Hot Property: Former home of actress Dorothy Dandridge lists for $3.5 million

 

A Hollywood Hills home once owned by Oscar-nominated film star and singer Dorothy Dandridge ("Carmen Jones," "Porgy and Bess") is on the market at $3,495,000.

The restored 1926 Mediterranean has three bedrooms and five bathrooms in 4,368 square feet. There are arched doorways and windows, beamed ceilings and stained-glass windows. The master bedroom suite features a circular bathroom.

The property sold for $849,000 in 1998, according to public records.

There are more photos at latimes.com.

--Lauren Beale

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Photo: Three terraces with city views provide space for entertaining. The listing agents are Kathy Marshall and Delphine Mann of Coldwell Banker, Beverly Hills. Credit: Jeffrey Ong / PostRain Productions

 

Hot Property: Screenwriters' Hollywood Hills home has a starry past

A 1938 Spanish-style house in the Hollywood Hills owned by screenwriters Roger Simon ("The Big Fix") and Sheryl Longin ("Dick") is listed at $2,295,000.

The restored house of 3,335 square feet has seven bedrooms, six bathrooms, two offices and a large loft. Vibrant tile work embellishes the kitchen and bathrooms. The living room opens to an outdoor living and entertainment space.

Among the home’s former occupants was Marilyn Monroe, according to the Movieland Directory.

Simon and Longin, who have used the property as their home and a place to write, are selling because they are relocating to Bainbridge Island, Wash.

The property previously had been listed at $2,625,000 last fall.

There are more photos at latimes.com.

--Lauren Beale

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Photo: The house looks out on a black-bottom pool with spa. There also are canyon and mountain views. The listing agent is Ginger Glass of Coldwell Banker, Beverly Hills. Credit: Adrian Tiemens

Hot Property: Actor D.W. Moffett sells Beachwood Canyon house

Actor D.W. Moffett ("Friday Night Lights") and his wife, Kristal, have sold their longtime Beachwood Canyon home for $1.75 million.

The 1926 Mediterranean, designed by architect John DeLario, has four bedrooms and 4 1/2 bathrooms in 2,506 square feet. 
 
The home came on the market in April at $1,895,000. According to public records, they purchased the property in 1998 for $775,000.

-- Lauren Beale

Thoughts? Comments?

Photo: The house sits on one-third of an acre lot with a heated swimming pool and a walled garden. Rose Ware and Terry Canfield, both of Prudential California Realty’s West Hollywood office, represented the sellers and the buyers. Credit: Rose Ware

Hot Property: Producer picks up Ruth Buzzi's Hollywood Hills home for $1,021,000

Veteran actress and comedian Ruth Buzzi has sold her longtime Hollywood Hills home for $1,021,000 to film producer Daniel Dubiecki.

The 1937 Spanish-style house, with canyon and mountain views, has three bedrooms and three bathrooms in 2,893 square feet. There are fireplaces in the living room and master bedroom, high ceilings, balconies and two decks.

The two-story home, which she had owned since 1976, came on the market at the end of December at $1.55 million with listing agent Aaron Montelongo of Sotheby’s International Realty’s Sunset office.

In the first half of the year, 87 existing homes sold in Buzzi's 90068 ZIP Code at a median of $864,000, according to MDA DataQuick. That was a 16.2% drop from the first half of 2008.

The median price paid per square foot for the first half of the year was $468, so if she had sold at the median it would have gone for $1,353,924. Of course, we don't know the condition or other variables, but on paper, not bad for Dubiecki.

-- Lauren Beale

Thoughts? Comments?

Hot Property: Producers list Hollywood Hills home

Noreen Halpern, executive producer of HBO’s "Hung," and her husband, Kevin Murphy, the Emmy-winning writer and producer of "Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical," have listed their Hollywood Hills home at $1,195,000.

The English country-style home, built in 1927, has four bedrooms and three bathrooms in 2,736 square feet.

The 90068 ZIP Code had 87 existing single-family home sales in the first half of the year at a median price of $864,000, according to MDA DataQuick, a 16.2% price drop from the first half of last year.

For what it's worth, at that price per square foot of $468, this house works out to $1,280,448.

In July, 90068 had 18 single-family sales at a $825,000 median, MDA DataQuick figures show, a price drop of 13.2% from July 2008. That's $558 a square foot.

If you are checking out area houses this Saturday and Sunday, this one will be open both afternoons, according to listing agent Frank Bruno of Keller Williams Realty Sunset. There are a couple more photos at latimes.com.
 
