A buyer steps up to the plate
In what could be the first of several housing sales, Jamie McCourt unloaded her swimming pool in Holmby Hills — and the nearly 8,400-square-foot house that goes with it — for $6,525,000 in August, public records show.
Jamie and ex-husband Frank McCourt bought the gated property in 2004 for $6.5 million to create a compound of nearly five acres that included a pool. The Bostonians’ main residence, a Palladian-style villa of 20,000 square feet next door, was purchased for about $25 million.
The couple bought side-by-side beach homes in Malibu three years later, spending $27.25 million on a John Lautner-designed home and $18,975,000 on an adjoining house. Jamie McCourt holds the properties in her name only.
At the center of the McCourts’ divorce settlement trial is a dispute over ownership of the now-bankrupt Los Angeles Dodgers.
Two McCourt properties in Massachusetts and another in Montana are for sale, according to court documents.
Call it a house with character
Would Homer Simpson sell his house to Moe Szyslak, Apu, Chief Wiggum or Comic Book Guy? Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Homer on “The Simpsons,” has done just that, selling to Hank Azaria, who voices those characters and more on the 22-season-and-counting animated sitcom.
Castellaneta and his wife, television writer Deb Lacusta, sold their Pacific Palisades home of five years for $5.5 million.
Azaria is downsizing from a 9,000-square-foot home in Bel-Air with seven bedrooms and 10 bathrooms that he sold in September for $11,065,000. He paid $10 million for the gated traditional-style house two years ago.
The house Azaria bought from Castellaneta and Lacusta was designed by architect Gerard Colcord and built in 1928. The 4,414-square-foot Tudor features carved beams, leaded windows and arches between rooms. There are four bedrooms and 3 1/2 bathrooms including a master suite with a fireplace and dressing area. The nearly half acre of park-like grounds contain a saltwater pool and a studio.
Public records show that Castellaneta and Lacusta purchased the property in 2006 for $5.75 million.
The Emmy-winning Castellaneta, 53, also does the voices of Abe Simpson, Barney, Krusty the Clown, Groundskeeper Willie and Mayor Quimby.
Azaria, 47, stars in the NBC fall comedy “Free Agents” and lent his voice to the summer animated feature “The Smurfs.”
Joan McGoohan of Sotheby’s International Realty, Pacific Palisades, was the listing agent on the Pacific Palisades house, while David Offer of Prudential California, Brentwood, represented Azaria, according to the Multiple Listing Service.
Time to close up the beach house
It was crowded this summer at the beach. Actors Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell listed their Malibu beach house for $14,749,000 — joining about 50 other homes priced at $10 million or more in the coastal city.
Entered through a gated, landscaped courtyard, the Balinese-inspired house backs up to sand dunes and the ocean. The 4,300-square-foot house, built in 1978, was redesigned and renovated in 2005. It has a screening room, an office and a detached guest/meditation room. The master suite features floor-to-ceiling windows and a beachfront balcony for a total of four bedrooms and 4 1/2 bathrooms.
Hawn, 65, gained recognition among television viewers in the late 1960s for her role as a regular and dancer on “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In.” Among her film roles is “Cactus Flower” (1969), for which she won an Oscar for best supporting actress. She was nominated for best actress for “Private Benjamin” (1980).
Russell, 60, will star in the film “Waco” and the football movie “Touchback,” to be released this year.
The property, which was purchased in 1989, has been listed for sale or lease frequently since 1995.
Kimberley Pfeiffer of Coldwell Banker, Malibu Colony, is the listing agent.
Singing all the way to the bank?
Songwriter, singer and former “American Idol” judge Kara DioGuardi has listed a home in Studio City at $10 million.
The estate features a 7,600-square-foot house renovated and expanded by DioGuardi and her husband, home builder Mike McCuddy. The five-bedroom, 6 1/2-bathroom manse, originally built in 1923, sits on 3.5 acres and has an artist studio, an infinity pool and a hot tub.
DioGuardi, 40, was on the panel of “American Idol” for two seasons starting in 2009 and this year was a judge on “Platinum Hit.” She has written hundreds of songs and worked with Celine Dion, Gwen Stefani, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Pink and “Idol” winner Kris Allen, among others. The record producer co-owns Arthouse Entertainment, a music publishing company. She is appearing on Broadway as Roxie Hart in the revival of “Chicago.”
Public records show DioGuardi bought the property in 2004 for $3.5 million. She also owns a home in the Hollywood Hills that was listed for sale or lease last year.
Ginger Glass of Coldwell Banker’s Beverly Hills North office is the listing agent.
Looking for new cast in Westlake Village
The Westlake Village estate of TV producer and writer Bill Bickley, whose credits include “Happy Days” and “The Partridge Family” from the 1970s, is on the market at $4,395,000.
The 2.5-acre property includes a 7,000-square-foot house with five bedrooms and eight bathrooms, a nine-car garage and an infinity pool.
Bickley’s extensive body of work includes hundreds of episodes of series such as “Step by Step” and “Family Matters” in the 1990s.
The house last changed hands in 2004 for $3,585,000, according to public records.
Erin Pohl and Bob Pearson of Coldwell Banker Previews International, Westlake Village, are the listing agents.
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