Hot Property: Onetime Malibu home of Judy Garland sees changing of the guard
A Malibu beach house where actress-singer Judy Garland of “The Wizard of Oz” once lived has sold in a deal completed off-market for $3.545 million.
The buyers are television and documentary writer-director-producer Cynthia Harrison-Wallach and her husband, real estate investment firm head Lewis Wallach.
Set on the sands in the Las Tunas Beach area, the Cape Cod-style house was built in 1947 and originally was owned by Garland’s second husband, stage and film director Vincente Minnelli.
Extensively renovated three years ago, the two-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom house makes the most of oceanfront living with expansive ipe-wood decking and balconies extending from the master suite. A walled and gated courtyard sits off the front.
Inside, the roughly 1,800 square feet of living space features white oak floors, built-ins and vaulted and beamed ceilings throughout. A two-sided fireplace is shared by the living and dining rooms. In the kitchen, which has been updated, marble countertops are teamed with Viking stainless-steel appliances.
“It really is a special property,” real estate agent Jory Burton said. “To find something on the sand, at this price, is pretty rare.”
Burton and Heather Shorr, both with Sotheby’s International Realty, represented the buyers in the sale. Russell Grether and Tony Mark of Compass were the listing agents.
Harrison-Wallach is a co-creator and co-executive producer of the History Channel series “Dogfights” as well as a writer-producer for the TV movie documentary ”Rogue Waves.” Lewis Wallach is president and chief executive of the Novato-based property investment and management firm Professional Financial Investors.
Something to ‘smize’ about
Model and television personality Tyra Banks has sold for $8.9 million a Pacific Palisades home she purchased as an investment.
She paid $7.35 million for the property, which sits on a half-acre bluff with panoramic ocean views, two years ago.
The tri-level house, originally built in 1950 and extensively renovated, is approached through a gated courtyard with a waterfall feature. Inside, its roughly 6,100 square feet features high ceilings, a great room, a media room and an office. There are four fireplaces — including one in the living room with a marble slab surround — five bedrooms and six bathrooms.
Wood-paneled doors open on the main floor to an expansive patio space with a fire pit, an outdoor kitchen and dining area. Manicured box hedges and formal landscaping complete the walled and gated setting.
James Respondek and Heidi Lake of Sotheby’s International Realty were the listing agents. Gary Glass of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties represented the buyer.
Banks, 44, has been on a buying and selling tear as of late. Earlier this year she listed and sold a Pacific Palisades town home and bought another contemporary-style house in the area for $6.995 million. Another home she owns in Pacific Palisades is for sale at $4.25 million.
The California native began her career as a model before expanding into acting, producing and writing. The 24th season of her show, “America’s Next Top Model,” premiered in January.
Bel-Air joint set for a new reality
The minimalist mansion that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West sold last year is back to the market at $18 million.
Ukrainian billionaire and aspiring singer Marina Acton is the seller. She bought it from the ultra-famous couple last November for $17.8 million, records show.
Set on nearly an acre in the guard-gated community of Bel Air Crest, the property forsakes hyper-luxury flourishes for the austere. Walls of glass bring color into the spare interior, which otherwise features a palette of white and gray.
There’s a fireplace in the two-story living room. In the center-island kitchen, stainless-steel appliances interrupt the monochromatic scheme. Seven bedrooms and seven bathrooms, including a massive master suite with a freestanding tub, round out the 9,000-square-foot floor plan.
In the grassy backyard, a swimming pool, spa and pavilion take in panoramic canyon and mountain views.
Josh and Matt Altman of Douglas Elliman hold the listing.
West and Kardashian picked up the home five years ago for $9 million, records show. Before their renovations, it was a Mediterranean-style villa filled with wrought-iron rails, parquet floors and wood-beamed ceilings.
They currently reside in Hidden Hills, where they own a large French country-style compound.
Brewster bids adieu to Spanish spot
Actress Soleil Moon Frye of “Punky Brewster” fame and her husband, film and television producer Jason Goldberg, have sold their home in historic Hancock Park for $4.507 million. It had been listed for $4.595 million.
Set back from the street and obscured by mature landscaping, the Spanish Revival-style house features four bedrooms, 5.5 bathrooms, a garden-view living room and a den. Period fireplaces are among the original character details; exotic items such as artistic tile work and pendant lighting give off a slightly Moroccan feel.
The two-story home, built in 1919, sits on a third of an acre with an oval swimming pool, a vine-wrapped loggia, lawns and mature trees. Tucked in a back corner is a fire pit. There’s also a detached home theater.
Frye and Goldberg, who bought the property more than a decade ago for $3.2 million, are just two in a line of notable names to have owned the homes. Actors Elizabeth Perkins and John Malkovich are both former homeowners, records show.
Richard Ehrlich of Westside Estate Agency and Jackie Smith of Compass were the listing agents. Jenna Cooper, also with Compass, represented the buyer.
Moon Frye, 41, got her start as a child actor and is known for playing the title role in the 1980s sitcom “Punky Brewster.” Goldberg, in his mid-40s, is a longtime production partner of Ashton Kutcher’s. He is co-creator and executive producer of the hidden-camera series “Punk’d” and the reality show “Beauty and the Geek.”
His sights are set on new goal
Former pro hockey player Teemu Selanne, known as “the Finnish Flash,” has listed his sprawling estate in Orange County’s Coto de Caza for sale at $6.9 million.
The spread centers on a single-story Mediterranean-style home set on 6 acres in the gated Los Ranchos area.
But the 9,400-square-foot house, built in 1994, is surrounded by a three-hole golf course, tennis court, rock-surrounded pool with waterfalls, riding arenas, guesthouse and a barn.
There are five bedrooms and seven bathrooms in the main house. Two apartments are located above the barn.
Selanne, 47, played in the National Hockey League for 21 seasons. The former Anaheim Duck right wing was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame last year and is an Olympic medalist.
Move was made off the secret menu
The stylish modernist home of George and Rena Poulos, owners of the Los Angeles dining institution Pann’s restaurant and coffee shop, has sold in Baldwin Vista in an off-market deal for $2.025 million.
That’s a new price record for the western Baldwin Hills neighborhood, where previous high-water sales were around $1.62 million, records show.
Though not as recognizable as Pann’s, which has served as a backdrop in the films “Pulp Fiction” and “xXx,” the 1960s estate boasts an architectural pedigree of its own. The 2,822-square-foot floor plan is a showcase of Midcentury Modern style, with features such as walls of glass, terrazzo floors and a dual-sided fireplace.
Ashwood cabinetry fills the kitchen, which also features double Thermador ovens and a cork-walled wet bar. In the master suite, floor-to-ceiling windows overlook a back patio with a pool. A terrace takes in sweeping views of the city.
Carolyn Hart of Pacific Union was the listing agent.
The Poulos family opened Pann’s in 1958. The chic diner, with its neon sign, slitted windows and wall of stone, is known for its Googie architecture and chicken and waffles.
Twitter: @LATHotProperty
