Full house on the Westside
Celebrity twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have purchased a Westside home, where they plan to live during school breaks, for close to its $4-million asking price. The actresses are expected to start at New York University in September.
While growing up and sharing the role of Michelle on the ABC sitcom “Full House” (1987-95), the twins lived with their family in Encino. The 18-year-old sisters bought a house with walls of glass and city-to-ocean views. The home has four bedrooms and five bathrooms in slightly less than 4,000 square feet. The house was built in the ‘60s but has a new kitchen and a refurbished master bedroom suite with a steam shower. There is a pool on the property.
The twins have long been far more than pretty young faces on TV. Starting with “Brother for Sale,” a children’s pop album in 1992, the sisters have developed an estimated $2-billion empire that includes home videos and the merchandising of Olsen twins products. The sisters costarred in the movie “New York Minute,” released this year. Mary-Kate was in the news this summer when she spent six weeks at a treatment center in Utah for what was reported to be an eating disorder.
Richard Ehrlich of Westside Estate Agency represented the twins in buying the home, according to area real estate sources. He was unavailable to comment. Blair Chang of Coldwell Banker had the listing, public records show.
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A good night to Los Feliz home
Richard Thomas, who gained fame as John Boy in the ‘70s CBS series “The Waltons,” and his wife, Georgiana, have sold their Los Feliz home for nearly $1.8 million. They have moved to New York City. In the last few years, Thomas has appeared on the London and New York stages.
The Los Feliz home, built in 1924, has five bedrooms and five bathrooms in about 4,500 square feet. The Mediterranean-style home has a two-story entry, a library, a living room with a fireplace, tropical landscaping and a pool.
Thomas, 52, completed a run this year starring in “The Stendhal Syndrome” on stage in New York. In November, he is scheduled to costar in the National Theater of Great Britain’s production of the Michael Frayn drama “Democracy” at the Brooks Atkinson Theater in New York.
Dennis and Mimi Martino at Prudential John Aaroe, Beverly Hills, had the listing.
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Buyers snap up sheik’s former land
The historic Max Whittier estate, known in the ‘70s as the Beverly Hills home of Saudi Sheik Mohammed al Fassi, has been divided and sold as two parcels.
Fred Wehba, a founder of the privately owned, Century City-based commercial real estate investment company BentleyForbes, and his wife, Suzi, purchased a 2-acre parcel for $6.6 million. They plan to build a 14,000-square-foot house plus 7,000 square feet of underground parking, a pool and a tennis court.
The adjacent, 1.6-acre site was sold for about $5.6 million to a local buyer who also plans to build a home there. Details were not available.
The combined 3.6-acre property, two blocks east of the Beverly Hills Hotel on Sunset Boulevard, provoked neighbors when the sheik put brightly colored plastic flowers in the outdoor Grecian urns and painted the white plaster statues of nudes on the front veranda in natural skin and hair tones. The sheik also painted the stately white mansion lime green. The home was built for Beverly Hills co-founder Max Whittier.
The house was gutted by fire in 1980 and was razed in 1985. The land was subsequently subdivided. The current seller purchased the two parcels for about $9 million in 2001.
Kurt Rappaport of Westside Estate Agency, Beverly Hills, had the listing on the parcel purchased by the Wehbas, represented by Marie Simon of Nelson Shelton & Associates. Rappaport and Raymond Bekeris, of John Bruce Nelson & Associates, co-listed the other parcel, and Jade Mills of Coldwell Banker represented the buyer.
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A new house to go with a new role
Rena Sofer, who is set to star in Steven Bochco’s one-hour drama “Blind Justice” for ABC in 2005, and her husband, TV director-producer Sandy Bookstaver (“The O.C.,” “Fastlane”), have sold a home in Sherman Oaks for slightly more than $1.4 million. They also purchased a San Fernando Valley home for more than its listing price of $1.8 million.
The Sherman Oaks house has three bedrooms and 3 1/2 bathrooms in about 2,100 square feet. The home, built in 1949, is perched on a hill with a long private drive and city views.
The house they bought has five bedrooms and 5 1/2 bathrooms in 5,000 square feet. Built in 1957, it was recently renovated and has walls of glass and a view deck.
Sofer starred most recently as Susan in the NBC comedy series “Coupling” and played Vicki Costa on the NBC sitcom “Just Shoot Me.”
Monty Iceman at Prudential John Aaroe, Encino, represented the couple in buying and selling.
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Hitching a wagon in Beverly Hills
The Beverly Hills home of the late actor Randolph Scott has come on the market for the first time since it was built in 1950. The asking price is $6 million.
Scott, who played a cowboy in many western movies, died in 1987 at 89. His widow, Patricia, died in May at 85. He was a top box-office star in the late ‘40s and early ‘50s.
His longtime home is at the end of a cul-de-sac backing the L.A. Country Club, and it has golf course and city views. The house was built for the Scotts at a cost of $400,000. It was designed by Burton Schutt, who gave the midcentury house a pan-Asian influence. The gated 1-acre property has six bedrooms and eight bathrooms in slightly more than 7,800 square feet.
A lanai overlooks the free-form pool. A sunroom with skylights is situated between the two master bedroom suites. The home also has rolling lawns, a circular driveway, a porte-cochere and a guest cottage.
Rachelle Rosten of Coldwell Banker, Beverly Hills East, has the listing.
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To see previous columns on celebrity transactions visit latimes.com/hotproperty.
