Actor finds a ‘Majestic’ spot on Malibu beach
Jim Carrey, who stars in the upcoming movie “Bruce Almighty,” has purchased a Malibu home on the beach for about $9.5 million.
Carrey had been renting in Venice and has had a Pacific Palisades home, which he bought in 1994 for $4 million.
The Malibu home was a mid-century modern that had been refurbished and expanded. It has three bedrooms, including a master suite on the water, and a maid’s quarters in 4,000 to 4,500 square feet.
Described as “very high-tech and beautiful with lots of glass,” the two-level house also has a rooftop deck, limestone flooring and 30 feet of beach frontage. The property was not on the market.
Carrey, 40, starred in the romantic comedy “The Majestic” last year and had the title role in the live-action movie “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” in 2000, the same year he teamed with the Farrelly brothers to co-star with Renee Zellweger in the comedy “Me, Myself & Irene.”
In “Bruce Almighty,” Carrey plays an unhappy TV reporter who is given heavenly powers after complaining about how bad a job God is doing running the universe. Morgan Freeman plays God in the film, which is due out in May.
Teen vocalist is in tune with the Hollywood Hills
Michelle Branch, the hot, young singer-songwriter who recently played ‘60s singer Lesley Gore on the NBC series “American Dreams,” has purchased a Hollywood Hills home for $820,000.
Branch, 19, bought a three-bedroom, 2,800-square foot house that was built in the 1930s but was completely remodeled. The Mediterranean-style house has three bathrooms, stainless steel kitchen appliances, a media/family room and a master suite with large decks.
The chart-topping singer moved last spring to an L.A. apartment from her family’s home in Sedona, Ariz., where her album, “The Spirit Room,” debuted in 2001.
The MTV favorite subsequently recorded the hits “Everywhere, All You Wanted” and “Goodbye to You.” She made the single “Game of Love” with guitarist Carlos Santana for his album “Shaman,” released last month.
Tracey Hannum at Hilton & Hyland had the listing on the house Branch bought, and Brad Wiseman of Platinum Realty represented Branch, sources said.
Giving up her walk in the park
Rachel Hunter, the New Zealand-born model-actress, has listed her Beverly Hills-area home, on slightly more than 1.2 acres of park-like grounds, at just under $3 million.
Hunter, 32, separated from rock star Rod Stewart in 1999 after eight years of marriage. The same year, she purchased the Country English-style home, up a long driveway behind gates. The home was formerly owned by actor Shadoe Stevens.
The house has a large master suite with vaulted ceilings, skylights, a fireplace and a loft/office. There are three other bedroom suites plus a maid’s quarters in the 4,500-square-foot house.
The house, built in the 1950s and later renovated, opens onto a pool and a tennis court.
Asher Dann at Coldwell Banker, Beverly Hills North, has the listing.
Cybill downsizes as kids leave home
Cybill Shepherd, who listed her San Fernando Valley home in September at just under $3.5 million, has sold the property for just over $3 million, and she has purchased a smaller house nearby for about $1 million.
The actress, who is single, said in September that she wanted to scale down now that two of her three children are away at school. She also has a riverfront home in Memphis, Tenn.
The San Fernando Valley home she sold is on about an acre, is behind gates and has five bedrooms plus maid’s quarters in slightly under 7,000 square feet. The grounds have a guest house, tennis court, pool, spa and valley views.
The home she bought has valley views as well as three bedrooms in about 3,000 square feet, behind gates. The Cape Cod-style home was designed by Gerald Colcord and built in the early ‘60s.
Shepherd appeared earlier this year in the Showtime movie “Due East.” She performed on the London stage in March, starred in her own sitcom, “Cybill,” during the ‘90s, and co-starred earlier with Bruce Willis in the TV series “Moonlighting.” The actress, 52, is developing a musical based on her life.
Andrew Manning of Prudential California, Sherman Oaks, represented the buyers of Shepherd’s former home, which Lou Woolf at Coldwell Banker, Sherman Oaks, had listed. Woolf represented Shepherd in buying the listing of Lisa and Scott Sorentino of Prudential California, Studio City, sources said.
Restaurateurs will lease their hamlet
Marilyn and Harry Lewis, owners of the Beverly Hills restaurant Kate Mantilini and founders of the Hamburger Hamlet chain, have renovated their former Beverly Hills home of 30 years and put it up for lease at $25,000 a month. The Lewises live in a Wilshire penthouse.
The home they have for lease has six bedrooms and a guest house in 7,300 square feet. “We had four rooms where the new kitchen is,” Harry Lewis said.
His wife says she learned to cook in the old kitchen. The landscaping and pool of the 60-year-old house also were refurbished.
Howard Schreiber of Schreiber Realty, Beverly Hills, has the listing.
Route 66 town is up for sale
The town of Amboy on historic Route 66 in California has been listed at $1.9 million. It was unofficially on the market in 2001 at $5 million.
The owners are Timothy White, a New York-based celebrity photographer whose coffee table book “Portraits” was recently published, and his business partner, Walt Wilson. They bought Amboy a few years ago when they drifted into town on Harleys looking for gas. White is the mayor of Amboy; Wilson is justice of the peace.
Amboy, in the Mojave Desert near Twentynine Palms, was founded in 1858 by miners. It was booming when Route 66 was paved in the 1920s. When Interstate 40 was built in 1972, Amboy took a backseat as a thoroughfare and became a tourist attraction for the curious and a location for movie and photo shoots.
The 690-acre property includes Roy’s Cafe, a relic from the ‘40s that is in working condition; a four-pump gas station with new gas tanks; an operational post office; eight motel cottages and 20 motel rooms in various states of repair; a town office and gift shop; a church without pews; and a garage with a working repair shop.
There are also four houses, some occupied, and an apartment building, which is in need of complete renovation.
The town, 211 miles from L.A. and 154 miles from Las Vegas, is listed with Rob McManus of Dilbeck Realtors, San Marino.
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To see previous columns on celebrity transactions visit www.latimes.com/hotproperty.
