pool and a waterfall.

Advertisement

Inside is a two-story grand entry with a staircase, a dining room with a glassed-in wine wall and a billiards room. Including the second-floor master suite, there are five bedrooms and 6.5 bathrooms.

The Jonas Brothers, who gained notice appearing on the Disney Channel, played together in two stints from 2005 to 2013 and released four pop-rock albums.

Cutting ties to his roots?

A Malibu home that Oscar-winning actor Louis Gossett Jr. owned through a trust has sold for $3.25 million.

Built in 1948, the single-level house has 2,180 square feet of living space and centers on a courtyard with a fountain. There are three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

Advertisement

The more than one acre property features a swimming pool.

Gossett, 82, has extensive film credits including “A Raisin in the Sun” (1961), “Skin Game” (1971) and “An Officer and a Gentleman” (1982), for which he won an Academy Award for supporting actor.

His television work includes the current series “Hap and Leonard,” “Stargate SG-1” (2004-05) and the 1977 miniseries “Roots.”

Her favorite room

Vivica A. Fox surrounds herself with prized possessions in the living room of her 2,500-square-foot Porter Ranch home. “This is where I have all my friends over; it’s like my front room and theater room mixed together,” said the actress-producer, who this fall hosts the CBS talk show “Face the Truth.” Framed photos of her six godchildren, sculpture and sparkling accents combine to create what she calls “rock-star chic.”

"I’m a sparkle babe, and there are pretty sparkles throughout my whole house," she says.

“I’m a sparkle babe, and there are pretty sparkles throughout my whole house,” she says.

(Jesse Goddard / For The Times)
Advertisement

From the archives

Ten years ago, Academy Award-winning actor Nicolas Cage listed his 11,817-square-foot Bel-Air Tudor at $29,999,000 and leased a unit in the downtown Biscuit Co. Lofts with an option to buy.

Twenty years ago, actors Kirk Cameron and Chelsea Noble bought a home in the Santa Monica Mountains for about its $675,000 asking price. The Spanish-style, 2,600-square-foot house was built in 1980.

What we’re reading

A $5.4-million property in Water Mill, N.Y., believed to have once been owned by the Gimbel family of department store fame is in escrow, reports Newsday. The nearly 1.5 acres contain a 5,000-square-foot house with a wraparound porch and a one-bedroom artist’s studio. We’re digging the guitar-shaped swimming pool.

Coastal disputes between wealthy homeowners and the public seem to be inevitable in California. The New York Times delves into the ongoing story of a venture capitalist who is fighting to keep the public off a beach that abuts his property just south of Half Moon Bay. Complicating matters, it’s not just a house he owns, but an entire village.

Advertisement
Advertisement