Got It for a Song? Well, Not Quite
Singer-songwriter Lionel Richie and his wife, Diane, have sold their Hollywood Hills home of a couple of years for $6.5 million and purchased a Beverly Hills house owned by Bijan, the fashion and fragrance mogul, for slightly less.
The Oscar- and Grammy-winner, 50, has been making a quiet comeback after taking some years off for personal reasons, including three throat operations.
Starting out as the lead singer for the Commodores, he became a superstar after he went solo. During the ‘80s, he co-wrote “We Are the World” with Michael Jackson, and he wrote the Oscar-winning theme from the movie “White Nights.” The song was “Say You, Say Me.”
He and his wife sold their Hollywood Hills home to a local businessman. The one-story, 6,000-square-foot main house has five bedrooms, a pool and city views. It also has a tennis court and guest house. The home was built in 1979.
The Richies bought a 12,600-square-foot, Italian palazzo-style home on an acre overlooking a golf course. Built in the 1920s, the house has a master suite with a sitting room and two bathrooms plus four family bedrooms and four staff rooms. The house also has hand-carved ceilings, Portuguese tiles and a large courtyard with a fountain.
Bijan, 58, had owned the house since early 1998. He never moved into it but had started refurbishing when he decided to test the market. He listed it in January.
The Richies were represented in their sale and purchase by Joyce Rey and Jade Mills of Coldwell Banker Previews, Beverly Hills. Rey and Bernice Gershon, of the same firm, had the listing on the house that the Richies purchased.
Jeff Hyland of Hilton & Hyland, Beverly Hills, represented the buyer of the Richies’ Hollywood Hills home.
The Brentwood home of the late Fred Zinnemann, who won Oscars for directing such movies as “From Here to Eternity” (1953) and “A Man for All Seasons” (1966), has been listed at just under $2.9 million.
Zinnemann, who died in 1997 at 89, also directed such classics as “High Noon” (1952), “Oklahoma!” (1955) and “The Day of the Jackal” (1973).
His son, Tim, now owns the home, which his father used when in Los Angeles. The elder Zinnemann died in London, where he had maintained his primary residence for more than 30 years.
The director bought the Brentwood home in the ‘50s. Built in 1937, the main house belonged to actress-director Ida Lupino during World War II. She designed the English pub in the home. The guest house was built in 1948.
Sharon Rubel and Dottie Meade of Coldwell Banker, Pacific Palisades, share the listing.
Benson Ford Jr., a great-grandson of auto pioneer Henry Ford and nephew of Henry Ford II, is planning to build a home on two lots in Dana Point.
Ford, in his late 40s, was renovating a house on one of the lots when he decided to buy the house next door to add to his estate. Escrow hasn’t closed yet on the house next door. The house he has been renovating was built as a motel.
Ford also has been building a retreat in an area of Key Largo, Fla., known as Ocean Reef. He bought a house there for $3.5 million, then tore it down to the sea wall. The house is about 17 feet from the ocean.
Now Ford is nearing completion on a 12,000-square-foot home with three bedrooms and maid’s quarters. The house has a three-story entrance behind iron gates. A $350,000 saltwater aquarium has been installed between the house and an enclosed pool with waterfalls and a spa.
Ford, whose main residence is in the Detroit area, plans to use the Florida house three months of the year, starting in September.
Aleck Dugally Co., a Beverly Hills-based architectural, design and project management company, is handling both the Dana Point and Key Largo homes.
Louis L. Knickerbocker, who manufactures celebrity-endorsed dolls, teddy bears and jewelry, has listed his home in the Orange County community of Coto De Caza at $3.5 million.
Knickerbocker, who frequently travels on business, is away from his Coto De Caza home about half of the time, and so he listed the six-bedroom, 11,000-square-foot house. He plans to buy a smaller home in the same guard-gated community.
The house he listed was built in 1989. He has owned it for three years, during which time he spent about $1 million on remodeling.
The Mediterranean estate, on four acres, has a media room, billiard room, sun room, library and walk-in safe. The grounds have a pool and a spa, two bars, a fire pit, and a fully enclosed racquetball court. The home, which has valley views, is on a hill behind a double-gated driveway.
John Evans of Re/Max South County in Rancho Santa Margarita has the listing.
A Baldwin Hills home owned at one time by the late comedian Red Foxx, who died in 1991 at 68, is on the market at $450,000.
The current owner bought the house from Foxx, who starred in the TV series “Sanford and Son” and “The Royal Family.”
Built in the late ‘50s, the house has four bedrooms and three bathrooms in about 2,600 square feet. It also has a pool, spa and canyon views.
Layona Walker and Larry Springs share the listing at Century 21, the Service Co.
Did you miss Thursday’s Hot Property column in Southern California Living? Want to see previous columns on celebrity real estate transactions? Visit https://www.latimes.com/hotproperty on the Internet for more Hot Properties.
