Hills are backup for pop diva
Pop star Christina Aguilera has purchased a Hollywood Hills home for $5 million.
The five-bedroom, 6,500-square-foot house, built in 1960, underwent an extensive renovation by designer Steve Hermann. It has a home theater with a bar, bathroom and lounge. The house also has a pool, spa, 25-foot waterfall and unobstructed city views.
This is not the first home that the 22-year-old singer from Pittsburgh has owned in the L.A. area. In September, she bought a smaller, Beverly Hills-area house, which she had been leasing, for just under $3 million. In January 2001, she bought a home in a gated community that she later sold.
Aguilera signed in March with the National Basketball Assn. to star in its promotional spot running throughout the NBA playoffs. The commercial, which debuted April 6, centers on Aguilera’s hit single “Fighter,” from her latest album, “Stripped.”
A former member of the new Mickey Mouse Club, along with Britney Spears and members of ‘N Sync, Aguilera won a Grammy for best new artist in 2000. Among her early hits were “Genie in a Bottle” and “Come on Over (All I Want Is You).” The former Mouseketeer changed her look from teen idol to sexy diva with release last fall of the single “Dirrty” from the album “Stripped.”
Bennett Carr of Prudential-John Aaroe had the listing on the Hollywood Hills home that Aguilera purchased; Rory Barish of Nourmand & Associates represented the singer in buying, Westside sources said.
Singer Clooney’s home is sold
The longtime Beverly Hills home of late singer-actress Rosemary Clooney has closed escrow at $7.75 million.
Clooney, who died in June at 74, had owned the home for 50 years. Composer George Gershwin was a previous owner.
The buyer, a businessman who owns several large retail and wholesale properties in the downtown L.A. fashion district, plans to raze the house, sources said. He purchased the property within the first week of its being listed. There was a two-week escrow.
The house, built in 1928, has five bedrooms, two maids quarters and a guesthouse in a total of 6,500 square feet. Situated on about an acre, the home also has a tennis court and a pool.
Clooney, mother of Miguel Ferrer (co-star of the series “Crossing Jordan”) and aunt of actor George Clooney, was known in the ‘50s for such novelty songs as “Come On-a My House”; the film “White Christmas,” in which she appeared with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye; and TV variety shows, including her own. She later matured into a serious jazz singer.
Kurt Rappaport of Westside Estate Agency, Beverly Hills, had the listing.
Townhouse suits Dodger to a tee
Tom Martin, left-handed relief pitcher for the L.A. Dodgers, and his wife, Tasha, have leased a fully furnished townhouse behind gates in Manhattan Beach at $3,800 a month. The couple plan to live in the two-bedroom, 1,450-square-foot unit, which has a golf-course view, through the end of the baseball season.
The relief pitcher is a neighbor of his friend and teammate Paul Shuey. Shuey is the one who had urged Dodger management to give Martin, 32, a tryout. After a four-minute throwing session, the Dodgers signed Martin. He earned a spot on the 25-man roster during spring training.
Phyllis Cohen-Edwards of Shorewood Realty, Manhattan Beach, handled the lease.
Horse ranch lures Studio City actor
Actor-author-horseman Alex Cord has put his Studio City home of 17 years on the market at $749,000. Cord is moving to a new horse ranch in Texas.
He won the Golden Boot Award and was recently appointed to the Western Walk of Fame in Newhall. The Golden Boot Awards are handed out annually by the Motion Picture and Television Fund Foundation to honor work in western films and TV programs.
Cord’s contemporary, ranch-style house has three bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, three fireplaces, a formal dining room, a billiards room and a great room with a wet bar.
The nearly 3,200-square-foot house, built in 1940, has an updated eat-in kitchen and bathrooms. The grounds have a pool.
Cord, 69, was a regular in the ‘80s series “Airwolf” and later appeared on the series “Walker, Texas Ranger” and “Murder, She Wrote.” He has been in such TV movies as “The Dirty Dozen: The Fatal Mission” (1988), and he was in the ‘60s movie “Stagecoach.” He wrote the novel “Sandsong.”
Joe Goodman of Re/Max on the Boulevard, Studio City, has the listing.
‘Bachelor’ pad for TV director?
Ken Fuchs, director of the TV reality series “The Bachelor,” has purchased a five-bedroom, 5,000-square-foot home in Calabasas for just under $1.5 million.
Fuchs, who is a consultant on “The Bachelorette” and directed the series “Are You Hot?” until it was canceled recently, sold his former home in Woodland Hills.
His new home has a pool, spa and sports court. The house was built during the past couple of years.
Jordan Cohen of Re-Max Olson Estates Brokerage, Westlake Village, represented Fuchs in buying and selling. Bonnie Oestreich of Coldwell Banker, Calabasas, had the listing on his new home.
Bengals’ Dillon isn’t going far
Corey Dillon, running back for the Cincinnati Bengals, has listed his Woodland Hills home at $786,000. Dillon is selling because he is having a home built in a nearby gated community.
The main house of the property he is selling has four bedrooms, four bathrooms and a game room. There is a detached weight-training room/studio and a separate guesthouse. The 3,200-plus-square-foot home on about half an acre was built in 1953. It also has a basketball court and a pool.
Dillon, 27, has been with the Bengals since 1997 when he was named NFL Players Assn.’s AFC Rookie of the Year.
Ron Prechtl of Century 21 All Moves, Granada Hills, has the listing.
To see previous columns on celebrity transactions visit www.latimes.com/hotproperty.
