Comedian Rita Rudner has a real grabber
Rita Rudner is applying her comedic talent to the sale of her Dana Point beach house, and the result is a spot-on parody of a home marketing video.
Her husband, director-writer Martin Bergman, featured the Monarch Bay home in the 2011 film “Thanks,” in which Rudner acted. Now Rudner may have her own hit on her hands with the YouTube parody.
In the farcical four-plus minutes, she promises to include one free facial tissue with the purchase of the five-bedroom, five-bathroom house, which is priced at $8.975 million.
The actress takes viewers through a tour of the 5,000-square-foot contemporary, which looks out onto the ocean.
“This is the living room where we do roughly 33.5% of our living,” Rudner explains on the video. Some nights, she says, the couple stares into the fireplace, drinks and argues.
Features include a paparazzi-free patio, an elevator, an office, heated floors and the liberal use of retractable glass doors.
“We have brought not only the outside in, we have brought the inside out, we have brought the left to the right, the right to the left, the up to the down,” she says. “It is so on trend.”
The Vegas headliner then moves on to the kitchen, where she demonstrates how she uses the warming drawer to take the chill off a bra or chunky jewelry.
Rudner, 59, has used the house for vacationing and is building another home in the area for use when she retires from a career that has included dancing, stand-up comedy, acting and screenwriting.
The home theater is one place she unwinds.
“Sometimes after a hard day of staring at the ocean,” Rudner says, “I just like to kick back, turn on the TV and watch the wrestling.”
The couple bought the house unfinished on leased land six years ago for $5.85 million. They completed the work and bought the parcel in December for $2.15 million.
The listing agents are Harold Noriega and Danielle Bowen of HOM Sotheby’s International Realty.
“We look forward to receiving your offers,” Rudner concludes, “and responding with a ‘How dare you?’”
Tennis champ comes out ahead
Tennis champ Serena Williams has sold her Westwood condo for $1.755 million.
The Wilshire Corridor building, constructed in 2001, offers concierge service, a valet, a gym, pool and spa. The open-plan unit of 2,403 square feet features city views, two bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, a den/office, a fireplace, balconies and a direct-access elevator.
Williams, 31, has been ranked the No. 1 female player in the world multiple times by the Women’s Tennis Assn. and currently holds the ranking. Her tennis earnings have topped $40 million.
Public records show that Williams bought the property new in 2001 for $1.275 million and owns other property in the Los Angeles area.
Christine Taylor of Gibson International and Rada Roberts of Coldwell Banker’s Brentwood office were the listing agents. Hosana Saputra of Surterre Properties represented the buyer.
Fit for an oilman or an astronaut
Within a three-week time span, Larry Hagman’s longtime mountaintop home in Ojai and his Santa Monica penthouse both sold — each for $5 million.
The 43-acre Ojai spread, befitting “Dallas” oilman J.R. Ewing, had been listed in 2009 at $11 million.
The Mediterranean-style estate was designed and built for Hagman and his wife, Maj, in 1992. The off-the-grid property has solar systems providing energy for the main residence, the well and the caretaker’s home, while creating surplus power. When Hagman installed the system in 2003, his annual electric bill went from $37,000 to $13.
Set behind iron gates, the 17,516-square-foot main house features murals, an indoor pool and spa, seven bedrooms and 10 bathrooms. The compound includes a two-bedroom guesthouse, a separate office, an outside pool connected by streams to two ponds, a private helipad and more than 200 avocado trees.
In Santa Monica, the two-bedroom, three-bathroom penthouse is in a 10-story building constructed in 1963 and includes 3,029 square feet of living space. The contemporary-style condo has three parking spaces and views of the ocean.
Hagman, who died last year at 81, entertained generations of television viewers as astronaut Tony Nelson on “I Dream of Jeannie” (1965-70) and as Ewing on “Dallas” (1978-91). He reprised his role as the Texas oilman on the current TNT series (2012-present).
The listing agents for the Ojai estate were Andrea Cope of Prudential’s Brentwood office and Nancy Kogevinas of Prudential’s Palisades office.
David Solomon and Anna Solomon of Prudential’s Brentwood office were the listing agents for the Santa Monica transaction. Michael Caruso of Surterre Properties represented the buyer.
Burbank house is musician ready
Composer Kristopher Carter has listed his home in Burbank to the tune of $1.095 million.
The contemporary home, built in 1980, features hardwood and marble floors, a decorative fireplace, a foyer, six bedrooms, four bathrooms and 3,411 square feet of living space.
The composer customized the three-level house by converting one bedroom into a sound studio. He added soundproofing, doubled the drywall, used solid core doors and included conduits to a machine room.
The nearly half-acre site includes a swimming pool, spa and lawn. There are city and mountain views.
Carter, 41, has composed music for such animated action adventure series as “Young Justice” (2010-13), “Ben 10: Ultimate Alien” (2010-12) and “Batman: The Brave and the Bold” (2008-11). He won a Daytime Emmy for music direction and composition for “Batman Beyond” (1999).
Public records show that Carter bought the house in 2009 for $1.08 million. He is selling as a prelude to downsizing.
Owen Salkin of John Aaroe Group is the listing agent.
