Talk-show host buys from ‘Friend’

Talk-show host Ricki Lake and her husband, freelance illustrator Rob Sussman, have purchased the Brentwood home of actress Courteney Cox and her husband, actor David Arquette, for close to its $6.5-million asking price.

Lake and Sussman will continue to be based in New York but may eventually spend more time in their California home.

The five-bedroom, 5,200-square-foot house, on nearly an acre with a pool and rolling lawns behind gates, was renovated by Cox, who has a passion for redoing houses when she isn’t working on the TV series “Friends” or co-starring in such movies as “3,000 Miles to Graceland” (2001).

The home has a great room with soaring ceilings and large skylights, a master suite with a fireplace and a sitting area, and a detached guest suite and gym. There is also an outdoor living room.

The house was built in 1949. Cox refurbished it after buying it for close to $2.1 million in 1996. She and her husband, who co-stars in the recently released movie “The Grey Zone” with Harvey Keitel and Mira Sorvino, live at the beach.

Lake, 34, is in her 10th season hosting the talk show that bears her name. She is also supervising producer of the show, which underwent a make-over last summer and is now in syndication. Lake also has played the recurring role of Stephanie, the younger sister of Kevin James’ title character, on the CBS sitcom “The King of Queens,” and she starred in the movie “Mrs. Winterbourne” (1996). In September, she alternated as Fanny Brice in a benefit performance of “Funny Girl” at the New Amsterdam Theater in New York.

Sussman’s political illustrations were published in the New York Times and Village Voice as early as 1994, the year he and Lake were married. He works as a cartoonist as well as a graphic artist.

Jonah Wilson at Prudential California, John Aaroe Division in Beverly Hills, had the listing on the home Lake and Sussman purchased, and Brett Lawyer of the same office represented the buyers, sources said.

Trying Beverly Hills on for size

Phil McGraw, host of the CBS talk show “Dr. Phil,” and his wife, Robin, are leasing a Beverly Hills-area home for a year at $20,000 a month.

The couple, who previously lived in Texas, moved into their Westside quarters a few months ago. Described as “an elegant, gated mini-estate,” the home has six bedrooms and eight bathrooms in slightly more than 7,000 square feet.

The French-style house, built in 1987, has marble, hardwood and slate floors, a library, a kitchen with granite counters, a master suite with a sitting area, a guest house, pool, spa and gardens.

“Dr. Phil” was launched in September as a syndicated talk show. Before that, the Dallas psychologist, 52, penned best-selling self-help books and appeared weekly for a few years on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

Winfrey became his mentor after he coached her through a lawsuit and trial with the Texas cattle industry. A cattle breeders’ association had filed a libel suit against Winfrey over remarks made about beef. Winfrey credited McGraw, co-founder of the Texas-based legal consulting firm Courtroom Sciences Inc., with helping her to triumph in the case.

Vicki Driscoll of Coldwell Banker’s Montana office in Santa Monica represented the lessees, and H. Blair Chang of Coldwell Banker, Beverly Hills, had the listing, sources said.

Canadian takes root in Los Feliz

Yanic Truesdale, who plays the snooty Paris transplant Michel Gerard on the WB’s “Gilmore Girls,” has bought a Los Feliz home for $610,000. It is the Montreal-born actor’s first home purchase in the United States.

The 1927 Spanish-style house has three bedrooms, an office and 2 1/2 bathrooms in about 1,800 square feet. The home also has a large living room with city views, a formal dining room, coved ceilings, arches, hardwood floors and a grassy backyard.

Truesdale, 31, came to Los Angeles in 1999 after starring in several high-profile Canadian TV series, including “Roommates.” During that series, he was nominated for a Gemini Award, Canada’s version of the Emmy.

Michelle Weissman of DBL Realtors, Sunset, represented Truesdale, and Patricia Ruben of DBL, Los Feliz, had the listing, sources said.

He’s got an Emmy and a bigger house

Larry Wilmore, who won an Emmy Award this year as writer of Fox’s “The Bernie Mac Show,” and his wife, actress Leilani Jones Wilmore, have sold their Pasadena home for $1.2 million and purchased a San Marino house for just under $2 million.

The home they sold has five bedrooms in close to 4,000 square feet. The house, built in 1988, has a living room with a cathedral ceiling, a master suite with a balcony and a maid’s or guest room with its own entrance.

The house they bought has five bedrooms in 5,200 square feet. The 1949 Colonial was remodeled in 2000 and has a game room, three fireplaces, a pool/spa, pool house, grassy yard, fire pit and four-car garage. The gated estate is near the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens.

Wilmore also has been a writer on such series as “In Living Color” and “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” and he was executive producer of “The PJs” (1999). His wife is a stage actress, and she has done voice work on such movies as “Escape From Monkey Island” (2000). She also has appeared on such TV series as “Almost Perfect” (1996) and “Sister, Sister” (1994).

Boyd Smith and Maggie Navarro of Coldwell Banker, Old Pasadena, represented the buyers of the Pasadena home, which had been listed by Cynthia Salcido and Laurie Jutzi of DBL Realtors. Joyce Kristensson of Century 21 Golden Realty represented the Wilmores in buying, and Carol Chua-Vigue of Coldwell Banker had the San Marino listing, sources said.

A chance at late virtuoso’s home

The former Malibu home of Liberace has come on the market at about $1.5 million.

Liberace used the property in the 1970s as a getaway. The late entertainer combined two condos to make one with three bedrooms and 2 3/4 bathrooms in slightly more than 1,800 square feet.

The expanded condo, which Liberace also decorated, is in a building with four other units on a sandy beach.

The unit comes with such Liberace memorabilia as a decorative mini baby grand that the pianist signed, a small lamp that looks like a candle and a bar in the shape of a piano.

Bob Rubenstein at Coldwell Banker, Malibu West, has the listing.

Animator makes a lofty purchase

Rocky Morton, a British animation and computer graphics designer turned Hollywood feature director and producer, has purchased a Venice loft for about its $1.9-million asking price.

Morton, co-creator with Annabel Jankel of the 1980s video icon Max Headroom, bought a newly built loft linked architecturally with two others. The three-level, 3,500-square-foot lofts were designed by Mark Mack and developed by Robert Douroux. Each of the lofts has two bedrooms and a large studio plus four bathrooms.

Elaine Spierer at Re/Max Beach Cities, Marina del Rey, has the listing on the one loft that remains on the market. The asking price is just under $2 million.

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To see previous columns on celebrity transactions visit www.latimes.com/hotproperty.