Actress hands it to Madonna
Actress Sela Ward has sold her Beverly Hills compound to Madonna for $12 million, Westside sources said.
Ward and her husband, venture capitalist Howard Sherman, purchased the property in 2000. The home, expanded since then, has seven bedrooms in about 16,500 square feet.
The estate, on slightly more than an acre, also has a home theater, a tennis court, two guesthouses, a gym with a steam room and a large pool. The compound is behind gates and has a long drive.
Madonna’s Wallace Neff-designed house, also in Beverly Hills, has been on the market since May at $10.9 million. Madonna, 44, bought that house in 2000 from actress Diane Keaton. The pop star also has a home in London with her husband, director Guy Ritchie.
The Grammy-winning singer’s album “American Life” was released in May, and her video “Hollywood” is expected to be released later this month. Last year, she wrote and performed the title song for the James Bond film “Die Another Day.” Her children’s book, “The English Roses,” is due to be published in September.
Ward, 46, stars in the upcoming movie “Havana Nights: Dirty Dancing 2.” The film, which wrapped in May, is due out in February.
The model-turned-actress has won Emmy Awards for her performances in such TV series as “Sisters” (1993-94) and “Once and Again” (1999-2000).
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Puck picks up a new place to cook
Wolfgang Puck has purchased a four-bedroom, nearly 5,000-square-foot home in the flats of Beverly Hills for close to $3.7 million.
The celebrity chef-restaurateur bought a restored Spanish-style home, built in the 1920s, with a state-of-the-art kitchen.
The property wasn’t listed but was sold by builder-developer John Bercsi, who refurbished the house and also recently restored another Beverly Hills home that once belonged to the late silent-screen star Buster Keaton.
Puck’s cookbook “Live, Love, Eat!” was published by Random House last fall. This spring, in-flight caterer LSG Sky Chefs signed an agreement with Wolfgang Puck Worldwide to adapt signature items from Puck’s restaurants for Sky Chefs’ In-Flight Cafe program.
Puck, 53, oversees a number of restaurants. He started with Spago, which opened just off the Sunset Strip in 1982 and closed in 2001. Spago II opened in Beverly Hills in 1997.
Puck and his wife of 19 years, Barbara Lazaroff, filed for divorce months ago, but they said earlier this year that they would remain business partners.
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Former Rix owner heads for Brazil
Neal Morse, a onetime partner in the California Mart and a former owner of the Santa Monica nightspot Rix, and his wife, former Brazilian model Nathalie, have listed their home in Brentwood at $3.45 million. They plan to move to Brazil.
Their Brentwood home was owned during the 1980s by actor Donald Sutherland. During that time, its indoor spa was designed by Maj Hagman, actor Larry Hagman’s wife.
The Mediterranean-style home has five bedrooms and six bathrooms in about 7,000 square feet, with ocean and city views.
The estate also has a detached guesthouse, a family/media room, a library, park-like grounds and a pool. The house has many of its original 1933 tiles but has been expanded to include a 3,000-square-foot master suite with a gym.
Bob Hurwitz of Hurwitz-James, Beverly Hills, has the listing.
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Ozzy and family lose a neighbor
The Beverly Hills house next door to rocker Ozzy Osbourne and his family has come on the market at $9 million.
The six-bedroom, 8,700-square-foot house, built in 1997, became the focus of an MTV segment on “The Osbournes” when Sharon Osbourne threw a leg of ham through the hedge. Jack and Kelly Osbourne followed by throwing bread, cheese and pate. Ozzy threw a block of firewood. Beverly Hills police were heard on “The Osbournes” telling the family to stop throwing things.
The house is behind gates “on one of the best streets in Beverly Hills,” according to the multiple listing service. The Mediterranean-style home has a two-story entrance, a sweeping staircase, a large master suite with a sitting area and a fireplace, an elevator, a pool, spa and 10-car subterranean garage.
Jonathon Canter, George Collins and Kay Pick at Coldwell Banker, Beverly Hills North, have the listing.
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Duo’s ‘70s studio changes hands
The Captain & Tennille, also known as Daryl Dragon and Toni Tennille, have sold their Canoga Park recording studio, Rumbo Recorders, for $1.2 million.
The Grammy-winning duo had such hits as “Love Will Keep Us Together” in the 1970s, when they also had their own TV series.
The couple, married since 1974, have long lived in Carson City, Nev. They moved to northern Nevada in 1984. They now plan to build another house there.
Dragon, who sometimes composes film scores when he’s not accompanying his singer wife on keyboards, is the son of Oscar-winning arranger-conductor Carmen Dragon.
Daryl Dragon designed and built the 10,000-square-foot Canoga Park building with the three-room studio in the ‘70s. The studio is used for video and post-production work. It includes parking for 11 cars.
Trena Berk of Re/Max Grand Central, Tarzana, had the listing.
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To see previous Hot Property columns on celebrity transactions, visit www.latimes.com/hotproperty.
