24 Years of Hot Property: The Ruth Ryon era

A star makes his move

Arnold Schwarzenegger first made Hot Property in 1986, when he was developing a $10-million commercial and residential complex on Main Street in Venice. In the 1990s, he was a regular in the column as he and wife Maria Shriver amassed a compound of homes in the Pacific Palisades. In May of 2002, Ruth Ryon reported: “Arnold Schwarzenegger has purchased a newly built home in a guard-gated Brentwood community for close to its $11.9-million asking price…” The governor and his wife are shown here with their son, Christopher.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

The savvy investor

In December 2007, Ruth Ryon reported, “When lean times come to the housing market, even the rich and famous can feel the pinch. Consider Nicolas Cage. The Oscar-winning actor paid $7 million for his Bel-Air mansion in 1998. Then, in autumn 2006, he listed it at $35 million. Local Realtors termed the house overpriced, but Cage, a savvy investor, held tight. Finally, earlier this month, he took the property off the market.”  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The material girl

One who appreciated Keaton’s love of houses: Madonna (shown here with her then-boyfriend and now husband, Guy Ritchie). On June 22, 2000, Hot Property reported, “Diane Keaton has sold her Beverly Hills home to Madonna for $6.5 million. … After buying the Spanish-style house, built in the 1920s, Keaton completely refurbished it. The home has about eight bedrooms and a guest house in 7,000 square feet.  (Dave Allocca / Associated Press / DMI)

The builder

When a celebrity builds an outsized dream house, Hot Property usually takes notice. But then there was Cher, who built one huge dream home after another, sometimes more than one at a time. In one dizzying item in November 1997, Ruth Ryon reported that Cher had recently built an 18,000-square-foot villa near Miami, had bought a nearby site for a more private 20,000-square-foot house, and had also broken ground on a 15,000-plus-square-foot compound in Malibu. That’s 53,000 square feet of Cher lair, if you are counting.  (Michael Levine / Associated Press)

The Pink Palace

Another Los Angeles home with a rich history: once owned by singer Rudy Vallee, then by actress Jayne Mansfield, later by singer Engelbert Humperdinck, the home was known for its heart-shaped swimming pool and vibrant pink paint job. In January 1990, Ruth Ryon reported that Humperdinck had listed the Holmby Hills home at $8 million: “The eight-bedroom, nine-bath mansion on 1.25 acres became known as the ‘Pink Palace’ after Mansfield, a platinum-blond actress, painted it her trademark color in the ‘60s.”  (Bob Carey / Los Angeles Times)

The British are coming

Though Los Angeles is home to countless celebrities, the city’s real estate community was unusually star-struck by the house-hunting spree of British soccer star David Beckham and his wife Victoria. In February 2007, Ruth Ryon wrote, “…the famous couple’s efforts to find a place to live are the talk of the realty world. By some accounts, the Beckhams looked at more than 20 homes before returning to London. What did they see? Just about every Westside estate listed in the $18-million-to-$30-million range.” In May of 2007, Ryon reported that the Beckham’s had purchased a 13,000-square-foot home in Beverly Hills for $22 million.  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Ocean views for the ultimate Laker

For 24 years, Ruth Ryon’s column was a weekly menu of scoops and exclusives, like this item from November 2007: “It took a year to find it, but L.A. Lakers legend Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson and his wife, Cookie, have purchased what they call their ‘vacation home’ in time for Thanksgiving. And they found the $7.6-million home in Orange County. The couple, who live in the Beverly Hills area, bought a newly built home in a gated community with a private beach, located between a cove and a five-star hotel.”  (Gus Ruelas / Associated Press)

What was lost

Hot Property is usually as cheerful as Sunday morning brunch, but from time to time reality creeps in, as it did in January, when Ruth Ryon wrote, “At first glance, it looked like a typical holiday photo card sent out by actress-entrepreneur Suzanne Somers, her husband, producer Alan Hamel, and their family. But the rubble pile behind them in the photo was the couple’s former Malibu home, burned to the ground by a brush fire in January 2007.”  (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

The King takes charge

When Ruth Ryon tried to interview CNN talk-show host Larry King in March 2007 about his new Beverly Hills home (9,500 square feet, $12 million), King turned the tables and took over the interview, questioning his wife, Shawn Southwick:

“From seeing to buying, how long did it take?” King prompted his wife.

“Two days,” she replied.   (CNN via PBS / Associated Press)

Watching stars rise

Hot Property is about real estate, but you could also read the column to watch Hollywood stars rise, often ascending to Beverly Hills. In December 1999, Ruth Ryon reported, “Denzel Washington, who stars in the upcoming movie ‘The Hurricane,’ and his wife, singer-pianist Pauletta Pearson, have put their Toluca Lake home of about seven years on the market at just under $2 million. Designed by architect Paul Williams and built in 1940, the traditional-style home has five bedrooms, a guest cottage and a pool with a cabana.”  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Watching stars rise, continued

When she reported that Denzel Washington was selling his Toluca Lake home in 1999, Ruth Ryon included the key detail we were all looking for: “The couple and their four children have moved in to a newly built home in a gated Beverly Hills-area community.”  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)