Her luggage and her lips are zipped
Ellen DeGeneres isn’t all talk when it comes to buying and selling real estate.
Word is coming from the closest observers of a done deal -- the neighbors -- that she bought a compound for $15 million plus a fixer next door for a total of $22 million. It’s the Sunset Strip version of a neighborhood watch. And she closed escrow in five days, according to real estate agents not involved in the deal.
The compound is a modern California hacienda. It is situated on 1 acre and has sweeping views from downtown to the ocean. There is a long gated driveway.
The main house was designed for everyday living. The second building is for entertaining and has guest facilities. There are four bedrooms and five bathrooms in the compound, which also has a large pool and a terrace.
The real estate-minded comic is starting to sell some parcels she owns and is re-listing her 2-acre-plus Hollywood Hills compound, which she had on the market in June at $12.95 million.
When she first listed the contemporary compound, DeGeneres indicated that she wanted to sell so she could move on to explore different kinds of architecture.
DeGeneres, 47, won two Daytime Emmys in May, one for best talk-show host, the second for her syndicated “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”
She and actress Portia De Rossi, a star of the TV series “Arrested Development” and “Ally McBeal,” are partners.
Santa Barbara is her new haunt
Cassandra Peterson, a.k.a. Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, is pulling up stakes after 11 years and moving to Santa Barbara. She listed her Los Feliz Oaks home at $2.9 million.
The traditional-style house, built in 1939 on a private, gated street, was in the news when February’s torrential rainstorms left the yard and basement under a foot of water.
Peterson, in her mid-50s, had the water pumped out and said the city had agreed to correct the flooding problem in 2006. It was caused by improper grading and drainage of the street, Peterson said.
The house has three bedrooms and 3 1/2 bathrooms plus maid’s quarters in about 3,800 square feet. There is a wood-paneled den with a secret bar.
The home also has a large office with a separate entrance, as well as a pool, a spa and a playhouse.
Howard Stevens and Shyrl Lorino of Coldwell Banker, Los Feliz, have the listing.
NBA star makes a Westside move
Carlos Boozer of the Utah Jazz has purchased a 5,600-square-foot home with 10 bedrooms and 13 bathrooms on about an acre on the Westside for $8.6 million.
The basketball star, who turns 24 today, joined the Jazz in 2004. Earlier this month, he was put on the injured list amid reports he wanted out. Boozer has a five-year, $60-million deal with Utah, but reportedly neither he nor his wife, CeCe, has been thrilled with living in Salt Lake City.
The Los Angeles home Boozer bought has a long private driveway; walls of glass; panoramic views; a 30-foot ceiling in the living room; a large master-bedroom suite with a projection screen; an elevator; indoor racquetball court; tennis court; pool; spa; and two-story, five-bedroom guesthouse.
Bids open on old Barrymore place
A traditional-style home built in the ‘30s for film actor John Barrymore is on the market in the Sunset Strip area at close to $5.2 million.
The house has six bedrooms and six bathrooms in nearly 6,000 square feet. The grounds are manicured, and there is a pool area with a deck. Barrymore’s pub room has been left intact with a flip-top bar and bathroom.
L.A.-based furniture designer Charles Fradin restored the house and expanded it by 3,000 square feet. The Fradin family has lived there for nearly eight years. They have purchased another property in the area with room for a tennis court.
Michael Eisenberg of Coldwell Banker, Beverly Hills South, has the listing.
To see previous columns on celebrity transactions visit latimes.com/hotproperty.
