Comic Relief by the Lake

Damon Wayans, executive producer and star of the ABC sitcom “My Wife and Kids,” has purchased a gated Country English estate in Toluca Lake for nearly its $2.2-million asking price.

The house has six bedrooms and six baths in about 5,500 square feet. Built in the ‘70s, the home also has a pool, spa, deck and views of the lake.

Wayans had been living in Santa Monica since Lisa, his wife of 16 years, filed for divorce a year ago. He bought a home in the Beverly Hills area in 1993 for $2.5 million.

Wayans, 40, had a featured role in the movie “Bamboozled” (2000), directed by Spike Lee, and starred in the short-lived Fox sitcom “Damon” (1998).

One of nine siblings who grew up in the projects of New York, Wayans followed his older brother, Keenen Ivory Wayans, to California in the early ‘80s and began his career as a stand-up comic in L.A.

He was a co-star and writer on his brother’s series “In Living Color” on Fox (1989-1993) and starred in his first major feature-film role, opposite Bruce Willis, in “The Last Boy Scout” (1991).

In “My Wife and Kids,” modeled on “The Bill Cosby Show,” Wayans, who has four children in real life, plays a stay-at-home dad who tends to the kids while his stockbroker wife pursues her career.

Wayans is also a co-creator, co-writer and co-executive producer of the series.

Marcia Mathews of Coldwell Banker, Malibu, represented Wayans in his purchase, while Bob Hurwitz, president of Hurwitz-James Co., and Karen Gartz, also of Hurwitz-James, shared the listing, sources said.

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Cher is still busy working on her Malibu home and has no intention of selling now, despite information to the contrary, her representatives say.

This may come as news to Realtors who were shown the seven-bedroom, 14,000-square-foot house and were told it was quietly for sale--not on the multiple-listing service--at $25 million.

“It’s not officially or unofficially on the market now,” said Cher’s spokeswoman, Liz Rosenberg.

“Cher is passionate about this house,” Rosenberg continued. “It’s the house of Cher’s dreams. It’s the essence of Cher--staggeringly beautiful. It’s also a work in progress.”

The Oscar-winning actress (“Moonstruck,” 1987) oversaw nearly every inch of its construction, real estate sources have said, and now she is decorating the interior.

Cher bought some antiques from Hearst Castle that “will fit in perfectly with the architecture, which has a historic, Italian look to it,” Rosenberg said.

Cher is also in the middle of dealing with an issue relating to her tennis court, her spokeswoman said.

Cher plans to appeal a local ruling that she lower a wall between her tennis court and Pacific Coast Highway, Rosenberg said.

The singer-actress is reported to be concerned about the safety of drivers who might stop on the highway to peer over a lower wall to see her 2.5-acre, ocean-view property.

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Barbara Sinatra, Frank Sinatra’s widow, has put their Beverly Hills home of about 15 years on the market at $12.5 million, furnished.

She bought a Westwood penthouse in June for $3 million, sources said at the time.

Originally built in the 1960s and totally rebuilt in the late ‘80s, when the second floor was added by the Sinatras, the Beverly Hills house, just north of Sunset Boulevard, has 14 rooms in nearly 9,000 square feet.

The home, behind electric gates and up a private drive, also has an art gallery; a gym; a terrace with a spa and a fireplace; two master suites or one master suite plus a guest suite; two maids’ quarters; a pool; and a three-car garage.

The legendary balladeer died at 82 in 1998.

Jeff Hyland and Rick Hilton of Hilton & Hyland, Beverly Hills, have the listing.

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Richard Dreyfuss’ family-owned home in Ventura has been listed at $1.4 million.

His mother’s death in October prompted the family to sell the house, according to the Oscar-winning actor’s brother, Lorin.

“It meant very much to her, and we spent some of the family’s happiest moments there,” he said, “but the house is too large for the vacation use we are getting out of it.”

The family plans to buy a smaller beach house in the area and a family vacation villa north of Rome, he added.

Designed and built by Lorin Dreyfuss and his mother, Gerry, in 1984, the Mediterranean-style villa in Ventura is on the beach and has views of the ocean, marina and mountains.

The house has five bedrooms and four baths in about 3,500 square feet. It also has two fireplaces, 500 square feet of sun decks and large patios.

The actor’s mother appeared in many of his films. Her most prominent role was as his character’s mother in “Down and Out in Beverly Hills” (1986).

Lorin Dreyfuss, who has done considerable writing and producing in the last 25 years, appeared with his brother in “Moon Over Parador” (1988).

Richard and Lorin Dreyfuss also have a sister, Cathy, who is an attorney. Their father lives in Arizona.

Deidra Licata at Coldwell Banker, Ventura, shares the listing with Sue Few of Coldwell Banker, Woodland Hills.

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Ruth Ashton Taylor, who spent four decades as a TV reporter in Los Angeles mostly covering politics and government, is moving back to the city.

The longtime journalist for KCBS-TV Channel 2 (the former KNXT) and KNX-AM 1070 radio retired in 1989 and moved to Lincoln, about 20 miles from Sacramento, to live between her daughters in the San Fernando Valley and Lake Tahoe.

Now Taylor is moving into a Studio City home that she just purchased, and has put her Lincoln property on the market.

“I missed my friends,” she said, “and I hope to do some radio and other work--maybe hosting a talk show or moderating some panels.”

She bought a two-bedroom, 2,217-square-foot house in Studio City for about its $619,000 asking price.

She has listed her 7.5-acre Lincoln home with four bedrooms in about 3,300 square feet at $650,000. The home, on a hill with panoramic views, also has a pool, sports court and year-round stream.

Anne Donnelly of Ramsey Shilling, Lake Hollywood, represented Taylor in buying; Mary King of Coldwell Banker near Lincoln has the listing.

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Robert Shapiro--who has produced more than 50 movies, including the “Superman” films (1978, 1980), “Private Benjamin” (1980), “Chariots of Fire” (1981) and “National Lampoon’s Vacation” (1983)--and his wife, Sandi, have listed their Pacific Palisades home at just under $1.9 million.

Designed by architect Jerry Lomax for himself in 1985, the 3,500-square-foot-plus house has been owned by the Shapiros since 1994. They plan to move to larger quarters.

The glass, steel and plaster home has a geometric look. “Its aesthetic grows directly out of California Bauhaus and Case Study programs of the mid-century,” said listing agent Mike Deasy of Mossler, Deasy & Doe, Beverly Hills.

The home has a great room along its view-oriented west side; a master suite with a study and sitting area; three other bedrooms; a media room; and a garden with a spa and a gazebo. The property overlooks Will Rogers State Park and Rustic Canyon.

Shapiro recently directed two episodes of Dick Clark’s “Beyond Belief” on Fox TV and is producing “Cadet Kelly” for the Disney Channel. It’s set to wrap shooting Aug. 31 and is due to air in early 2002.

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Want to see previous columns on celebrity realty transactions? Visit https://www.latimes.com/hotproperty.