No joke: Barry Sobel puts his Venice condo on the market
“I’ve been livin’ la vida Yoda, and it’s time to go,” says comedian, writer and actor Barry Sobel, who has listed his condominium in a gated Venice complex at $849,000.
A decade ago he was splitting his time between the two-bedroom “fortress,” as he calls it, and the Paramount Hotel in New York City while writing for “Saturday Night Live.”
One Friday before a Saturday show, comic Jimmy Fallon was working with Sobel on a parody song in the unit’s second bedroom/office and “Livin’ La Vida Yoda” was born.
“I was crying-laughing so hard that I had to crawl on the floor to the other room,” Sobel said.
The modern loft-style town house features floor-to-ceiling windows, vaulted ceilings and a deck with mountain and city views. There are 1,263 square feet of living space in three levels.
The kitchen has slate counter tops, stainless-steel appliances and Italian tile floors. Among personal touches is a strategically placed 8-by-10 of Fallon bearing the inscription, “Ha, you found the garbage.”
Asked if the photo will be included in the purchase, Sobel replied it would be negotiated separately.
Near shops and restaurants and decorated with oversized Radiohead and Bruce Springsteen posters, the place “is like a ‘Pee-Wee’s Playhouse’ for an adult,” Sobel said. “I go everywhere on my bike.”
Sobel is selling because his work will be taking him back to his roots and on the road. “I’m a standup comedian,” said Sobel, whose early routines put rap into comedy. “I’m moving on to my dreams.”
Beyond standup, Sobel has a cartoon in development with Tom Hanks and is working with Hanks on an internet homage to his Comedy Central talkshow from the ‘90s, “The Barry Sobel Show.”
“Everything you loved about a talk show we did in three minutes,” Sobel said.
He met Hanks on the movie “Punchline” (1988), in which Sobel had a part and served as an advisor to the star. Sobel played the new nerd in the film “Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise” (1987).
Staci Siegel of Engel & Voelkers, Santa Monica, has the listing.
