Cozy Home for Single ‘Father’
STEVE MARTIN, who stars in the upcoming sequel to his hit film “Father of the Bride” and wrote the play “Picasso at the Lapine Agile” on stage through March 26 at the Westwood Playhouse--has purchased a house in the Beverly Hills area for about $3 million, sources say.
Martin bought a nearly 10,000-square-foot English Country-style house on about an acre, sources say. The home has been described as “cozy and charming.”
One of Hollywood’s most popular stars, Martin, who is in his late 40s, started out as a stand-up comic and was known in the ‘70s as a “Wild and Crazy Guy” on “Saturday Night Live,” which he periodically guest hosted.
He went on to star in prime-time network specials as well as in films, which he also sometimes wrote and produced. Most recently, he starred as the head of a suicide hot line in the Nora Ephron-directed black comedy “Mixed Nuts,” released in December.
“Father of the Bride 2,” due to be wrapped this month and released in November, is a remake of “Father’s Little Dividend” (1951), starring Spencer Tracy in the role now being played by Martin.
Martin was recently divorced from British actress Victoria Tennant, to whom he was married nearly seven years and with whom he co-starred in the film “L.A. Story” (1991).
Oscar-winning screenwriter and novelist WILLIAM BLATTY, who wrote “The Exorcist,” has put his Hidden Hills home on the market at $3.5 million. “We’re moving to Santa Barbara,” he said. “I just finished building a house on some property I bought there some years back.”
The Hidden Hills home where Blatty and his family have lived for the past 2 1/2 years is the same size as his new house: seven bedrooms in about 8,000 square feet.
Blatty and his wife, Julie, have two young children, who are being home-schooled. “And we have my two teen-agers here on a fairly regular basis. So we need the space,” he added.
Built about 20 years ago, the Hidden Hills house, on three acres, was remodeled by Blatty at a cost, he estimated, of $1.2 million. “I’m selling it for what I have in it,” he said.
It has a tennis court, sauna, gym and pool with waterfalls. There’s also equestrian facilities, including stables, a riding ring, warming circle, washing down area and tack room. Blatty doesn’t own any horses but boards some. “So we have the fun without the bother,” he said.
His Santa Barbara home, which looks something like a Spanish mission, is in the shape of a cross at the top of a canyon with a 360-degree ocean view. “We call it Elsewhere,” he said.
The Hidden Hills house, also for lease at $12,000 a month, is co-listed with Kay Cole and Sarah Campbell, both of Prudential Rodeo Realty, Woodland Hills.
BEN STILLER, director and co-star of the 1994 film “Reality Bites,” has leased a Hollywood penthouse owned by Bruce Beresford, director of “Driving Miss Daisy” (1989), sources say.
Stiller had been looking for a place to buy here and in New York City. “He’s undecided about where he’ll end up,” a source said.
Built in the 1920s, the penthouse has three bedrooms and three baths in 2,200 square feet.
Stiller, son of actors/comedians Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, leased the penthouse, which has city views, for about a year at close to its $3,500-a-month asking price, sources say.
Ed Fitz with Nourmand & Associates, Beverly Hills, represented Stiller in the lease transaction, and Isabelle Chanin with Jon Douglas Co., Beverly Hills, represented Beresford.
The Brentwood house that NICOLE BROWN SIMPSON leased after she was separated from O.J. Simpson and before she bought the condo where she was murdered is for sale at nearly $1.3 million.
It is the site from where she made a 911 phone call to report the former football star for allegedly breaking down her door in October, 1993.
The five-bedroom, 3,500-square-foot house was built in 1991 by a businessman from Taiwan, who had planned to live there but moved back to Taiwan instead. The home has a pool and a guest house. It is listed with Lori Orston with Gilleran Griffin in Brentwood.
RONALD D. MOORE, writer for the recently released film “Star Trek: Generations” and a supervising producer for the syndicated TV series “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” has purchased a Glendale home for a bit more than $800,000, sources say.
Recently restored, the 4,500-square-foot-plus house was built in 1927 and has four bedrooms, five baths, three fireplaces and city views. Barbara Farris of Dorn-Platz & Co., Glendale, represented Moore.
