Shannen Doherty lists her Malibu home at $4 million
Actress Shannen Doherty (“Beverly Hills 90210”) has put her Malibu 90265 home on the market at $4 million.
The gated contemporary, built in 1976, has five bedrooms and 4 1/2 bathrooms in 3,410 square feet. Set back from a private street by a long driveway, the house sits on more than an acre of landscaped grounds with ocean views, mature trees, a swimming pool, a spa and an expansive patio.
Inside, an open floor plan, high pitched ceilings, terra-cotta pavers and skylights create a casual, beach vibe. A dramatic fireplace is flanked by picture windows in the sunken living room. The master bedroom suite has a corner fireplace, a wood-beamed ceiling and views of the Pacific.
Doherty, 38, bought the two-story home in 2004 for $2.56 million after portraying one of the witchy Halliwell sisters for three seasons on the WB’s “Charmed” (1998-2006). She played teenage twin Brenda Walsh on the first four seasons of Fox hit drama “Beverly Hills 90210” (1990-2000) and has returned in the role of successful, grown-up actress Walsh on the CW’s “90210” (2008-09).
She had listed the home in April of last year at $4.4 million but subsequently withdrew it. Doherty is selling because she plans to spend more time in New York, according to her listing agent, Robert Radcliffe of the Radcliffe Group, Sotheby’s International Realty, Pacific Palisades.
Madonna chose the colors here
Castillo del Lago is a Hollywood-inspired mansion that over the years has become part of L.A.’s folklore.
“It’s a magical house, almost like a fairy-tale place,” said owner Joe Pytka. The filmmaker and prolific commercial director spent 15 years restoring the rambling Mediterranean on about 3 acres of hillside above Lake Hollywood.
Recently listed for sale at $14.95 million, the fortress-like estate has 300-degree views encompassing the L.A. basin, downtown L.A., the mid-Wilshire area and the ocean. “It’s an isolated and a huge property in the middle of Hollywood,” he said.
There are nine bedrooms and six bathrooms in 7,783 square feet and such amenities as 25-foot-high beamed and coffered ceilings, a wine cellar, an elevator, a swimming pool, rose gardens, fountains and, befitting a castle, even a tower.
The uncompromising John DeLario-designed structure -- built in 1926 for an oilman who invested $250,000 in the project -- “very much reflects the times of the original architecture,” Pytka said.
Under a succession of owners, the place was leased to Bugsy Siegel for use as a speak-easy, damaged by fire and sold for back taxes. It alternately deteriorated and underwent restoration efforts.
When Pytka bought the mansion from pop music icon Madonna in the mid-’90s for roughly $5 million, he considered it a standout compared with what else was on the market. “Nothing was remotely close.”
Under her ownership, the house gained its notable red-and-yellow exterior. Although Pytka researched the home’s history and looked at the original color, he opted to keep Madonna’s color scheme.
“If you go to Portofino, [Italy] there are houses like this all over the place,” he said. “It’s fabulous.”
What he didn’t like about the property, however, he changed. He redid the master bathroom’s fake Moroccan tile with authentic tile, relandscaped the gardens and replaced flooring and lighting fixtures.
Madonna had cut off a third of the master bedroom for a shoe closet. “I made the whole floor into one big gallery that leads up to the tower,” Pytka said.
Now that the Castillo del Lago restoration is complete, he’ll be moving into Taggart House, a 1922 Lloyd Wright-designed residence he has spent five years restoring.
His daughters are grown up, and he finds the castle too large for someone living alone. “I feel like the beast in ‘Beauty and the Beast’ in the house,” he said, later adding, “It’s a house that has to be full of people.”
Although Pytka is known for directing thousands of commercials and many memorable branding campaigns -- “This Is Your Brain on Drugs,” “Nothing but Net” -- he said the most rewarding piece of work he has done was a video called “Free as a Bird” for a mid-’90s Beatles anthology. He had access to the Beatles material and, he said, witnessed “their genius up close.”
Barry Peele of Sotheby’s International Realty, Beverly Hills, has the listing.
Aspiring writers should take note
Writer-director-producer Aaron Seltzer has listed his Studio City home for $2,949,000.
The Cape Cod house, built in 1951, contains five bedrooms and 5 1/2 bathrooms in about 4,200 square feet. It sits on a cul-de-sac and has a saltwater pool and cabana. There is a sun room with walls of French doors.
Apparently the home comes with a writing muse.
Seltzer worked as a writer, director and producer of “Disaster Movie” (2008) and “Meet the Spartans” (2008). He has been a co-writer on the “Scary Movie” film series.
The home was previously owned by the late Arthur Ross, whose writing credits include “The Great Race” (1965) and “Creature From the Black Lagoon” (1954). His son Gary Ross, who wrote and directed “Seabiscuit” (2003) and “Pleasantville” (1998), grew up in the home.
The listing agent is Sharona Alperin, Sotheby’s International Realty, Sunset Boulevard.
A penalty box is not included
The Manhattan Beach town house of L.A. Kings defenseman Tom Preissing is on the market at $2.15 million.
The Spanish-style home, with four bedrooms and 3 1/2 bathrooms in 2,660 square feet, sits about two blocks from the water. There are ocean views from the kitchen, dining room, living room and decks. Built in 2006, the house has distressed plaster, rustic Spanish-style tile and French doors.
Preissing, 30, was the National Hockey League’s 2004 rookie of the year with the San Jose Sharks. He played with the Ottawa Senators before signing with the Kings in 2007 as a free agent.
Ed Kaminsky of Shorewood Realtors, Manhattan Beach, has the listing.
Finally out of daddy’s house
Reality television actresses Vanessa and Angela Simmons have leased a Beverly Hills Post Office-area house for about $10,000 a month.
The pair is working on a spinoff of MTV’s “Run’s House” called “Daddy’s Girls” and plans to film on the 1.6-acre gated property as well as live there.
“Run’s House” (2005-09) looks at the life of Joseph Simmons, a member of the rap group Run-DMC and a minister, as he and his wife raise their children. A recent “Daddy’s Girls” episode called “Keepin’ It Real Estate” centered on the two eldest Simmons siblings house-hunting in the L.A. area.
The two-story home they leased, built in 1961, has six bedrooms and five bathrooms in about 6,000 square feet of living space. There are high ceilings, a see-through fireplace and canyon and mountain views. A swimming pool sits away from the street. The detached guesthouse has one bedroom and a bathroom.
Iraj Kapanpour of Prudential California Realty, Sherman Oaks, had the listing. Luis Pezzini of Sunset Strip Realty, West Hollywood, represented the sisters.
