Advertisement

A lot can change in 2 weeks

Share
Times Staff Writer

Let’s face it: Eddie Murphy has his hands full. First he exchanged vows with producer Tracey Edmonds on New Year’s Day on a private island off Bora Bora. Then the pair announced their split just two weeks later, before they even had the chance to make their ceremonial union legal in the United States.

Meanwhile, his first wife, model Nicole Mitchell Murphy, is moving on as well. She and Murphy have sold their Granite Bay compound, near Sacramento, for $6.1 million.

The 10-bedroom, multilevel home in a gated community has an 11,000-square-foot main house and a detached, 5,200-square-foot guesthouse. There are two guest suites.

Advertisement

The Murphys considered it their vacation home. It sits on 2.5-plus acres of lush grounds and has views of Folsom Lake.

There is a home theater with a video-game arcade, a tennis court, a gym, an infinity pool, a spa and an outdoor kitchen with a barbecue. The compound was built in 1996 and redone by the couple after they bought it in 1998.

Nicole also has her Calabasas home on the market at slightly under $10 million. That home has six bedrooms in 9,200 square feet.

Eddie, 46, and Nicole, 40, were married for 12 years and have five children. The divorce was final in 2006.

The comic actor starred in such blockbusters as the “Doctor Dolittle” and “Nutty Professor” movies. He was also the voice of Donkey in the “Shrek” movies and costarred in “Dreamgirls” (2006).

Moe Abourched at MSM Luxury Estates-Re/Max OTB Estates, in Sherman Oaks, had the Granite Bay listing.

Advertisement

Neff is a bargain at $85 million

Imagine listing a property at $85 million and not being able to toot its horn as the most expensive residential listing on the Westside.

Winner of the highest price-tag award goes to the 1920s-era Beverly Hills estate that was once owned by newspaper czar William Randolph Hearst and his girlfriend, actress Marion Davies, and is on the market at $165 million.

But for a mere $85 million, there is the home once owned by Henry Singleton, co-founder of Teledyne Inc.

It was the last major work of architect Wallace Neff, according to “Wallace Neff: Architect of California’s Golden Age,” compiled and edited by the architect’s son, Wallace Neff Jr. The architect designed an estimated 500 to 600 homes in his lifetime.

The Southern Colonial-style home in Holmby Hills was built in 1970, and this is the first time it has been offered for purchase.

“I hope you won’t sell this house,” the architect’s son remembers telling Caroline Singleton, widow of Henry.

Advertisement

“Oh, no,” Neff Jr. recalled her saying, “but it’s awfully big for one lady.”

Her death has prompted her family to put the estate on the market.

The home is on more than 7 acres of gated grounds and has 10 bedrooms and 11 1/2 bathrooms in 15,520 square feet, according to public records. The property has a motor court to accommodate at least 20 cars, as well as a tennis court and a pool.

The grand entryway has high ceilings and oversized doors and there is a 7,000-square-foot basement, but it’s the yard that prompts Neff’s son to say it’s “awesome because of its large size.”

The listing agents are Danny Harvey and Joyce Essex, both of Coldwell Banker, Beverly Hills North.

Marketing wiz goes to market

Keith Yamashita -- lauded as “the most influential consultant you’ve never heard of” by Fast Company magazine -- has built a name for himself as a marketing and advertising wonder in the high-tech industry.

Yamashita, 37, has listed his contemporary Manhattan Beach home, built in 2005, at close to $3.5 million. The four-bedroom, 4,100-square-foot house is on a walk street and has five outdoor living spaces, including decks and patios, one with a fireplace.

The sleek, multilevel home was put on the market because Yamashita and his partner, Todd Holcomb, are planning to return to San Francisco, where their 10-year-old company -- Stone Yamashita Partners -- is based.

Advertisement

Yamashita guides businesses on strategy, culture and branding. Some of the companies that have worked with him are Mercedes-Benz USA, Hewlett-Packard, IBM and the Public Broadcasting Service.

John Corrales at Northwest Realty, Manhattan Beach, has the listing.

An NBA star in the condo game

NBA star Baron Davis of the Oakland-based Golden State Warriors just closed the door on two West Hollywood condominiums.

The 28-year-old point guard bought the adjacent condos in the 92-unit Empire West tower, then marketed them as a package and sold them for close to $2.7 million.

Davis purchased the condos separately in 2005 and 2006 for $1.2 million and $1.15 million, respectively.

Max Shapiro of Westside Estate Agency, Beverly Hills, represented Davis in his transactions.

ruth.ryon@latimes.com

Advertisement

To see previous columns, go to latimes.com/hotproperty.

Advertisement