Newlywed ‘Dolly’ in new home
Carol Channing and her husband, Harry Kullijian, have settled into their honeymoon home in Rancho Mirage, not far from the theater legend’s condo in which she wrote her memoir.
The couple, childhood friends who reunited shortly before publication of Channing’s book a year ago, will maintain her previous home as an investment.
They bought their honeymoon home, also a condo, sight unseen because of their hectic traveling schedules, but they love the unit, although they plan some remodeling, said Harlan Boll, a spokesman for Channing.
The Spanish-style unit, listed at $260,000, was built in 1973 and has three bedrooms, three baths and an office in 2,000 square feet. It is on the fairway of a private golf course. The living room faces the mountains.
The newlyweds like the mountain and desert views but are especially happy with their office because Channing, star of such Broadway hits as “Hello, Dolly!” is enjoying a surge in bookings.
She has been fine-tuning a one-woman show from which she recently performed selections at the Hollywood Bowl and off-Broadway.
Her memoir, “Just Lucky, I Guess” (Simon & Schuster), is nearly sold out and being considered for reprint.
While moving in time for the holidays, the octogenarians quipped that it is amazing how much junk two people can collect over a combined 160-plus years. The memorabilia, however, wowed Channing’s spokesman.
“An archivist would be in seventh heaven,” he said.
Rawls residence on sales chart
Lou Rawls, whose 81st album, “Rawls Sings Sinatra,” was released in September, has sold his Hancock Park home for $2.85 million.
The six-bedroom, 5,100-square-foot dwelling was built in 1925 but recently underwent renovations.
The Tudor-style home, listed in April at $3.6 million, has a carriage house, maid’s quarters, an attic, a basement and 6 1/2 bathrooms. The master bedroom suite has a steam room; the guest suite has a fireplace.
The estate also has a patio with a brick fireplace, a barbecue, a refrigerator, a pool and a spa.
The multiple Grammy-winning rhythm and blues singer, 67, is known for such songs as “You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine,” “Natural Man” and “Dead End Street.”
House may just suit Sims’ style
Molly Sims, who appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit edition this year and plays the daughter of casino chief Ed Deline (James Caan) on the NBC series “Las Vegas,” has purchased an L.A.-area home for close to its $1.6-million asking price.
The house has three bedrooms and 3 1/2 bathrooms in about 3,000 square feet. It also has a courtyard and a pool.
Sims, 27, appeared in many fashion magazines, then segued into acting by hosting the MTV fashion series “House of Style.” She later appeared in episodes of the Fox sitcom “Andy Richter Controls the Universe” and the UPN revival of “The Twilight Zone.”
Desert home with 007 bond is sold
The Palm Springs ridge-top home featured in the James Bond movie “Diamonds Are Forever” (1971), with Sean Connery, has been sold for $5.5 million.
The house was designed by John Lautner and built in 1968 for Arthur Elrod, interior designer for such celebrities as Bob and Dolores Hope.
The property was sold by Ron Burkle, a former supermarket magnate and a major Democratic Party donor.
The house has a circular concrete- and glass-domed living room with curved walls of glass and an indoor-outdoor swimming pool. The home has panoramic desert and mountain views.
There are two bedrooms on the main floor, a two-bedroom guest wing and one-bedroom caretaker’s quarters in the 7,000-square-foot home, which sits on slightly more than 23 acres.
The buyer, Palos Verdes-based Michael Kilroy, also acquired furniture and sculptures on the property. Kilroy, 40, already owns the Jack Benny estate in Palm Springs. Kilroy’s holdings include multifamily housing and retail complexes, office buildings and a wireless data venture.
Ron de Salvo of Coldwell Banker, Beverly Hills, had the listing, and Andy Linsky of Windermere Real Estate in Palm Springs represented Kilroy.
Sales rise in some pricier categories
Westside home sales were up this year in contrast with 2002 in the over-$3-million and over-$5-million sales ranges, according to Cecelia Waeschle, who has tracked high-end sales figures since 1987 and this fall joined Sotheby’s International Realty, Malibu.
At more than $3 million, there were 330 sales in 2003 and 310 in 2002, she said. At more than $5 million, there were 93 in 2003, 87 in 2002.
In the over-$10-million category, however, there were 11 in 2003 and 17 in 2002, Waeschle said. A few more could be reported before the end of the year.
Although softer than the other categories, the over-$10-million market had some notable sales this year. B. Wayne Hughes, co-founder of Public Storage, bought two adjacent Malibu homes for a total of $20 million.
Madonna purchased Sela Ward’s Beverly Hills compound for $12 million; cellular phone billionaire John McCaw bought a Westside home for $18.5 million; and producers Brian Grazer and Joel Silver each paid about $15 million for homes in Malibu. Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Netscape, sold his Malibu home for nearly its $25-million asking price.
But the whopper for 2003 was when Oracle Chief Executive Larry Ellison paid about $65 million for five residential beachfront properties, expected to become one estate, in Malibu. As a package, the price topped the slightly more than $50 million Oprah Winfrey paid for her Santa Barbara home in 2001, but it is less than the $70 million oilman Marvin Davis is asking for his Bel-Air mansion. Davis paid singer Kenny Rogers about $20 million for the home in 1984.
To see previous columns visit latimes.com/hotproperty.
