Goodbye to an L.A. real estate legend

It is the end of an era here at the Los Angeles Times -- Ruth Ryon, creator and author of the "Hot Property" column about celebrity real estate, has filed her final column. Though she is, as she reliably reported in her final column, "only '39'," she is taking a buyout and moving on to other projects.

Ruthie, as she is known around here, pretty much invented the celebrity real estate genre. Her columns were newsy, witty, cheerful and full of appreciation for fine houses -- like the Lautner-designed beach house in Malibu pictured here.

Even for L.A.'s fabulous people, it was a big deal to be featured in Ruth's column. During the O.J. Simpson trial, the contents of Nicole Brown Simpson's safe deposit box were entered into evidence. The world learned that her box of treasured possessions included an old newspaper clipping -- a Ruth Ryon Hot Property column that told of Simpson's purchase of a Laguna Beach home.

She wrote the column for 24 years -- that's more than a thousand columns. "I loved my job and could have continued for ages," she writes in her final column. "I am, after all, only '39' -- but I saw the real benefit of The Times' latest buyout: a chance to do something new."

Thanks, Ruth, and good luck. We'll miss you.

Photo Credit: Michael McCreary

Comments

[Cassiopoea]

I loved the "Hot Property" column. Good luck to Ruth in her future endeavors. Please let us know if she decides to start a blog or lands at another publication. Thanks!

[LeavinLA]

She was THE best. Even before I moved to LA in the 1990s, I devoured her column every week. Have fun in your new gig!

[Kaye Thomas]

I will miss Ruth's column.. The column was fun with a lot more going for it then celebrity news. I loved her posts on some of the wonderful classic homes that are still surviving in LA.

[E]

The best place for celebrity RE is www.Realestalker.blogspot.com.

FUNNY FUNNY FUNNY