New move for two who tango

Oscar-winning actor Robert Duvall and his wife, Luciana, have purchased a home in West Hollywood for slightly less than $1 million. The couple will use the gated property as a pied-a-terre when working in Los Angeles. They live primarily on their Revolutionary War-era estate in rural Virginia.

The West Hollywood house has two bedrooms and two bathrooms in about 1,300 square feet. The Spanish-style home was built in the 1920s. The Duvalls plan to renovate it.

The actor, 74, and his wife, 33 -- a documentary filmmaker from Argentina -- costarred in the movie “Assassination Tango” (2002). They are avid tango dancers.

The couple also have a Spanish-style estate in Salta, in northern Argentina, that they converted into an inn and a spa. The inn, called the House of Jasmines, was named in February by Travel and Leisure magazine as one of 50 romantic places.

Duvall will appear opposite Will Ferrell in the Universal Pictures comedy “Kicking and Screaming,” opening in May. He is currently shooting Warner Bros.’ “Lucky You” for director Curtis Hanson opposite Eric Banav and Drew Barrymore.

Duvall won his best actor Oscar for “Tender Mercies” (1983). He earned six other Oscar nominations for work in such films as “The Godfather” (1972) and “Apocalypse Now” (1979). He is also a director, writer and producer (“The Apostle” and “Assassination Tango”). He has written and performed songs for films as well.

Cynthia Land of Sotheby’s International Realty, Sunset Strip, represented the Duvalls in their West Hollywood purchase.

‘Desperate’ hunk gets home in shape

Jesse Metcalf, known for playing the handsome gardener on the ABC-TV series “Desperate Housewives,” has finished some refurbishing on the Hollywood Hills home he bought recently for about $1.1 million.

The Mediterranean-style home, built in 1990, has five bedrooms, five bathrooms and a game or billiards room with a wet bar in just under 3,000 square feet. The four-story home has city, mountain and canyon views.

Metcalf, 26, also has appeared as Miguel Lopez-Fitzgerald on the TV series “Passions.”

The seller was Ole Ostergard, owner of Roaring Lion Energy Drink.

Daniel Carson and Judie Carson-Garner shared the listing at Sotheby’s International Realty, Los Feliz. Steve Jones of Coldwell Banker represented Metcalf.

Singer exits his Brentwood stage

Engelbert Humperdinck has sold his Brentwood home for $2.1 million.

The pop singer purchased the property in 2002 just after selling his longtime Holmby Hills home, known as the Pink Palace. The Palace was owned by actress Jayne Mansfield before Humperdinck bought it in the mid-1970s.

His former Brentwood home has five bedrooms and 5 1/2 bathrooms in about 5,000 square feet. The Mediterranean-style house has a living room with high ceilings, a large office, a wine cellar, a sauna, a spa and a master bedroom suite with a fireplace.

Humperdinck, 68, maintained a multi-decade singing career, making his debut at the London Palladium in 1967. The sex symbol became recognized for his good looks and a voice capable of spanning 3 1/2 octaves. His signature tune, the 1960s single “Release Me,” sold 85,000 copies daily at its peak.

The Grammy-winning singer’s autobiography “What’s in a Name?” was published this year. Born Arnold George Dorsey, he took the long-dead German composer’s name in the early ‘60s.

Pop maestro bows out of the desert

Grammy-winning entertainer Johnny Mann has sold his longtime home in Sun City Palm Desert at close to its asking price of $699,000.

He and his wife, Betty, lived in the home for about a decade. They plan to build a home closer to their family in South Carolina.

The house they sold has two bedrooms and two bathrooms in about 2,100 square feet. It overlooks the development’s golf course. The contemporary house has a pool and a patio.

Mann is best known for the 39 albums he arranged and conducted for the Johnny Mann Singers, a group he created while he was choral director of the “NBC Comedy Hour.” The group originated in the ‘50s and was popular into the ‘60s.

Carol Glasgow of Dyson & Dyson Real Estate Associates, Palm Desert, represented the Manns in their sale.

L.A. home comes with rich history

The O’Melveny House, a registered L.A. County historic landmark in Windsor Square, has been sold for close to its asking price of just under $4.8 million. The buyer was described as an art dealer.

The 9,700-square-foot house originally was built in downtown L.A. in 1908 for Henry O’Melveny, dean of the California bar and a founding partner of the prominent L.A. law firm O’Melveny & Myers.

In 1930, while still owned by O’Melveny, the house was moved to Windsor Square.

After O’Melveny died at 81 in 1941, the house was owned for more than 50 years by the Rindges, one of L.A.’s pioneering families.

The O’Melveny House, recently refurbished, has eight bedrooms and 6 1/2 bathrooms. The home is English Arts and Crafts in style with Tudor accents. The manicured lawn has an outdoor fireplace, a koi pond and an ozone-filtered pool with a swim lane.

Joe Babajian and Kyle Grasso of Prudential John Aaroe, Beverly Hills, represented the buyer; Ernest Carswell of Coldwell Banker, Beverly Hills, and Kathleen Gless, Coldwell Banker, Hancock Park, had the listing.

To see previous columns on celebrity real estate transactions visit latimes.com/hotproperty.