They’re turning a new page
Sidney Sheldon -- the Oscar-winning screenwriter, TV series creator and novelist -- and his wife, Alexandra, have put their Holmby Hills home on the market at $23 million.
The couple aren’t sure where they will be relocating. They are contemplating a move to smaller quarters, maybe at the beach. They also have a home in Palm Springs.
Their Holmby Hills home, on just less than 3 acres, has 12 bedrooms and 13 bathrooms in about 22,000 square feet. The estate also has an office, where Sheldon writes; a theater; tennis court; pool; and a guesthouse. The manicured grounds have formal rose gardens, brick walkways, a sunken Japanese garden with a waterfall and a motor court with parking for at least 20 cars.
The traditional-style, two-story house, built in the ‘30s, was designed by architect Paul Williams for Charles J. Correll, who played Andy on the “Amos ‘n’ Andy” radio show. Sheldon has owned the property since 1978.
Sheldon, 87, started out as a script reader in 1934, earning $17 a week. He won an Oscar for his screenplay for the late-’40s film “The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer,” starring Cary Grant and Myrna Loy. He also wrote screenplays for such movies as “Easter Parade” (1948) and “Annie Get Your Gun” (1950). He won a Tony Award as coauthor of the Broadway musical “Redhead” (1959). In the ‘60s, he created TV series including “The Patty Duke Show” and “I Dream of Jeannie.”
Since then he has written nearly 20 novels, including “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” It is due out in mid-September. Among his other books are “The Sky Is Falling,” “The Doomsday Conspiracy” and “The Other Side of Midnight.”
Delphine Mann of Coldwell Banker, Beverly Hills North, has the listing.
Hockey rink
not included
Jeremy Piven, who costars in the HBO series “Entourage,” has sold his Santa Monica home for close to its $2.5-million asking price and has purchased for $3.5 million the Malibu home of Chris Chelios, a hockey player who recently joined the Detroit Red Wings.
Piven owned his Santa Monica home for two years. The house, built in 1921, has four bedrooms and three bathrooms, including a guesthouse, in about 2,800 square feet.
His new home has three bedrooms and three bathrooms in 2,400 square feet, according to public records. It was built in 1949. Chelios, 42, had owned it since 1993.
Piven, 39, appeared on the HBO series “The Larry Sanders Show” and played a newscaster in “Scary Movie 3” (2003). He portrayed a Secret Service agent in the film “Chasing Liberty,” released this year. He stars opposite Garry Marshall in the independent comedy “Lucky 13,” which just finished shooting.
Susan Livingston of Palisades Realty had the listing on the Santa Monica house.
Brand-name home in Beverly Hills
The Beverly Hills home of the late Sybil Brand, the philanthropist and civic leader for whom the L.A. County jail for women was named in the ‘60s, has been sold for $2.8 million. The asking price was $2.95 million.
The four-bedroom, 4,200-square-foot house, built in 1921 and marketed as a teardown, was sold by the Christian relief and development organization World Vision International, which had inherited the property.
Brand died in the home in February. She was believed to have been 104.
The jail was named for her because of her extensive efforts to better the conditions of imprisoned women. Known as the Sybil Brand Institute for Women, it closed after the 1994 Northridge earthquake and has yet to be remodeled and reopened due to budget shortfalls. In the meantime, female prisoners are being held in the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown L.A.
John A. Woodward IV of Coldwell Banker, Beverly Hills North, handled both sides of the transaction.
Doctoring their Studio City house
Tyler Christopher, who plays Nikolas Cassadine on the ABC daytime drama “General Hospital,” and his cousin Derk Cheetwood, who plays Max on the series, have purchased a Studio City home for $715,000. The actors, in their early 30s, are refurbishing the house and redoing the landscaping.
The contemporary-style home has three bedrooms and two bathrooms in about 2,200 square feet. The main house has a formal dining room and a living room with a fireplace. There is also a guesthouse and a pool.
The home was built in the mid-’60s. Tammy Jerome of Coldwell Banker, Studio City, had the listing.
In Sherman Oaks, a mix of owners
An adobe-style 1936 hacienda built in Sherman Oaks for cowboy movie star Tom Mix has been listed at $3.2 million.
George Tobias, who played neighbor Abner Kravitz on the TV sitcom “Bewitched” (1964-72), and Nancy Meyers and Charles Shyer, whose writing credits include the 1991 and 1995 “Father of the Bride” movies, are also former owners.
The home has six bedrooms and six bathrooms in about 5,800 square feet. The estate also has five fireplaces, a guesthouse and pool.
Rick Chimienti of DBL, Beverly Hills, has the listing.
