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Looking for the Next Best Thing

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

Neil Patrick Harris, who co-stars with Tony Shalhoub in the new NBC sitcom “Stark Raving Mad” and appears in the upcoming movie “The Next Best Thing,” has put his Sherman Oaks home on the market at $625,000.

Harris, 26, gained fame as star of the TV series “Doogie Howser, M.D.” (1989-1993). Earlier this year, he played King Charles in the CBS miniseries “Joan of Arc.” He appeared in the TV movie “The Christmas Wish” (1998), and the same year, he co-starred in the San Diego Old Globe Theater production of “Romeo and Juliet.” He was also in the 1997 L.A. production of “Rent.”

The actor moved this fall to another of several houses he owns in the L.A. area. He has owned the three-bedroom, 2,000-square-foot house in the foothills of Sherman Oaks for nine years. The gated house, built in 1940 but recently remodeled, has city views.

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Monty Iceman of Gibson Realtors, Studio City, has the listing.

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Swimwear designer Anne Cole, who introduced the “tankini,” the tank top-and-bikini ensemble that has become a swim-fashion basic, has listed her Beverly Hills home at about $2.7 million. She’s building another house on the same block.

Cole, who launched her signature collection in 1982, is the daughter of former actor-turned-swimwear king Fred Cole, who founded Cole of California in 1925. She joined her father’s business shortly before he retired in 1960.

After Cole of California joined Authentic Fitness Corp. in 1993, Anne Cole continued to head her division. In 1998, sales of Anne Cole swimsuits reportedly totaled about $30 million.

Built in 1995, the house that Cole is selling has five bedrooms in 4,100 square feet. The Cape Cod-style home also has a wine cellar and a pool.

Kay Pick of Coldwell Banker, Beverly Hills North office, has the listing.

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The former Los Feliz home of Betty Lou Gerson, the voice of the villainess Cruella De Vil in Disney’s 1961 classic animated movie “101 Dalmatians,” has been sold for close to $700,000.

Gerson, who also narrated Disney’s “Cinderella” (1950) and played a crone in the movie “Mary Poppins” (1964), died at age 84 early this year. She had been an actress on such radio programs as “Grand Hotel” and “The Lux Radio Theater.”

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Her house was used as a model for animators drawing a mansion on the hill in the 1961 movie version of “101 Dalmatians.” Built in the ‘20s, the 3,000-square-foot house is up a private drive and has a view from Catalina to downtown Los Angeles.

It was sold to Chris Laib of Prudential-John Aaroe, Pacific Design Center office, and Lon Wahlstrom, executive vice president of a development company.

Don Snyder of Elizabeth Klock & Associates, Los Feliz, had the listing.

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Hot Property runs Thursdays in SoCal Living and Sundays in Real Estate. Ryon may be reached at ruth.ryon@latimes.com.

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