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Rocker Buys Near Rollers

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Times Staff Writer

Rock-blues legend Eric Clapton has purchased an ocean-view home in the Santa Monica area for just under $1.2 million.

Clapton, 54, auctioned off 100 of his guitars at Christie’s in New York in June to raise funds for the Crossroads Centre, a drug-and-alcohol treatment facility that he founded in 1997 on the West Indies island of Antigua.

The guitarist-singer-songwriter raised more than $5 million for the center. He chose Antigua because he has a home there, and he was disheartened by the high addiction rate throughout the Caribbean region. Clapton himself has fought drug and alcohol addiction since he rose to fame in the 1960s.

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The multiple-Grammy winner also appeared late last month at a Madison Square Garden concert to raise money for the center. Besides Clapton, the concert, billed as “Eric Clapton and Friends,” featured Bob Dylan, Sheryl Crow, David Sanborn and Mary J. Blige.

His new two-CD set, “Eric Clapton: Blues,” also was conceived to benefit the Crossroads Centre. The double CD will be released July 27.

The one-bedroom, 2,700-square-foot house that Clapton purchased was built in the 1980s.

Marissa Bearman of Hilton & Hyland, Beverly Hills, represented Clapton in his purchase, and Barry Sloane of Fred Sands Estates, Beverly Hills, had the listing, other sources said.

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Former Beach Boy Brian Wilson and his wife, Melinda, have closed escrow on a newly built Beverly Hills-area home in the mid-$3-million range.

In May, the Wilsons listed their nearby home of four years at about $2.9 million. During the past year, the singer-songwriter, 56, released “Imagination,” a collection of new songs.

The house that the Wilsons purchased has six bedrooms in nearly 9,000 square feet and is in a guard-gated community. The house also has city views.

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Joe Babajian and Judy Cycon of Fred Sands Estates in Beverly Hills represented both sides of the transaction, and they have the listing on the Wilsons’ former home.

Emmy-winning sportscaster Fred Roggin, a KNBC reporter since 1980, and his wife, Richel, have purchased a hilltop home in Calabasas for about $1.1 million.

The sportscaster, 42, also hosted the syndicated “Roggin’s Heroes.”

The couple purchased a five-bedroom, five-bath home designed for entertaining with its media room and wet bar, free-form pool, spa and city views. Built about 15 years ago, the Mediterranean-style 4,800-square-foot house also has a courtyard.

The gated home was listed by Brenda Jo Winchell, estates director of Re/Max on the Boulevard, Sherman Oaks, and the selling agent was Stephanie Vittaro of Fred Sands Realtors.

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“Casablanca” screenwriter Julius Epstein--who shared Academy Award honors with his late twin brother, Philip, and Howard Koch for the screenplay of the classic 1943 movie--and his wife, Ann, have put their longtime Bel-Air home on the market at just under $1.9 million.

Earlier this year, Julius Epstein received a career achievement award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn.

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The Epstein brothers collaborated on writing screenplays from the 1930s until Philip Epstein died in the 1950s. After that, Julius Epstein, also a producer, continued to write screenplays for such movies as “Fanny” (1961), “Pete ‘n Tillie” (1972) and “Reuben, Reuben” (1983). He is credited with writing or co-writing 50 screenplays.

He and his wife built the one-story contemporary-style home in 1962 after an earlier house on the site burned down during the 1961 Bel-Air fire.

The existing house, which is in its original condition, has three bedrooms plus maid’s quarters in 3,500 square feet. The house is on 1.3 acres with a pool and canyon views.

Kathy Villa of Coldwell Banker, Beverly Hills, has the listing.

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Rocker Rick Davies, singer-songwriter and founder of the British band Supertramp, and his wife, Sue, have listed their tennis estate in Encino at about $2.9 million.

Supertramp, which had a number of major hits including such songs as “Breakfast in America,” was one of the most popular concert draws in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. The group later disbanded but regrouped in 1997 and has been enjoying a revival in Europe and the United States with the album “This Was the Best of Times.”

Rick and Sue Davies now tour so often that they decided to sell their Encino home. Built in 1935, the house, on slightly more than an acre, was owned at various times by Dodgers star Wally Moon, singer David Cassidy and comic actor Jerry Van Dyke.

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The Country English-style estate includes a three-bedroom, 5,000-square-foot main house plus a two-bedroom, 1,000-square-foot guest house/recording studio. The home also has a library, pub room, workshop, north-south tennis court, pool and spa.

Alfie and Myrna Shanfeld of Coldwell Banker Previews, Encino, have the listing.

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