Hancock Park by way of ‘Boston’
James Spader, who costars with William Shatner in David E. Kelley’s new ABC series “Boston Legal,” has purchased a Mediterranean-style home in the Hancock Park area for nearly $2.7 million.
Spader, whose character -- attorney Alan Shore -- breathed new life into the eighth and final season of “The Practice” and earned the actor an Emmy, purchased a restored 1920s villa with four bedrooms, an updated kitchen and a guest house.
Spader sold his Beverly Hills-area home in December for about $3 million. He has had a home in his native Massachusetts.
The actor, 44, joined the cast of “The Practice” last fall. In “Boston Legal,” a spinoff of “The Practice,” he plays the same charismatic but morally questionable character. Spader has appeared in such films as “Secretary” (2002), “Stargate” (1994) and “sex, lies and videotape” (1989).
His new home was not on the market, but neighborhood sources reporting the sale indicated that he bought it through Timothy Enright of the Enright Co.
GeoCities exec picks Beverly Hills
David Bohnett, founder of the Internet-based media and e-commerce company GeoCities, has purchased a Beverly Hills estate for $17.5 million.
Bohnett, 47, who established GeoCities in 1994 and sold it to Yahoo! for $3.9 billion in stock in 1999, bought a traditional-style home on nearly 2 acres. The home, built in the ‘40s, has five bedrooms and nine bathrooms in 9,000-plus square feet.
The main house has a gym, library and media room. On the manicured grounds are a guest house, pool, pool house, tennis court and tennis pavilion.
Bohnett also owns the longtime Holmby Hills home of actor Gary Cooper, who died in 1961.
In 1999, Bohnett established a foundation to improve society through social activism. The foundation, which has a $30-million endowment, gives grants to address issues affecting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community; gun violence; voting rights; and the environment.
Kurt Rappaport of Westside Estate Agency, Beverly Hills, had the listing, according to public records.
Laker settles
by the ocean
Chris Mihm, one of three new L.A. Lakers players who came from the Boston Celtics in a trade in August, has purchased a Manhattan Beach home for about $2.2 million.
The 7-foot-tall Mihm, 25, signed a three-year, $11.4-million deal with the Lakers.
He bought a Mediterranean-style home with five bedrooms and 5 1/2 bathrooms in 4,400 square feet. The house, built in 2002, also has an office, a family room with a corner fireplace, a pool, spa and fire pit.
Mori Biener of South Bay Brokers, Manhattan Beach, was the selling agent. John Altamura of the same firm had the listing.
Philanthropist walks off the court
Kate Edelman Johnson, producer, philanthropist and daughter of the late producer Lou Edelman, has sold her Beverly Hills tennis-court estate, listed at just under $10 million. She was the buyer of singer Paul Anka’s Beverly Hills home, sold in September for close to its $5.9-million asking price.
Now that Johnson has sold her estate, she is selling many of her paintings and antiques in a series of Christie’s auctions in New York and London. Proceeds will benefit a foundation she set up in the name of her late husband, Deane Johnson, to raise funds for Alzheimer’s research, particularly at a new UCLA center.
The tennis-court estate, designed by architect Paul Williams, was built in 1933 and has three bedroom suites, a library, a screening room, a wine cellar and an office. The 6,700-square-foot house is traditional in style.
Barbara Tenenbaum and Jade Mills at Coldwell Banker, Beverly Hills, had the listing.
Producer lists piece of Paradise
Sandy Gallin, producer of Broadway and TV shows such as “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer,” has built a gated Malibu home that he has listed at just under $30 million.
Gallin, who has managed such stars as Dolly Parton and Neil Diamond, is known for buying, refurbishing and selling houses. It’s unusual for him to build from the ground up.
This Cape Cod-style house, at Paradise Cove, has private beach access by foot or golf cart to more than 278 feet of sandy beach. Reached at the end of a long, private drive, the home also has a pool and city-to-ocean views. There are six bedrooms and eight bathrooms in the 9,300-square-foot residence. The furnishings can be purchased at extra cost.
The home is listed with June Scott of June Scott Estates, a Coldwell Banker company, Beverly Hills; Christopher Cortazzo of Coldwell Banker, Malibu West; and Kurt Rappaport of Westside Estate Agency, Beverly Hills.
To see previous columns on celebrity transactions, go to latimes.com/hotproperty.
