Principal Interest in Montecito
Actress Priscilla Presley has sold three acres in the Montecito area to actress Victoria Principal for about $3 million.
Presley had planned to build on the site, which has a guest house, but she changed her mind.
Presley had a recurring role in “Melrose Place” and starred during the ‘80s and ‘90s in the TV series “Dallas” and a number of movies, including the “Naked Gun” series.
The actress, 54, was married to Elvis Presley from 1967 to 1973.
Principal has made guest appearances this year on the NBC series “Providence.” Last year she began playing a recurring role as the mother of the character Jack in “Jack & Jill” on the WB network.
The actress, 50, was a series regular on “Dallas” from 1978 to 1987, playing the wife of Texas oilman Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy).
Principal, who also has produced several TV movies, is the author of the self-help books “The Body Principal: The Exercise Program for Life” (1983, Simon & Schuster), “The Beauty Principal: The Beauty Program for Life” (1984, Simon & Schuster) and “The Diet Principal” (1987, Simon & Schuster). She is married to plastic surgeon Harry Glassman.
Verna Harrah, widow of casino magnate William F. Harrah and head of Middlefork Productions, has purchased a Bel-Air home in the $8-million range that she plans to remodel.
Built in 1926, the 14,000-square-foot house on 1.5 acres, with a private drive, was owned in the ‘30s by Herbert T. Kalmus, the developer of Technicolor.
Kalmus built a reception area and theater, where he entertained celebrities of the day. When the Tuscan-style villa was restored in 1990, the theater was turned into a 1,500-square-foot ballroom-theater with a marble floor and a drop-down screen and projection system.
The gated estate has eight bedrooms, 11 1/2 baths, a climate-controlled garage with space for up to 20 cars and gardens designed by the late Emmet Wemple, who designed the gardens for the J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu.
Barbara Duskin of Coldwell Banker Previews, Beverly Hills North, represented Harrah in buying; Barbara Salveson, Fred Sands Estates Directors office, had the listing.
Thomas Casey, vice chairman of Global Crossing Ltd. and president and director of Pacific Capital Group, has purchased a newly built home at Brentwood Country Estates for close to its $7.95-million asking price.
Designed by architect Richard Landry, the Mediterranean-style 10,000-square-foot house, on two acres, has a tennis court and city-to-ocean views.
Casey, 48, has been active in Global Crossing since 1998, when he was appointed managing director. Global Crossing, an independent provider of global long-distance telecommunications facilities and services, is a leader in establishing and using a network of undersea digital fiber-optic cable systems.
Rick Hilton, Maurice Umansky and Cristy Hilton of Hilton & Hyland, Beverly Hills, had the listing along with Rodrigo Iglesias of Coldwell Banker Previews.
David Bohnett, GeoCities’ founder and chairman, has purchased the Holmby Hills site of singer-actress Barbra Streisand’s former home for about $6.8 million, according to Westside Realtors. The asking price was $5.9 million.
Streisand sold her home of 20 years in June for $4.9 million. The buyers razed the five-bedroom, 9,500-square-foot house and resold the two-acre property.
Bohnett, 43, bought the site, directly over a ridge from two adjacent properties that he owns, for privacy. He owns the former home of the late actor Gary Cooper on 1.6 acres and the former home of Ken Kragen on just under an acre. Kragen has managed such talent as Kenny Rogers and Trisha Yearwood, and he masterminded the 1985 “We Are the World” benefit.
Bohnett bought the Cooper home last March for about its $5.95-million asking price. He purchased the Kragen house in January for $4.3 million, sources said.
GeoCities, the Marina del Rey firm that pioneered the business of building communities on the Internet, was acquired in May by Yahoo for $3.9 billion in stock. Bohnett, 43, had a stake in the company worth $290 million.
Philadelphia 76ers Coach Larry Brown, who once took an underdog team at UCLA to the NCAA championship game, and his wife, Shelly, have sold their Malibu retreat for about its $2.75-million asking price.
Brown, 58, coached Team USA for the Olympic-qualifying tournament last summer. He became the coach of the 76ers in May 1997.
The Malibu home has three bedrooms in about 2,000 square feet, and it is on 50 feet of beach. The recently remodeled Cape Cod-style home has a granite kitchen and marble baths. The house was once owned by composer Marvin Hamlisch.
Jay Rubenstein of Coldwell Banker Previews, Malibu West office, had the listing.
Jon Urdan, chief financial officer at Madonna’s Maverick Recording Co., is selling a Hollywood Hills home that he bought last year, then rebuilt and expanded. The asking price is $2.2 million.
The contemporary-style house, which had sat in disrepair for several years, has a steel staircase and glass walls. It also has three bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths in 3,300 square feet.
After Urdan bought the house, he spent nearly $1 million in renovations, adding an upstairs bedroom and expanding the stairway. The house was built in 1962.
Jeeb Naiman-O’Reilly of Nelson Shelton, Beverly Hills, has the listing.
