Hot Property Newsletter: Something to chew on
This week, a $78-million listing in the Westside’s Holmby Hills area caught our attention. That’s outside what the run-of-the-mill actor or entertainment exec can afford. So what’s the source of that kind of wealth? The answer can be found in a fortune cookie.
Our Home of the Week in Bel-Air is all about glamour and glitz. The more than 10,000-square-foot newly built showplace dazzles with polished glass floors, a sweeping limestone staircase and a 500-gallon custom aquarium that serves as a backdrop for the bar. The list price is $20.995 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
New on the menu
Restaurateur Michael Chow, co-founder of the Mr. Chow Chinese restaurant chain, has listed his estate in Holmby Hills for $78 million.
The gated compound centers on a mansion of more than 30,000 square feet that Chow designed and had built for himself. The sprawling residence accommodates his art collection and features gallery walls and 30-foot ceilings.
Entered through a vaulted atrium, the property features an Art Deco-inspired library, a home theater with windows looking into the waters of the swimming pool, seven bedrooms, staff quarters and a three-story guesthouse.
Chow, 79, opened the first Mr. Chow restaurant in London in 1968 and the first U.S. location in Beverly Hills in 1974.
Taking down her shingle
Television mega-producer and screenwriter Shonda Rhimes has listed her longtime estate in Hancock Park for $9.995 million. She has called the 1920s Traditional home since 2010.
The nearly 8,300-square-foot house sits on a wooded half-acre lot. Beyond the formal entry, the main house includes a library and a den off the kitchen.
Two bathrooms, two walk-in closets and a sitting room/office comprise the master suite. Another bedroom, formerly an office, is where Rhimes penned screenplays.
Rhimes, 48, is known for such hit television shows as “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Private Practice” and “Scandal.”
An update from an “SNL” alum
Actor Kevin Nealon has put his home in Pacific Palisades back on the market for a dollar shy of $5 million. He had listed it previously at $4.7 million.
Built in 2009, the Georgian-inspired Traditional has more than 5,600 square feet of interior space, including a living room with a fireplace, an office/den, seven bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms.
Nealon, 64, appeared on “Saturday Night Live” in the 1980s and ‘90s and spent five years hosting the “Weekend Update” sketch.
Among his television and film credits are “Weeds” (2005-12), “Happy Gilmore” (1996) and the current sitcom “Man With a Plan.”
No funny business here
Comedian and actor Bryan Callen, who has a recurring role on “The Goldbergs,” is looking for a buyer for his Cape Cod-inspired two-story in Venice. The asking price is $1.899 million.
The nearly 2,000-square-foot contemporary Craftsman was built in 2006. A covered stoop opens to the main living areas.
The second story houses all three bedrooms, each with its own walk-in closet, and an upstairs laundry room. There are also three bathrooms.
Callen, 51, was an original cast member of the series “MADtv,” which ran from 1995 to 2009 and was revived in 2016.
Accessible by cab
This Sherman Oaks home has been around the block a few times. It was once owned by actor Vincent Baggetta, who got his start while driving a taxi, and before him, actor Judd Hirsch, who is known for his Emmy-winning work on the sitcom “Taxi.”
Now the tidy 1,141-square-foot home is in escrow for sale with a listing price of $2.1 million. The 1981 two-story is perched on more than two acres abutting parkland.
Baggetta, who died last year at 72, starred in the late-1970s series “The Eddie Capra Mysteries.” He also appeared on such shows as “Mannix,” “The Rockford Files” and “Hill Street Blues.”
Hirsch, 83, sold to Baggetta in 1997 for $500,000, public records show. In recent years, he has had recurring roles on “Superior Donuts,” “The Goldbergs” and “Forever.”
She hopes it’s a hit
Singer-songwriter and former actress Linda Thompson has her condo in West Hollywood back up for sale at $2.199 million or for lease at $10,000 a month long-term.
Living, dining and family rooms, two bedrooms, a walk-in master closet and three bathrooms are within the 2,252 square feet of open-plan space.
Two balconies take in views of the cityscape.
Thompson, 68, was a regular on the country music-themed variety show “Hee Haw” (1969-1971). She collaborated on Josh Groban’s “To Where You Are” and the Celine Dion hit “Miracle.”
Her favorite room
Actress, producer and director Courteney Cox likes nothing better than to entertain family and friends in the outdoor area of her Malibu home. The breezy space invites relaxation with plush seating in neutral tones. A galley kitchen with awning windows passes through to bar seating by the pool.
Actress Courteney Cox says her favorite room is this outdoor space at her Malibu home.
From the archives
Ten years ago, actor Mark Wahlberg listed his house in Beverly Hills at $15.9 million. The gated 1.4-acre property had about 15,000 square feet of living space, including a 2,500-square-foot gym with a boxing ring.
Twenty years ago, actor John Malkovich put his Hancock Park home of seven years on the market at just under $1.3 million. The property contained a 1919 Spanish-style main house and a Moroccan-inspired guesthouse with a minaret top.
Thirty years ago, actor Mel Gibson leased a $5-million property in Malibu, for use by his family, while he was shooting “Lethal Weapon II.” The compound had a tennis court, pool and beach cottage.
What we’re reading
The Bellevue estate once owned by former Seattle Supersonics point guard Gary Payton is on the market at $6.7 million, notes Curbed Seattle. One relic from the NBA All-Star’s time on the property is a party pad called “Payton’s Place” in the 9,000-square-foot main house.
The San Jose Unified School District has identified nine district-owned properties it is considering converting into several hundred units of affordable housing for teachers and other school employees, reports the Mercury News. But the district’s proposal calls for some cherished schools — including Leland High School and Bret Harte Middle School in wealthy Almaden Valley — to be uprooted and relocated, which has some community members up in arms.
