Last kicks in Beverly Hills home
Jackie Chan, who stars in the upcoming movie “The Myth,” has put his Beverly Hills home on the market at $6.7 million.
Chan, a businessman as well as a film star and director, plans to make his base in China, where he manufactures motorcycles and cars and owns high-rise buildings, restaurants and a growing number of stores similar to the Sharper Image, said Curtis F. Wong, a longtime friend of Chan’s.
Chan spends four to six weeks a year in the Los Angeles area, and his wife, Joanne, and their 22-year-old son, singer-actor Jaycee, rarely visit. Chan has a home in Hong Kong and owns 150 acres in Shanghai and some land in Beijing, said Wong, who met Chan in L.A. when Wong was publishing the magazine Inside Kung-Fu. Wong is now a business partner of Chan’s.
Chan’s Beverly Hills home has five bedrooms and 5 1/2 bathrooms in slightly more than 7,600 square feet. The gated, French-style estate has a circular motor court, a two-story entry and a wood-paneled family room with a step-down bar and temperature-controlled wine closet. The home has three fireplaces. The dining room has a hand-painted ceiling, and the master bedroom suite has a sitting area. There is also a gym that opens to the backyard, a pool and a spa.
The house was built in 1986 but has been updated recently. Chan bought the home in 1998.
Chan, a veteran of more than 100 films, first starred in martial arts movies in which he imitated the fighting style of the late Bruce Lee. Chan became Asia’s No. 1 box-office hit, however, when he developed a comic persona and slapstick, acrobatic fighting style.
Chan, 50, made his American film debut in 1980 with “The Big Brawl.” He starred more recently in such movies as “Shanghai Knights” (2003), “The Tuxedo” (2002), “Rush Hour 2” (2001) and “Shanghai Noon” (2000). “The Myth,” an action/sci-fi adventure, is due to be released in September.
Carol Hurwitz has the listing at Hurwitz James Co., Beverly Hills.
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In Glendale, a ‘Desperate’ buyer
James Denton, who plays the mysterious plumber Mike Delfino and the romantic interest of actress Teri Hatcher’s character on the ABC series “Desperate Housewives,” has purchased a Glendale home for just under $800,000.
The remodeled Spanish-style home, built in the 1930s, has three bedrooms and two bathrooms in about 1,800 square feet. The house also has an office and a spa.
Denton, 42, has appeared in numerous other TV series, including “The Pretender,” “JAG,” “Ally McBeal,” “The West Wing,” “The Drew Carey Show” and “The Untouchables.” He also has appeared in feature films including “Primary Colors” (1998) and “Face/Off” (1997).
Jayne Englander of Coldwell Banker had the listing, sources said.
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‘Malcolm’ star adds Malibu home
Justin Berfield, who plays Reese, the troublemaking second-eldest of five boys on the Fox sitcom “Malcolm in the Middle,” has purchased a Malibu condo for about $1.4 million.
Berfield, 19, bought a two-bedroom, two-bath unit built in the ‘60s. The recently remodeled town home has stainless-steel appliances, an ocean-view master bedroom and two decks.
The actor bought a Hollywood Hills home in April for slightly more than $1.2 million. His in-town residence has five bedrooms in 3,500 square feet.
Lydia Simon of Coldwell Banker, Malibu Colony, had the listing on the Malibu town home, and Katie McCabe, of the same office, represented Berfield in buying it.
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Action director lands in the hills
Vic Armstrong, an award-winning action director and stunt coordinator now working on Steven Spielberg’s “War of the Worlds,” and his wife, Wendy, are due to close escrow this week on a Hollywood Hills home for $1,725,000.
The couple’s primary residence is an estate in England, where they have vineyards and stables. The Hollywood Hills house is the third home they have bought in the L.A. area. It has three bedrooms and 3 1/2 bathrooms in about 2,700 square feet.
The contemporary-style house, built in 1978, also has panoramic city views and a den/media room. All of the bedrooms have terraces.
The action director, 58, has worked on more than 350 films including “Blade: Trinity” (2004), “Gangs of New York” (2002), “Die Another Day” (2002) and “Entrapment” (1999). In 2001, he won an Academy Award for science and technology. Soon after, he was given a lifetime achievement award by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. He’s known for work on the James Bond 007 franchise and Indiana Jones trilogy.
He met his wife, one of Europe’s leading stuntwomen, when they worked together on the movie “Superman” (1978).
Patricia Arcuri of Re/Max Beach Cities, Venice, is representing the Armstrongs, and Carl Williams of Sotheby’s International Realty, Sunset, has the listing.
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Software creator to exit Brentwood
Ryan Scott, who created software for PostMaster Direct in 1995 at age 24 and co-founded NetCreations to develop PostMaster Direct, has listed his Brentwood home at $5.9 million. Scott bought a larger home in Beverly Hills for his expanding family.
The Brentwood home has five bedrooms and six bathrooms in about 5,000 square feet. The updated house, built in 1953, also has a two-story living room, a lagoon pool with a waterfall, and a long driveway. The home is on just under an acre, behind gates.
Scott helped take the e-mail marketing service public without venture capital. Shortly afterward, an international conglomerate bought his company. Scott now lives in Beverly Hills and writes software, music and video games.
Margie Oswald and Michael Eisenberg at Coldwell Banker Previews, Beverly Hills South, have the listing.
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To see previous columns on celebrity transactions visit latimes.com/hotproperty.
