Dido’s swan song from bird street
“Roswell” fans know Dido as the singer of the show’s “Here With Me” theme. The rest of us know her as the singer of those New Age-y songs that stay stuck in our heads long after we want them to.
The 36-year-old Dido -- whose name comes from the legendary Carthaginian queen who killed herself when Aeneas left her in Virgil’s “Aeneid” -- may be “Here With Me” on the radio, but she’s gone, gone, gone from her house on the so-called bird streets of the Hollywood Hills. It fetched $4,450,000 after being listed at $4.6 million.
The one-story, three-bedroom home was built in 1951 and faces the Mid-Wilshire skyscrapers. The property is walled and gated and has a dramatic living room in the Hollywood Regency style. There’s a pool, a spa and a media room and a large master suite with a fireplace and marble bathroom. Public records show the house has 3,739 square feet.
Dido’s “No Angel” was the top-selling album of 2001 in the United Kingdom, whence she hails.
Things have been somewhat quiet on the “DidoWatch” for the last few years. But there’s a new album due in September -- coming soon to an elevator near you.
Barry Sloane of Sotheby’s International Realty in Beverly Hills had the listing, according to the Multiple Listing Service.
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Hope and faith in the market
For 85 episodes of “thirtysomething,” actress Mel Harris played Hope Murdoch Steadman -- a writer and stay-at-home mother who struggled with her desire to be there with her kids and to work. From 1987 to 1991, millions of real-life mothers kept a weekly date with Hope, trying to glean a shred of insight on how to walk this tightrope -- or at least identifying with the walk.
Harris, 51, who has two children of her own, has listed the Pacific Palisades property she has owned since 2003 at $4,197,000.
The 4,500-square-foot remodeled, four-bedroom, 5 1/2 -bathroom Country English home sits on a corner lot. It has a brand-new marble-countered kitchen and bathrooms. Floors are hardwood and travertine, and the living room has a Batchelder fireplace. There is a pool, a detached two-car garage and a bonus room. The master bedroom has a high vaulted ceiling, a walk-in closet and a bathroom that will remind you of your favorite spa.
The cool-as-a-cucumber actress, named one of America’s 10 most beautiful women by Harper’s Bazaar in 1989, is separated. One of her previous husbands was David Hume Kennerly, official White House photographer to President Ford.
Loraine Silver, John Hathorn and Charles Pence of Coldwell Banker Previews, Santa Monica have the listing.
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Actress doubles as a home seller
The next best thing to hanging out at Angelina Jolie’s house -- which would make you Brad Pitt, of course -- might be to hang out at the house of her body double, which is for sale in Silver Lake for $699,000.
Body double and actress Kate Clarke is selling her two-bedroom, one-bathroom home. The 724-square-foot California bungalow has wood floors, a large terraced backyard and a garden patio for entertaining.
Clarke starred in the Emmy-nominated online media hit “Sophie Chase,” in which she played an online detective. This was the first year that the category was recognized by the award group.
The 5-foot-7 Clarke also was Jolie’s body double in “Mr. and Mrs. Smith.” As she told “E!,” no, she did not get to do any of the love scenes with the Bradmeister. But her work in the film led Vanity Fair to call hers one of the “hottest bodies in Los Angeles.” And yeah, the house she is selling is kind of cute too.
The Minnesota transplant, who hopes to buy again in Mount Washington, says the views from her house are great.
“On a good day,” she said, “you can see the ocean -- but only on a good day.”
Clarke plays an ER nurse in the Will Smith movie “Hancock,” due for general release July 2.
Agent Michael Slater, Prudential John Aaroe, has the listing.
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Uber duo’s latest deal: luxe condo
Hollywood uber agent Toni Howard and her husband, producer David Yarnell, have purchased an 18th-floor junior penthouse in a full-service luxury Westwood condominium building for $3.3 million, according to public records. The unit was listed at $3,679,000.
Howard, a senior vice president with the talent agency International Creative Management, is reputed to be on the go 24/7, making deals for her clients, the likes of whom include Halle Berry, Michael Caine, Laura Linney, Christopher Walken, Anjelica Huston and Samuel L. Jackson.
The 3,200-square-foot condo has three bedrooms and 3 1/2 bathrooms. There’s a double-door entry into the unit, which has 10-foot ceilings and a 50-foot great room with unobstructed views from Hollywood to Santa Catalina Island. The recently renovated condo has wraparound balconies providing more than 500 square feet of deck space.
There are marble kitchen counters, travertine floors and walnut cabinetry.
The building has a heated saltwater swimming pool, north-south tennis courts and a fitness center. The unit comes with three parking spaces, a prized possession along the busy Wilshire corridor.
The seller is former KCBS-TV Channel 2 weatherman Tony Williams, who bought the condo in November 2006 for $2.8 million, property records show.
Williams left the station in 2003 and has since been dabbling in real estate -- buying, renovating and selling properties on the Westside, including a $9-million Malibu oceanfront estate he restored and sold to Brad Pitt in 2005.
Barbara and Nichelle Robinson of Hilton & Hyland in Beverly Hills represented the seller. Sharyn Gertz of Prudential California Realty, Beverly Hills, represented the buyers.
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