Ed Asner parts with a character-filled house in Studio City
If just the mention of the name Ed Asner puts the theme song from “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” in your head, then the actor’s longtime Studio City house will probably bring to mind his trademark character: lovable, flawed, curmudgeonly, fatherly editor Lou Grant.
Talk about a warm fuzzy. The charming traditional-style home, which sold for $1.306 million, has that real-people-lived-here look. And the place oozes wall-to-wall character.
Used brick, leaded glass, exposed-beam ceilings, brass hardware and French doors are among the charms in the 2,783-square-foot home. Living space includes living and family rooms, an office, three bedrooms and three bathrooms.
The self-contained master suite features a sitting area, a fireplace, another office and a walk-in cedar closet.
Brick steps lead from the back of the home to a sunny patio and a swimming pool with a spa.
Asner, 84, is a past president of the Screen Actors Guild. The Emmy winner played Lou Grant in the 1970s sitcom with Moore and in “Lou Grant,” a spinoff drama set at a newspaper. He voiced a character in the animated film “Up” (2009).
Last year Asner appeared in “The Glades” and the TV movie “Christmas on the Bayou.” This year he is on the series “Men at Work” and in the films “Audrey,” “The Games Maker” and “Promoted.”
Asner bought the property in 1996 for $540,000, public records show.
Ron Holliman and Constance Chesnut of Coldwell Banker were the listing agents. Stanton Snyder represented the buyer.
Tech money finds a home
Eric Schmidt, the billionaire executive chairman of Google Inc., has bought the Veronique and Gregory Peck estate on L.A.’s Westside for $22 million.
Set on 1.3 acres, the 1930s French chateau sits at the end of a long driveway and is surrounded by a flat lawn, mature trees and lush gardens. The neighbors include heiress Petra Ecclestone, White House interior designer Michael Smith and the Playboy Mansion.
Designed for grand-scale entertaining, the 9,182 square feet of living space features the original marble-walled foyer, vaulted ceilings, formal dining and living rooms, an office, a bar, four fireplaces, seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms.
French doors throughout the house open to patio space and a swimming pool.
Schmidt, 58, was worth an estimated $8.3 billion last year, according to Forbes, ranking him No. 138 on the magazine’s list of the richest people in the world.
Gregory Peck, who died in 2003 at 87, won an acting Oscar for his starring role as Atticus Finch in “To Kill a Mockingbird” (1962). Among his other memorable films are “Roman Holiday” (1953), “The Guns of Navarone” (1961) and “MacArthur” (1977).
Veronique Peck bought the property the year her husband died for $14.135 million, public records show, and filled it with his memorabilia.
Rick Hilton, Jeffrey Hyland and Rayni Romito of Hilton & Hyland/Christie’s International Real Estate, as well as Jade Mills of Coldwell Banker were the listing agents. Ron de Salvo, also with Coldwell Banker, represented Schmidt.
It’s a beach wrap for producer
Brian Grazer, the prolific film and television producer, has sold his Malibu Colony beach house for $17.375 million, making it the most expensive sale in the beach community to post so far this year in the local Multiple Listing Service.
Designed for entertaining and built in 1995, the renovated Mediterranean-style home features a deck off the living room and breakfast room.
The three-story house has 6,067 square feet of living space, including an art studio, a media room, an office, a gym, five bedrooms and eight bathrooms.
An indoor swimming pool is adjacent to the two-car attached garage.
Grazer, 62, co-founded Imagine Entertainment with Ron Howard. He won an Oscar for “A Beautiful Mind” (2001) and is a producer for the upcoming film “The Good Lie,” starring Reese Witherspoon. He has been an executive producer for TV series, including “How to Live With Your Parents,” “Friday Night Lights” and “Arrested Development.”
Public records show Grazer bought the oceanfront house in 2003 for $13.5 million.
Stephen Shapiro of Westside Estate Agency, Beverly Hills, was the listing agent. Cristie St. James of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and Chad Rogers of Hilton & Hyland represented the buyer.
His vision lives on in Burbank
Marco Zappia, the late Emmy-winning film editor, helped shape scores of television shows and one very unusual English Tudor/French Normandy-style house, which has come on the market in Burbank at $2.199 million.
Embellished with gingerbread details and other whimsical touches, the 7,850-square-foot house is entered through leaded-glass double doors. Beyond the formal entry lie a quaint parlor, a formal dining room, a great room, five bedrooms, six bathrooms, six fireplaces and an elevator.
The storybook-style breakfast room features a rounded brick fireplace, high ceilings and French doors that open to the patio.
The finished basement includes a separate exterior entrance, a media room, a billiard room, a playroom, a gym, a gift-wrapping room, a bar and an office. A secret room is hidden by a retractable bookcase.
Zappia, who died last year at 76, was a film editor for series including “Hee Haw,” “All in the Family” and “Home Improvement.”
He envisioned the home for decades and finally had it built in 1998.
Christopher Rizzotti of Rizzotti Realestate is the listing agent.
Twitter: @LATHotProperty
