No More Crossing Continent
Miguel Ferrer, who plays medical examiner Dr. Garret Macy on the NBC series “Crossing Jordan,” and his actress-wife, Leilani Sarelle, have settled into a Hollywood Hills home they bought for about $1.7 million.
The couple and their two children were living in New York when “Crossing Jordan” started airing. But after Ferrer commuted for a while to L.A., where the series is filmed, they decided to buy. “Crossing Jordan” was recently picked up for 24 episodes.
The Hollywood Hills home has three bedrooms plus a guest house in about 5,000 square feet. It was built in 1969 by the late designer-builder Fred Smathers.
“I saw an ad for the house, one of Fred Smathers’ first, and I went crazy, because I knew him and his work,” Ferrer said. “As my wife and I drove into the driveway, she said she had a feeling that I belonged there.”
Since they bought the home a few months ago, they have been restoring it with a contractor who knew Smathers. “We ripped out some fake beams and replaced every doorknob,” Ferrer said. Now they’re redoing a bathroom.
“We’re trying to get it back to the beautiful Spanish Mediterranean it was originally. All the brickwork, fixtures around the pool--like the built-in fountains--the sconces and many of the chandeliers are still there.”
When in New York, Ferrer and his family had been leasing an apartment on the second floor of a 170-year-old house in Gramercy Park.
When commuting to L.A., Ferrer stayed in the guest house of his mother, singer-actress Rosemary Clooney, who has lived in her Beverly Hills home, he estimated, for 50 years.
After moving from L.A. to New York about four years ago, Ferrer and his family stayed in Clooney’s guest house when visiting L.A. He remodeled the guest house “from the ground up,” he said, “putting in central heat and air-conditioning.” It also has a kitchen.
Ferrer, who plays drums with the six-piece rock band the Jenerators and has written for Marvel Comics, played a drug informant in the movie “Traffic” (2000) and was a lead in the movie “The Harvest” (1993), on the set of which he met his wife, who also appeared in the movie “Basic Instinct” (1992).
The actor, who played a greedy businessman in “Robocop” (1987) and an FBI forensics expert on the ABC series “Twin Peaks” (1990-91), plays an unscrupulous land developer in the John Sayles film “Sunshine State,” due out in July.
Ferrer, in his 40s, is the eldest son of Clooney and the late Oscar-winning actor Jose Ferrer. Actor George Clooney is a cousin.
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Alex Yemenidjian, chairman and chief executive of MGM, and his wife, Arda, have purchased a Beverly Hills-area home on a knoll with city views for close to its asking price of just under $13 million.
The seller was a European businessman who spent five years building the French chateau-style home.
The Yemenidjians have interviewed a number of interior designers to decorate the 22,000-plus-square-foot home on five acres.
The home has a two-story entry with a sweeping staircase; eight bedrooms overlooking rolling lawns; 12 bathrooms; and a 5,000-square-foot basement.
Earlier this year, there was speculation that MGM would be sold to a bigger conglomerate, but in April, the MGM CEO signed contract extensions running through April 2007.
In May, he denied reports that the company was for sale but expressed a desire to diversify company assets.
The home was listed with Kurt Rappaport of Westside Estate Agency, Beverly Hills, design sources said.
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Anna Nicole Smith has leased a $1.3-million home in the Studio City Hills area for a year with an option to buy.
The house has five bedrooms and 51/2 bathrooms in 4,700 square feet. It is newly built, on almost half an acre with city views.
In 1999, the actress-model, now 34, filed court motions in California and in Texas seeking half of the estate of her late husband, oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II, who died at age 90 in 1995. They were married in 1994.
A Texas probate court awarded her $450 million, but Smith’s stepson, E. Pierce Marshall, appealed. In March, Smith was awarded $88 million by a U.S. District Court judge. Marshall has indicated that he also would appeal that award.
The 1994 Playmate of the Year appeared in the 1994 movies “Naked Gun 331/3,” “The Final Insult” and “The Hudsucker Proxy.” She has been a model for Guess jeans.
Janice Cohen of Prudential John Aaroe Realtors, Studio City, represented Smith in her lease option.
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Samantha Kluge, the designer daughter of billionaire Metromedia founder John Kluge, has sold her Beverly Hills-area home and studio for about $1.3 million.
The heiress, 32, describes the house as her “first modern project.” “I’ve never designed two things alike,” she said. Every two years, she buys a house, refurbishes it and sells it.
This home has three bedrooms and three bathrooms in 2,300 square feet. The house was built in 1957 but was completely remodeled and has new plumbing, air-conditioning, a newly paved motor court and a gated entry.
There is a guest house and a two-story main house, which has walls of glass--with city-to-ocean views--and a chef’s kitchen with top-of-the-line appliances. The buyer is a restaurateur.
Kluge will continue to maintain New York and L.A. studios. She recently bought a condo in an architectural building in West Hollywood that she will use as a residence/studio.
She founded such companies as SK Designs, for interiors and home furnishings, and Family Jewels Inc., with such clients as actress Gwyneth Paltrow.
Richard Ehrlich of Westside Estate Agency had the listing; Jonah Wilson of Prudential John Aaroe represented the buyer.
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Dianne Bennett, owner of a Beverly Hills-based matchmaking service, has purchased a Carthay Circle-area home, built in 1922, for $535,000.
The 3,300-square-foot house, now undergoing a major renovation, sat empty for more than 40 years. The seller was born in the house but moved with his family to Palm Springs. The family owned a date farm in the Coachella Valley.
Bennett, who plans to entertain friends and clients in her new home, sold her West Hollywood Craftsman-style bungalow, built in 1914, to Chris Olsen, producer and writer of the series “7th Heaven,” and his wife, Marah Yampolski, a segment producer of “Ripley’s Believe It or Not,” for $470,000.
Galina Blackman of Prudential John Aaroe, Beverly Hills, represented both sides of that deal. Bob Hopkins of Re/Max, Beverly Hills, represented Bennett in her purchase.
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David Murdock Jr., son of Lake Sherwood developer and Dole Foods Chief Executive David Murdock, has listed a Bel-Air home, which he built on spec, at $22 million.
The house has seven bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, a theater, office and gym in 18,000 square feet. The Mediterranean-style house overlooks the Bel-Air Country Club and is on a cul-de-sac.
On nearly two acres, the house also has formal gardens, a pool, a pool house and a large, covered patio.
Jeff Hyland and Rick Hilton of Hilton & Hyland, Beverly Hills, have the listing.
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Want to see previous columns on celebrity realty transactions? Visit www.latimes.com/hotproperty for more Hot Properties.
