Suzanne Somers’ auction fizzles, but Palm Springs compound remains for sale
After shopping her Palm Springs compound for more than a decade, Suzanne Somers appeared on the cusp of selling her longtime desert retreat at auction last month. She must have had a change of heart.
The actress-entrepreneur and her husband, producer Alan Hamel, decided to not go through with the no-reserve bidding scheduled for Jan. 31. The 73-plus-acre property, which first hit the market in 2008 for $35 million, remains active on the Multiple Listing Service with a price of $14.5 million, records show.
Known as Les Baux de Palm Springs, the hillside retreat has been owned by Somers and Hamel since 1977, the year they were married.
The compound comprises multiple structures, including a main house that was designed by architect Albert Frey and evokes a French villa. Stone-lined paths connect the various living quarters, which combine to offer eight bedrooms, nine full bathrooms and two half-baths.
Designed for indoor-outdoor living and entertaining, there are outdoor dining areas, a stone amphitheater and a carousel. A separate tasting room and wine vault hold 5,000 bottles. There are also a lap swimming pool and a waterfall-fed pond.
A private funicular railway system provides means for navigating the property, which sits among boulders overlooking the Coachella Valley floor.
Somers, 71, is known for the 1973 film “American Graffiti” and, later, the sitcoms “Three’s Company” and “Step by Step.” Hamel, 81, hosted such ‘60s television game shows as “Wedding Party” and “Anniversary Game.” He later produced a number of Somers’ TV and video specials.
Scott Lyle of Douglas Elliman is the listing agent.
Presidential pad newly polished
A desert home with ties to both Hollywood and the White House has listed for sale in Rancho Mirage at $3.695 million.
Set in the Thunderbird Country Club, the contemporary house was built in 2016 on what was once part of former President Ford and Betty Ford’s estate. The previous house, once home to actress Ginger Rogers and next door to the Fords’ longtime residence, was used during their ownership as a command post for the Secret Service.
Entered through a walled and palm-topped courtyard, the five-bedroom, 6.5-bathroom house features high ceilings, white walls and floor-to-ceiling windows. A long entry hall lined with wood panels leads to the common areas.
The 5,852 square feet of open-plan space includes a living room with a modern wall fireplace, a formal dining room, a family room and a center-island kitchen. There are walk-in closets and a glass box-like shower in the master suite.
Covered terraces and sunning areas create additional living space outdoors. A swimming pool and spa, a fire pit, lawn and cactuses complete the setting.
John Nelson and Cat Moe of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage hold the listing.
An old haunt comes up for sale
The former Rancho Mirage home of “Interview With the Vampire” author Anne Rice has come to market at $3.9 million.
The gated contemporary-style home is on a little more than an acre in the Thunderbird Heights neighborhood. Rice bought the house in 2005 and owned it for about seven years, records show.
Built in 1995, the single-story home has about 9,200 square feet of living space, custom floors and an updated kitchen with a broad island. A step-down wet bar sits off the living room, which has one of three fireplaces.
The master suite lies in a separate wing and comprises multiple rooms. Including a two-bedroom casita, there are six bedrooms and 7.5 bathrooms.
Walls of glass doors open to the back, which holds an outdoor kitchen, patio space and a swimming pool with built-in seating. An outdoor dining terrace overlooks a cascading pond feature, lawns and desert landscaping.
Zwemmer Realty Group of Keller Williams Realty holds the listing.
Rice, 76, gained fame for her series of supernatural novels known as “The Vampire Chronicles.” Her other works include “Servant of the Bones” and “The Feast of All Saints,” the latter of which was made into a miniseries.
Modernist marvel seeks a match
The Edris House, a modernist design by architect E. Stewart Williams, has returned to the market in Palm Springs at $3.2 million, down $1 million from when it first listed earlier this year.
Built in 1952 for movie theater and farm owner William Edris and his wife, Marjorie, the knoll-top estate encompasses slightly more than two-thirds of an acre with commanding mountain and city views.
Concealed steel beams are used to support the home’s distinctive roofline, which features a subtle pitch and overhanging eaves. Original built-in screens serve as partitions for the 2,700 square feet of open-plan space.
In the heart of the home is the living and dining area, which has walls of windows and a rock-finished fireplace that runs from floor to ceiling. A kitchen filled with original details, three bedrooms and three bathrooms complete the living spaces.
Patio space, desert landscaping and a swimming pool and spa make up the grounds.
The property previously changed hands in 2001 for $1.2 million and in 1999 for $690,000, records show. Last year it was added to the National Register of Historic Places as a Class 1 site.
TTK Represents/HK Lane, an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate, holds the listing.
Not quite the Copacabana
Kevin Goetz, founder and chief executive of film marketing and research firm Screen Engine, has bought a modern post-and-beam home in Palm Springs for $3.6 million.
The desert spread, built in 2004, sits at the end of a curved driveway on the same three-quarter-acre lot where crooner Barry Manilow once had a home.
Designed by Ana Escalante, the flat-roofed house draws from midcentury-modern style with block walls, clerestories and steel and wood beams. Walls of floor-to-ceiling windows center on mountain and city-light views.
The roughly 5,075 square feet of open-plan space includes a vaulted-ceiling great room, a family room, a formal dining room, a wet bar and a kitchen. There are five bedrooms and six bathrooms, including a master suite that sits raised on a split level.
Outside, desert landscaping surrounds a slightly curved swimming pool. There’s also a two-bedroom guest suite complete with a salon and wet bar.
Andy Linsky, Sven Vennen and Kevin Bass of HK Lane Real Estate were the listing agents. Dan Valentino of Valentino & Valentino Real Estate represented the buyer.
Goetz began his career at NRG, now known as Nielsen Content, and is a former president of the motion picture group at OTX, a major player in the movie market research industry. He founded Screen Engine in 2011.
Twitter: @LATHotProperty
