Seeing Action in Beverly Hills
International action hero JACKIE CHAN, Asia’s No. 1 box-office draw and the most popular martial arts star in Hong Kong and Japan since Bruce Lee, has purchased a four-bedroom house in Beverly Hills for $3 million, sources say.
Chan, known for wittily choreographing and performing his own stunt work, stars in the action comedy-thriller “Rush Hour,” scheduled for release by New Line Cinema in September. The movie was filmed in Hong Kong and Los Angeles.
Chan, 44, appeared in “The Cannonball Run” (1980), starring Burt Reynolds, and he co-starred with Danny Aiello in “The Protector” (1985), but then he focused on acting and directing in Hong Kong until starring in “Rumble in the Bronx,” the top-grossing film its opening week in 1996.
The same year, Chan, also known in Asia as a pop recording star, signed with an L.A.-based talent agency. Since then, he has starred in “Jackie Chan’s First Strike” and “Mr. Nice Guy,” played himself in “An Alan Smithee Film: Burn, Hollywood, Burn” and appeared in a commercial for Mountain Dew.
The home Chan bought has four fireplaces, a pool, a five-car garage and a motor court, all behind gates. The house, which is nearly 7,000 square feet, was built in the late 1980s.
Carol Hurwitz of Hurwitz James Co. represented Chan in his purchase, according to sources not involved in the deal.
Elaine Young and Barbara Eisner of Dalton, Brown & Long had the listing with Elaine Dannenberg of John Aaroe & Associates, other sources also said.
Director-actor DAVID NELSON, older son of Ozzie and Harriet, and his wife, interior decorator Yvonne Nelson, have put their home in the Royal Oaks area of Encino on the market at slightly more than $1 million.
They’ve lived in the 3,000-square-foot house on a bit more than an acre for 17 years. They’re planning to move to Newport Beach, where they are building a house.
David Nelson, 61, appeared on his parents’ popular TV show, “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet,” which aired on ABC from 1952 to 1966.
He now directs TV commercials and promotional films through Casablanca Productions, which he heads. Casablanca is a division of Western Media International Corp.
Yvonne Nelson has designed the interiors of homes for a number of celebrities. She also designed the interiors of her Encino home.
The Cape Cod-style house has three fireplaces, including one in the entry, and a country decor with French doors overlooking a garden. Built in 1952, the house is reached by way of a private drive.
Connie Nelson of Coldwell Banker-Jon Douglas Co., Studio City, has the listing.
GEORGE SHAPIRO, Jerry Seinfeld’s personal manager and longtime executive producer of the outgoing NBC comedy, has purchased a home in Malibu for just under $5 million, sources say.
Built in the early 1990s, the three-story beachfront home has four bedrooms and a country kitchen in 5,000 square feet.
Movie producer ARNON MILCHAN, who heads Regency Enterprises, has purchased a Malibu home for $7.25 million, sources say. The asking price had been $8.75 million.
Milchan was executive producer of this year’s “City of Angels,” and he produced “Dangerous Beauty” (also 1998), “L.A. Confidential” (1997), “Devil’s Advocate” (1997), “The Mirror Has Two Faces” (1996), “The Client” (1994), “Under Siege” (1992) and “Pretty Woman” (1990).
Milchan owns the small record label Restless Records and made a bid last month to buy the independent label Trauma Records. He also made a bid in 1996 to buy MGM.
When he was in his early 30s, Milchan, now 53, started producing and financing films in his native Israel. One of his first movie hits in the United States was “The War of the Roses” (1989). He co-produced the ABC miniseries “Masada” with his then-partner Sydney Pollack in 1981.
He bought a five-bedroom, 4,500-square-foot house that was gutted and rebuilt in 1990, sources say. The beachfront home also has a pool.
ELISSA FLEISS, mother of former Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss, has listed her Los Feliz home of 30 years at $1.3 million.
Elissa Fleiss raised six children in the house and is divorced from Heidi’s father, pediatrician Dr. Paul Fleiss. Elissa Fleiss, who has a doctorate in nutrition and teaches biology, is also a nutritionist with a private practice that includes Hollywood personalities.
Built in 1930, the five-bedroom, 4,300-square-foot Spanish villa has a city-to-ocean view that can be seen from most of the 15 rooms, a source said. There is a three-story spiral staircase that leads to an observation tower.
The original stained glass and scenic murals have been preserved. There is also a koi grotto on the walled estate.
Nancy Sill of John Aaroe & Associates, Beverly Hills, has the listing.
A 10-acre estate in Montecito that was owned from 1923 until the mid-1940s by the Harvey family, known for operating Santa Fe Railroad dining cars and restaurants, has been put on the market at just under $4.8 million.
Called Arequipa, the property was named for a peaceful town in Peru that means “here rest.” There are a Craftsman-style main house and three guest houses on the property.
The home was built for Susan Wade, a member of a prominent Montecito family, and her husband, Capt. Pryce Mitchell, shortly after they were married in 1899. Her parents gave the couple the land as a wedding present.
A businessman who lives in Santa Monica owns the estate, which is listed with Rebecca Riskin of Village Properties Realtors, Montecito.