Hot Property Newsletter: Now that’s entertainment
The deep pockets of the entertainment industry continue to shape L.A.’s real estate market. This week we’ve loaded up on actors, but have rounded out the lineup with a singer, a radio host and even a news correspondent. Farther afield, we spied an interesting East Coast spread that was home to a best-selling novelist.
Angled rooflines and plenty of deck space give a cruise-ship-like feel to this contemporary Home of the Week in Venice. For land lovers, the multilevel house is topped by a patio with a planted “living roof.” Set sail for $3.725 million.
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.
– Neal J. Leitereg and Lauren Beale
VIP guest treatment
Taylor Swift has made another sale in Beverly Hills, parting with a Midcentury Modern-style home for $2.65 million. Earlier this year, the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter sold a house on the same street for $4 million.
The Midcentury house she just sold, a post-and-beam design dating to 1959, was used for guests during Swift’s ownership, which spanned about six years.
The single-story house had been extensively updated and has four bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms in 2,950 square feet of interior space.
The leafy backyard holds a lagoon-style swimming pool. Decking and a central courtyard create additional living space outside.
Swift, 28, is among the best-selling music artists of all time with 10 Grammys to her name, including two for album of the year (“Fearless” and “1989”).
Changing ZIP Codes
Jennie Garth of “Beverly Hills, 90210” fame has sold her home in Studio City for close to $4.478 million.
The Modernist-vibe house went for more than double what the actress paid for the property through a trust five years ago.
A reflecting pond flanks floating concrete steps leading up to the pivoting glass front door. At the heart of the home is an open great room and dining area with soaring ceilings, a hanging fireplace and floor-to-ceiling windows. The 4,100 square feet of living space also contains five bedrooms and five bathrooms.
Garth, 46, has appeared on such shows as “What I Like About You,” “Mystery Girls” and “The Mick.” She reprised her role as Kelly Taylor on the drama series “90210” from 2008 to 2010.
It’s rather presidential
A Colonial Revival-style home where future President Reagan and Oscar-winning actress Jane Wyman lived during their marriage has sold in the Westside pocket of Little Holmby for $6.45 million.
The pair, who appeared in a number of films together, came to own the house during the 1940s. Wyman retained the property following the couple’s divorce in 1949.
The stately home opens to a grand, oval-shaped foyer that leads to 6,153 square feet of interior space, including a family room with a wet bar, a reception hall, five bedrooms and six bathrooms.
The house sits on about half an acre of grounds that contain formal gardens, a swimming pool and a pavilion with fireplace.
Where he often hosts
Radio personality Larry Elder has listed a classic contemporary house in Hollywood Hills West for sale at $5.2 million.
The roomy home, built in 1959, has 4,690 square feet anchored by a massive open living space designed for entertaining. There are four bedrooms, five bathrooms and a detached guest house.
Set behind gates on a knoll, the nearly two-acre property features an infinity edge pool and spa.
Elder, 66, is the host of a long-running syndicated radio show bearing his name.
Making their own news
Television news correspondent Lee Cowan and TV producer Molly Palmer have bought a Mediterranean-style villa in Venice for $2.325 million, public records show.
The three-story house, built in 2001, features an open-concept living room, dining room and kitchen that lead to the backyard for indoor/outdoor dining and entertaining.
Including the first-floor bedroom and bathroom, there are a total of four bedrooms and three bathrooms within the 3,005 square feet of living space. A rooftop deck takes in expansive views.
Cowan, 53, appears on the “CBS Evening News” and also serves as a substitute anchor on “CBS Sunday Morning.” Palmer’s credits include NBC’s “Today” show.
The hunt for October buyers?
A waterfront estate in Huntingtown, Md., that belonged to the late novelist Tom Clancy is on the market at $6.2 million.
The 537-acre spread includes more than a mile of water frontage along the Chesapeake Bay. At the heart of the sprawling property is a stone-clad mansion of more than 17,178 square feet. Adding to the on-site drama are a swimming pool inside a glass pavilion with a retractable roof, a subterranean gun range, tennis courts, sports fields and guest houses.
The contemporary home, built in 1989, contains seven bedrooms and seven bathrooms.
Clancy, who died in 2013 at 66, had 17 best sellers. He was known for writing about Cold War era spies and military science. Nonreaders may be familiar with several of his titles that were made into films: “The Hunt for Red October,” “Patriot Games” and “Clear and Present Danger.”
His favorite room
Comedic actor Rob Riggle likes to regroup in the alcove off the office of his Westlake Village home. Comfy couches and plush throw pillows make it a favorite place to “have a glass of wine, catch up on the day and debrief,” said the former regular on “The Daily Show.”
Actor Rob Riggle’s wife, Tiffany — an interior designer — created the look of this space in their Westlake Village home.
From the archives
Ten years ago, actor Mel Gibson, who already owned several properties in Malibu, bought the ocean-view home of actors David Duchovny and Tea Leoni for about $11.5 million. The 5.5-acre property contained a 6,500-square-foot main house, a two-room guesthouse and two swimming pools.
Twenty years ago, singer-songwriter Paul Anka sold a Westside condo that he had owned since the late 1970s for $595,000. Set in the gated community of Century Hills, the unit had two bedrooms within about 2,500 square feet of living space.
Thirty years ago, the “Tate Murder House” — that remote home above Benedict Canyon where members of the Manson family killed actress Sharon Tate and four guests in 1969 — came on the market for the first time in 25 years priced at $1.999 million.
What we’re reading
Thinking of moving when you retire? Realtor.com looks at the most and least expensive places to pick in terms of median home list price. And, so you’ll know, they include the percentage of residents aged 60 and up.
The Church of Scientology has long been a formidable player in the L.A. area real estate game, Curbed Los Angeles reports. Among the impressive collection of prized properties are apartment buildings, a former bicycle factory in Pasadena and a historic studio.
