Still slaying ‘em, but not in the Valley
Sarah Michelle Gellar, star of the TV series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” has sold the Sherman Oaks home where she lived before she married actor Freddie Prinze Jr. last year. The selling price was about $1.7 million.
The one-story, traditional-style home, behind gates, has a pool, spa, guest house-cabana, sports court, motor court, outdoor barbecue-kitchen and panoramic Valley views.
The home, built in 1942, has four bedrooms and five bathrooms in slightly more than 3,600 square feet.
Gellar listed her home a year ago February, when she moved with Prinze to the Westside.
The actress, who will turn 26 on Monday, started playing Buffy on the WB network in 1997. On May 20, UPN will air the last episode of the series, which Gellar has said she is leaving, although the franchise is expected to have a spinoff.
Gellar also has appeared in a number of movies. Last year, she and Prinze co-starred in the live-action film adaptation of the Saturday morning cartoon classic “Scooby Doo.” Gellar starred in “Harvard Man” (2001), “Cruel Intentions” (1999) and “I Know What You Did Last Summer” (1997), in which Prinze co-starred. She also played a supporting role in “Scream 2” (1997).
Monty Iceman of Prudential California Realty, John Aaroe Division, in Encino had the listing.
Soulful singer is ready to sell
Three-time Grammy winner Lou Rawls has put his L.A. area home on the market at $3.6 million. The six-bedroom, 5,100-square-foot home was built in 1925 but recently underwent a renovation.
The Tudor-style home has a carriage house, maid’s quarters, an attic, a basement and 6.5 bathrooms. The master suite has a steam room, and the guest suite has a fireplace. The home also has an outdoor patio with a brick fireplace, a barbecue, refrigerator, pool and spa.
During the refurbishing, the house was equipped with clean-air and solar hot-water systems.
Rawls, 66, is known for such hits as “You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine,” “Natural Man” and “Dead End Street.” His performing career spans five decades.
Family ties prompt her to leave hills
Justine Bateman, best known for her role as Mallory Keaton on the hit ‘80s sitcom “Family Ties,” has sold her Hollywood Hills home of 18 years for close to its $995,000 asking price.
Bateman, a regular in the cast of the upcoming Showtime series “Out of Order,” starring Felicity Huffman and Eric Stoltz, sold the home because she has a family now, and the Hollywood Hills house hearkens back to her single years. She plans to stay in the L.A. area.
The 2,300-square-foot house, which has an open floor plan with 20-foot ceilings and glass walls, has three bedrooms and two baths. There is a steam shower in the master suite.
The split-level 1965 home has undergone several changes since Bateman bought it. In the late ‘80s, she sponge-painted the pastel walls and installed French doors. Recently, she replaced the French doors with sliders and created what she calls “a clean look.”
Bateman, 37, will play a fashion designer on the Showtime series, which will start airing in June.
The actress has her own clothing line, Justine Bateman Designs, specializing in one-of-a-kind knits, carried at such stores as Saks Fifth Avenue and Fred Segal.
After “Family Ties” (1982-’89), Bateman appeared in numerous TV projects, including the 1994 TBS miniseries “A Century of Women” and the NBC sitcom “Men Behaving Badly” (1996-’97).
Cycle champ shifts toward Bel-Air
John Kocinski, a 1997 Superbike World Champion with team Castrol-Honda, has put his Beverly Hills-area home on the market at $8.75 million. Kocinski is moving to Bel-Air.
The house he is selling is in the gated community of Beverly Park.
Built in 1987 and designed by architect Richard Landry, the walled and gated French villa on 3.1 acres has four bedrooms and five bathrooms in slightly more than 6,000 square feet. The home also has a guesthouse and a theater system.
The grounds have topiary gardens, hand-carved statues, lush lawns, stone walkways and a pool.
Kocinski, now 35, won the 250cc Grand Prix crown in 1990 and the 500cc main event at Laguna Seca in 1993 before switching to superbikes. In 2001 and 2002, he was a Yamaha test rider, developing prototypes and new competition motorcycles. This year he has been taking a break from motor sports.
Bob Hurwitz of Hurwitz James, Beverly Hills, has the listing.
A model life in Sherman Oaks
Rachel Hunter, the model-actress who sold her Beverly Hills-area home for about $2.95 million in March, has moved to a newly built Sherman Oaks home that she purchased for slightly more than $2 million.
Her new home, developed by Shari Goodrich, has seven bedrooms and 6.5 bathrooms in nearly 6,000 square feet.
The Mediterranean-style house, behind gates, also has valley views, a pool and a spa.
Hunter, 33, had owned her Beverly Hills-area home since she separated from rock star Rod Stewart in 1999.
That house has four bedroom suites and a maid’s quarters in 4,500 square feet. The home also has a pool and a tennis court.
Kathy King and Jim Pearson of Prudential-John Aaroe, Encino, had the listing on the Sherman Oaks home. Ron Goldhammer, Prudential-John Aaroe in Beverly Hills, represented Hunter in buying.
To see previous columns on celebrity transactions visit www.latimes.com/hotproperty.
