Leona Lewis leases home in Hollywood Hills
You might say the “Spirit” led her to L.A.
British singer Leona Lewis, whose album “Spirit” premiered in North America at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 last year, is making her U.S. base of operations in the Hollywood Hills. That’s where she has leased a sleek contemporary listed for almost $9,000 a month.
Designed for entertaining, the furnished two-bedroom, two-bathroom house has an open living room, dining room and kitchen with glass doors opening to the backyard. The palm tree-lined outdoor living space includes a plasma TV and a dining and bar area. Stone decks surround the swimming pool.
Lewis was nominated for the 2009 best pop album Grammy Award. She also was nominated for best female pop vocal performance for the hit single “Bleeding Love.”
The 24-year-old was the 2006 winner of the U.K. talent competition show “The X Factor.” Show creator Simon Cowell, also the flame-throwing judge on “American Idol,” became her mentor and worked with her on the global launch of the album.
While in Los Angeles, she should have time to focus on her next album as the lease includes maid, gardening and pool services.
The listing agent was Alexis Valentin, Sotheby’s International Realty, Beverly Hills.
Flea lists his Malibu home
Bass guitar player Michael Balzary, better known to fans as Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, has listed his bluff-top Malibu home at $13,676,000.
With unobstructed ocean, coastline and beach views, the four-bedroom, four-bathroom house sits on two flat acres. A private road and staircase provide access to the water. The property has expansive lawns, mature trees, two guesthouses and a spa surrounded by a wooden observation deck. There’s an outdoor living room, bar and dining area.
The house, built in 1980, has more than 2,700 square feet in an open floor plan. There are rough-hewn beamed ceilings and walls of glass. Guitars cover a wall in the music room in a photo at the home’s website. Another shot of the grounds provides a glimpse of Flea’s VW van -- perfect for a surfer.
“It’s the beautifulest residence of mega-fun and peace,” the rocker said.
He bought the home in 2006 for $9.98 million, according to the Multiple Listing Service.
Flea, 46, will be moving to a Los Feliz home that he bought about a year ago and just finished restoring. But he likes having a place near the beach, his real estate agents said, and he owns another Malibu property where he will be building a house.
He is a founding member of the six-time Grammy-winning band, which has produced nine studio albums since it formed in 1983 and has sold millions of copies worldwide. In 2001, Flea co-founded the Silverlake Conservatory of Music, which supports affordable music education for children. A Lakers fan, he sang the national anthem and performed a guitar solo in mid-May at a home game.
Sherri Ann Rogers and Konstantine Valissarakos of Sotheby’s International Realty, Los Feliz, have the listing.
Star Trek actor sells 1912 home
Actor Connor Trinneer, the commander on the TV prequel “Star Trek: Enterprise,” and his wife, Ariana, have sold their Franklin Village Craftsman for $1.1 million.
The three-bedroom, 1 1/2 -bathroom home, built about 1912, has beamed and coffered ceilings, leaded glass, wainscoting, inglenooks and decorative metalwork. The walled and gated property has more than 2,000 square feet of living space. There are two porches, a detached art studio and hedges for privacy.
Trinneer, 40, played Charles “Trip” Tucker III on the series from 2001-05. More recently, he has had a recurring role on “Stargate Atlantis” (2006-08). This year he guest-starred on “24” and “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.”
The listing agent was Courtney Smith, Nourmand & Associates, Hollywood. Ron M. Wolotzky, Rodeo Realty, Beverly Hills, represented the buyer.
Heads up: The Eagle is selling
The Sunset Strip-area home of film and TV producer David Niven Jr. has come on the market at $5.75 million.
The contemporary Mediterranean, built in 1967, has six bedrooms and seven bathrooms in 6,600 square feet. There are high ceilings, crown molding, skylights, a library and treetop and city light views. The living room opens to a swimming pool, an outdoor entertainment area and rose gardens.
Niven, 66, has a dozen producing credits, including the 1976 classic “The Eagle Has Landed.” He is the former head of the William Morris Agency for Europe and the former head of production for Columbia Pictures and Paramount Pictures based in London. He played the British foreign minister in “Rush Hour 3” (2007). The eldest son of Academy Award-winning actor David Niven Sr., he is chairman emeritus of RADD, formerly known as Recording Artists, Actors and Athletes Against Drunk Driving, and founder and chairman of the bicycle safety group See a Child Save a Child.
Joyce Rey and Debra Smalley, both of Coldwell Banker, Beverly Hills, are the listing agents.
Villa was home of Powell, Lombard
A Spanish villa that silver-screen stars Carole Lombard and William Powell once called home has come on the market at $1,395,000 in L.A.’s Whitley Heights neighborhood.
Constructed by architect-builder Bruce McCaskill in 1926, the four-bedroom, 3 3/4 -bathroom house has been restored and qualifies for Mills Act property tax benefits. Classic details remain throughout the house, including original ironwork, vaulted ceilings in the foyer and a grand staircase.
The gated two-story home has 3,238 square feet of living space and views of the Hollywood Hills and the Hollywood sign.
Lombard and Powell were paired in the 1931 film “Man of the World.” They were married that same year and divorced two years later. In 1936, they worked together again in “My Man Godfrey,” for which Powell received one of his three Academy Award nominations.
The listing agent is Tim Swan, Prudential California Realty, Beverly Hills.
