A dream vibe on the Westside
It all started in Seattle, singing in a gospel quartet when he was 12, playing trumpet and French horn when he was 15.
Quincy Jones, multitalented musician and composer, film and TV producer and recipient of nearly 80 Grammy Award nominations, has sold his longtime Bel-Air home for close to its $5.4-million asking price.
The 72-year-old icon -- who was involved in the careers of and arranged music for such entertainers as Peggy Lee, Ray Charles, Tony Bennett, Andy Williams and Sarah Vaughan -- had owned the house for about 20 years. He bought it after singer Julio Iglesias made it famous in his 1984 album, “1100 Bel Air Place.” Iglesias was a tenant in the home at one time.
The three-story wood-and-brick house has six bedrooms and 8 1/2 bathrooms in 5,500 square feet. Built in 1948, the property is walled and gated. It has a library that once held considerable memorabilia, a family room with a fireplace, a large kitchen with a wood-beam ceiling and a pool. The master suite has city views and his-and-her bathrooms.
Jones has moved to his dream home -- a 25,000- to 30,000-square-foot compound that he had built on the Westside. It took years for him to acquire the adjoining parcels he needed to create the estate. The compound has a screening room, a recording studio, offices, guest suites for his friends, a tennis court, a pool, city-to-ocean views and a private gated driveway. The estate is on a private street.
The groundbreaking recording artist, who in his younger years played with Lionel Hampton’s orchestra and other big bands, has composed the scores to 33 films. Winner of 26 Grammys, an Emmy for the score for “Roots” and seven Oscars, he has produced dozens of platinum albums and a number of TV series, including “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” (1990-96). He is founder and chairman of Vibe magazine and, in 1990, was awarded France’s Legion of Honor.
Listing agents Stephen and Max Shapiro, both with Westside Estate Agency, Beverly Hills, declined to comment on the sale.
8 simple rules for
move to Wilshire
It’s all in the family -- Bob Newhart’s first TV family, anyway. Actress Suzanne Pleshette and her husband, actor Tom Poston, have sold their 14th-floor condo in West L.A. for slightly more than its $1.7-million asking price. The sale included a guest-staff studio on the first floor of the high-rise. The studio has a small kitchen, a walk-in cedar closet, a patio and a bathroom, redone in marble.
The 2,500-square-foot condo has two bedrooms and three bathrooms. There are city views, a fireplace in the living room and a den that has a built-in bar and bookshelves. The master bedroom suite has his-and-her dressing rooms and bathrooms.
The 92-unit, full-service building was constructed in 1964. Among the common amenities are tennis courts, a sun deck, a concierge, an exercise room, a controlled-access elevator and valet parking. A pool is on the roof, next to a recently completed party room.
The buyer is Patrick Oloughlin, an investment banker and hotelier who runs the Coast Inn in Laguna Beach and its nightclub, the Boom Boom Room.
Pleshette and Poston are moving to the Wilshire Corridor to be closer to their off-screen family. The couple, married in May 2001, both appeared on “The Bob Newhart Show” on CBS (1972-78). Poston portrayed Newhart’s college chum. Pleshette, who played Newhart’s wife, reprised her role for a cameo in the last episode of Newhart’s second hit series on CBS (1982-90).
More recently, Pleshette, 68, has appeared on the sitcoms “Will and Grace” and “Good Morning, Miami.” She also played the mother of Katey Sagal’s character on “8 Simple Rules.”
Poston, 83, played Lord Palimore in the movie “Princess Diaries 2: The Royal Engagement” (2004) and was cast opposite Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis in the comedy film “Christmas With the Kranks” (2004).
Jeffrey J. Hobgood of Sotheby’s International Realty, Beverly Hills, represented the buyer. Judy Feder of Nourmand & Associates, Beverly Hills, had the listing.
His new beat: the
Hollywood Hills
DJ Lethal, the 32-year-old member of the rap-rock band Limp Bizkit and formerly a DJ and beat producer with the rap group House of Pain, has sold his Sherman Oaks home for $1.65 million and bought a smaller Hollywood Hills residence for just under $1.4 million. He downsized for lower maintenance.
Lethal, also known as Leor Dimant, bought the Sherman Oaks home in December 2003, for nearly its asking price of $1.4 million. The home, built in 1962, has four bedrooms and 4 1/2 bathrooms in 3,700 square feet. The grounds have a koi pond, a waterfall, a fire pit and a pool.
He purchased a three-bedroom, two-bath house. The 2,100-square-foot home, built in 1926, is a sleek contemporary remodel with stainless-steel kitchen appliances, retractable awnings, designer glass tile, a pool and a spa.
Lethal was one of the DJs at this spring’s Cinco de Mayo blowout at La Velvet Margarita in Hollywood, hosted by Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson and Carmen Electra.
Todd Marks of Prudential John Aaroe, Beverly Hills, had the listing on the house Lethal sold.
Making a stand for a shorter commute
Murray Wishengrad, co-founder of the hot new hamburger-hot dog restaurant the Stand, is tired of commuting to his eatery in Encino from his home in Newport Beach.
“It’s time for a lifestyle change,” he said. Wishengrad and his wife, Sue, plan to buy a house or condo in West L.A., where they will be closer to their restaurants when they open in Culver City, Century City, Hollywood and other L.A. areas. The couple have lived in Newport Beach for 30 years.
Wishengrad was once the owner-operator of a Dollar Rent a Car with more than 30 locations. His wife, an interior designer who appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” to discuss her work on the home of model-actress-hip-hop star Tyrese Gibson, plans to focus more on acting when they move. She has had a recurring role on the CBS daytime drama “The Young and the Restless.”
The couple listed their home of 10 years at just under $3 million. The house, in a gated community, has five bedrooms and 5 1/2 bathrooms in 4,600 square feet. Built in 1983, the house has vaulted ceilings, a grand staircase, wood floors and French doors. There are built-in bookcases in the family room and library, and there is a retreat in the master bedroom, which has a canyon view. The home has a courtyard with an English garden and a spa.
Cathy Kroopf of Prudential California Realty, Newport Beach, has the listing.
From old glamour to a new estate
Developer John Bersci, who restored the former Beverly Hills home of silent-film star Buster Keaton, has sold his first newly built estate for $15 million.
The Mediterranean-style villa has eight bedrooms and 11 bathrooms in 16,000 square feet. It fronts the golf course at the Bel-Air Country Club.
After refurbishing the 10,000-square-foot home that in 1926 was built for Keaton, Bersci sold it in 2002 for about $20 million. Other owners of the house have included actor Cary Grant and his second wife, heiress Barbara Hutton; and actor James Mason and his wife, actress-writer Pamela, who lived there from the late ‘40s until she died in 1996.
Loren Judd and Kurt Rappaport of Westside Estate Agency, Beverly Hills, had the listing on the Bel-Air home.
To see previous columns on celebrity realty transactions visit latimes.com/hotproperty.
