The Sax Man and the Sea
Grammy award-winning saxophonist and songwriter KENNY G and his wife, Lyndie Benson, have purchased a home in Malibu for $12.5 million, sources say.
The musician, who has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide and has been hailed as the No. 1 instrumentalist ever on the music charts, is known for such laid-back hits as “Songbird,” “Silhouette” and “Sentimental.”
He won a Grammy for best instrumental composition for “Forever in Love” in 1994.
His first album was produced in 1982 after Kenny, now 41, graduated magna cum laude in accounting from the University of Washington. He recently entered the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest-held note, an E flat sustained for 45 minutes and 47 seconds.
He and his wife bought a Cape Cod-style home with six bedrooms and 9 1/2 baths. The home, built in 1991, also has two guest houses, a gym, a movie theater and six fireplaces on almost two acres. The asking price was $14 million.
The couple, who were married in 1992 and have two children, also have homes in Benedict Canyon and in his native Seattle area. Their 12,200-square-foot waterfront home near Seattle is on the market at $26.5 million.
Barbara Robinson of DBL Realtors, Beverly Hills, represented Kenny G and his wife in buying the Malibu home, and June Scott of June Scott Estates, a Coldwell Banker-Jon Douglas Co., had the listing.
The SULTAN OF BRUNEI, who has been battling a fall in oil prices as well as a family feud, has put two of his Southern California homes on the market, sources say. One, in Bel-Air, is listed at $16.8 million; the other, in the Beverly Hills area, is listed at $12.8 million.
The Bel-Air home is on 1.7 acres and has 10 bedrooms, including three bedroom suites and a two-story guest house. The other house, on two acres, has seven bedrooms. Both have city views.
The sultan, in his early 50s, was the richest man in the world until he recently took second place to Microsoft Chairman and CEO Bill Gates.
In July, the sultan’s investment agencies, one of which owns the Beverly Hills Hotel, reported huge losses, caused in large part by a drop in oil prices, sources say. Auditors are studying the losses, which could be billions of dollars.
The family feud involves the sultan’s brother, Prince Jefri, 44, and his excessive spending, sources have said.
Actor ENRICO COLANTONI, a regular on NBC’s “Just Shoot Me,” and his wife, Nancy, have purchased a home in Valley Village, just north of Studio City. The couple bought a three-bedroom 2,400-square-foot house, built in 1936, for about $560,000.
Before joining “Just Shoot Me” as photographer Elliott DiMauro, Colantoni played Louis Utz in the series “Hope & Gloria” and appeared on such other TV shows as “NYPD Blue” and “Law & Order.” He was also in the 1995 movie “Money Train.”
His home purchase was handled by Fred Sands’ Studio City and Woodland Hills offices.
Bestselling author LARRY NIVEN, who has written numerous sci-fi novels, including the classic “Ringworld” series, and his wife, Marilyn, have listed their Tarzana house at $679,000.
The house has five bedrooms, four baths and a breakfast room in slightly more than 4,000 square feet. Custom built for the couple in 1971, the home also has a pool, spa, sauna and views of the adjoining Braemar Country Club golf course.
The Nivens decided to sell the house because they bought a new, larger home in Chatsworth, sources say.
Niven, 60, has won the Hugo and Nebula awards for his science fiction. Among his many works are “Destiny’s Road” (1997), “Inconstant Moon” and “Neutron Star.”
Bob and Temmy Walker of Coldwell Banker-Jon Douglas Co., Woodland Hills, have the listing.
Billionaire financier KIRK KERKORIAN, majority shareholder of MGM, has purchased a Beverly Hills lot, a bit more than an acre, for $3.5 million, sources say.
The lot was described as being part of the garden of the late Eddie Cantor’s Benedict Canyon estate.
In June, Kerkorian, 81, listed the bulk of his nearby 31-acre estate at $13 million.
Raymond Bekeris of John Bruce Nelson & Associates represented Kerkorian in his purchase.
The Bel-Air home of late composer-conductor NELSON RIDDLE has come on the market at just under $1.5 million.
Riddle was known for his musical arrangements for Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Nat “King” Cole and Linda Ronstadt. He won a Grammy for Ronstadt’s “What’s New” album and an Oscar for music adaptation for the score of “The Great Gatsby.” He died at 64 in 1985.
His wife, Naomi, died a few months ago. The couple had owned the home since the early 1970s. They bought it shortly after they were married.
Built in 1963, the Japanese-style house has a blue-tile roof; three bedrooms, a music or family room; living room with fireplace; and a den, in about 3,000 square feet. The home also has a pool, spa and orchard as well as mountain and city views.
Funds from the sale of the house will go to the music department at the University of Arizona to set up a chair in Nelson Riddle’s honor.
The home is listed by Kay Pick and Mike Silverman of Mike Silverman Estates, a Coldwell Banker-Jon Douglas Co., Beverly Hills.
Emmy Award-winning director MICHAEL LEMBECK and his wife, actress LORNA PATTERSON, have purchased a home in Malibu for close to its $2.7-million asking price, sources say.
Lembeck, 50, who won an Emmy for directing “Friends,” is scheduled to direct upcoming TV episodes of “Mad About You,” “Encore! Encore!” (Nathan Lane’s new sitcom), “Veronica’s Closet” and a “Friends” episode.
The couple rented their Malibu home for a year before buying it. Built about four years ago, the Spanish-style house has four bedrooms in about 4,000 square feet.
Caroline Lembeck of John Aaroe & Associates, Beverly Hills, represented her son and his wife in their purchase. Paul Randall of Coldwell Banker-Jon Douglas Co., Malibu, had the listing.
