Malcolm in the middle of selling

Frankie Muniz, star of the Fox sitcom “Malcolm in the Middle,” has put one of his two Westside homes on the market at about $4.6 million.

Muniz, 19, wound up with two homes in the same neighborhood last year after an open house sign sparked his interest. Curious, he went inside.

What he saw was in stark contrast to the Old World Spanish villa he owns down the street. A ground-up renovation had turned this house, built in 1962, into a four-bedroom, five-bathroom contemporary with walls of glass, surround sound and a “fingerprint-recognition” front door. It was a house suited to agent Cody Banks, the spy character he played in two movies.

The home also had city-to-ocean views, a generous-sized pool, spa, an oversized master bedroom with a large walk-in closet, and an entertainer’s kitchen with top-of-the-line appliances. Muniz didn’t hesitate. He bought the house.

Two weeks after the purchase, he changed his mind. Soon he would be too busy to enjoy the newer house anyway. On May 9, filming begins on his teen horror movie “Stay Alive.”

Max Shapiro and Richard Ehrlich of Westside Estate Agency, Beverly Hills, have the listing.

Sale breaks the spell in Encino

Melissa Joan Hart, who signed in March to star in her first sitcom since “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch” aired in the late 1990s, and her husband, guitarist Mark Wilkerson, have sold their Encino estate for about $3.2 million.

They decided to downsize and are moving to a smaller home in Sherman Oaks while maintaining a retreat at Lake Tahoe.

The house they sold has five bedrooms in 5,600 square feet. The home is on nearly an acre with a tennis court and a pool.

Hart, who turned 29 on April 18, starred in the “Witch” sitcom -- first on ABC, then on the WB -- and directed some of the episodes. When they married, she and Wilkerson were filmed for a six-part reality series on ABC Family. He is the lead singer and guitarist with the rock trio Course of Nature.

Hart has signed to star in the Fox pilot for “Dirtbags,” a sitcom. She will play Kate in the show, which will follow the exploits of thirtysomething pals in blue-collar Boston.

Matt Epstein of Re/Max on the Blvd., Sherman Oaks, represented the couple in selling their home.

Pickfair neighbor jumps the fence

Pickfair, built on the site of the legendary Beverly Hills estate of early Hollywood stars Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, has been sold for close to its $20-million asking price.

The property, once 15 acres, has been subdivided over the years and now consists of 2.23 acres. The former 1919 hunting lodge, transformed in 1932 by architect Wallace Neff into an elegant Georgian-style home, was rebuilt almost entirely in 1994 by its sellers, businessman Meshulam Riklis and actress Pia Zadora.

A neighbor purchased the 15-bedroom, 26,000-square-foot mansion. Barbara Duskin and Ron de Salvo, both of Coldwell Banker, Beverly Hills North, had the listing.

Make a pitch for Palisades home

Kazuhisa Ishii, a former pitcher for the Dodgers who was recently traded to the New York Mets, and his wife, Ayako, have listed their Pacific Palisades home at $4.9 million.

The Tuscan-style villa has six bedrooms and 5 1/2

bathrooms in about 6,300 square feet. There are greenbelt and ocean views from almost every room. The house was built in 2002. It also has a media room with a full bar, a gym, two fireplaces, a waterfall, a spa and a pool.

The Mets traded catcher Jason Phillips for the Dodger pitcher to fill the void that developed when Steve Trachsel suffered a back injury this spring.

Ishii, 31, reportedly will make $3.2 million this year with an option for 2006 that can be bought out for $2.2 million. Phillips is expected to earn $339,000 this season.

Ishii will replace Trachsel in the Mets rotation.

Sally Forster Jones of Coldwell Banker, Beverly Hills East, has the listing.

Stagecoach stop goes on the block

The historic Butterfield-Havilah Stagecoach House, maintained as a private residence, is on the market at $759,000 in the Antelope Valley town of Little Rock.

The home served as a stagecoach stop for the Butterfield Overland Stage Co. from 1870, when it was built, until 1890. It was a community meeting hall until 1900, when it became the primary residence of a Chicago businessman.

The recently restored Victorian has four bedrooms and two bathrooms in 3,000-plus square feet. It has its original hardwood floors, granite walls and a wood-burning fireplace as well as such updates as central air conditioning. A piano dating from 1870 is included.

The home is on slightly more than an acre and has a six-stall breezeway barn with runs, a tack room and a turnout; a duck/hen house, a koi pond, waterfalls, 100-year-old palm trees and a cellar.

It is a registered historical landmark.

Michael Rogers of Keller Williams Realty, Northridge, and Victoria Szuch of the firm in Palmdale share the listing.

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