--Lauren Beale

Thoughts? Comments?

Photo: There are coved ceilings, small-pane windows and two fireplaces. A walled brick courtyard, a spa and mature fruit trees are among the outdoor features.

 

 

Hot Property: Acting couple sell in the Hollywood Hills

Actor-director Vondie Curtis-Hall and his wife, actress-director Kasi Lemmons, have sold their Hollywood Hills home for $2,175,000.

Their house, on and off the market since 2005, was listed at $3,595,000 in 2007, at $2,899,000 in March 2008 and at $2,195,000 in April. They purchased the property in 1998 for $675,000, public records show. Nothing like 11 years of ownership to help weather the ups and downs of the marketplace.

The single-story Spanish-style house, built in 1965, is gated and sits on about 1.25 acres. The 3,188-square-foot house has three bedrooms and four bathrooms, plus there's a swimming pool and a guesthouse.

The couple's 90046 ZIP Code had 101 single-family sales in the first half of the year at median price of $930,000, according to MDA DataQuick, a -19.6% price drop from the first half of last year.

That's a first-half median sales price of $511 per square foot for the area so far this year, for those of you keeping track.

The complete story is at Hot Property.

--Lauren Beale

Thoughts? Comments?

 

Hot Property: Producer lists redone classic at $2,195,000

 

David Lipman, a producer for Dreamworks' "Shrek" movies, has listed his Hollywood Hills residence at $2,195,000.
 
He bought the classic mid-century in 2000 for $678,000 and completely overhauled the home, removing walls, updating systems and adding more windows.

The two-bedroom, two-bathroom home, with fireplaces in the living room and master bedroom, has 1,875 square feet of living space and a swimming pool.

In Lipman's 90046 ZIP Code, 27 single-family homes have sold since the beginning of the year at a median price of $880,000, according to MDA DataQuick. That's a price drop of 24.5% from the first half of 2008.

--Lauren Beale

Thoughts? Comments?

Photo: The redone 1961 house has mountain, canyon and city lights views. The listing agent is Max Nelson of Deasy/Penner & Partners, Beverly Hills. Credit: Jim Simmons

[UPDATED] Hot Property: Actor lists Hollywood Hills home purchased in March

Update: This version includes details on the extent of the work done on the property.

Veteran film and stage actor Barry Miller’s wood, stone and glass house in the Hollywood Hills is for sale at $2,125,000.

The 1963 home, which had undergone a down-to-the-studs remodel by architect Robert Kerr early this year, has three bedrooms and 3 1/2 bathrooms in 2,440 square feet.

The actor purchased the property in March for $1.95 million and had been working on changes to the kitchen, bathrooms, exterior and interior color schemes, exterior cladding and the fountain, among other items, before moving in. Now, work is calling him back east.

It's not the market for flipping, but, Miller said, the purchase was not planned as such. "I had every intention of living in the house," he said.

-- Lauren Beale

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Photo: The house has hand-distressed walnut floors and a two-story wall of glass in the stairwell overlooking trees and a stream. Valerie Friedman of Sotheby’s International Realty, Beverly Hills, has the listing. Credit: Robin Sachs

Hot Property: 'Gossip Girl' executive producer lands in Hollywood Hills

 

"Gossip Girl" executive producer Bob Levy has purchased a Hollywood Hills-area home for $1,005,000.

The updated 1965 house has two bedrooms and 2 1/2 bathrooms in about 1,620 square feet. The two-story house previously sold for $759,000 in 2004. Asking price was $1,125,000. The listing agent was Crystal Heatherly of Deasy/Penner & Partners, Beverly Hills. Konstantine Valissarakos of Sotheby’s International Realty, Los Feliz, represented the buyer.

The 90068 ZIP Code had 13 single-family home sales in May at a median price of $670,000, down 34.8% from the same month in 2008, according to MDA DataQuick. That worked out to $542 per square foot.

-- Lauren Beale

Thoughts? Comments?

Photo: The listing described the house as a "modern reinterpretation" design by L.A.-based architect Chet Callahan. Credit: Brian Thomas Jones

Hot Property: Singer-songwriter-actor lists Hollywood Hills home

 

Singer-songwriter-actor Jesse McCartney has listed his Hollywood Hills home of two years at $1,199,000.
 
The updated house, built in 1965, has two bedrooms and 2 1/2 bathrooms in 1,600 square feet. Outdoors there’s a spa with a waterfall.

McCartney bought the property in 2007 for $1,076,000. Elise Woroboff of Coldwell Banker, Beverly Hills, has the listing.

McCartney is 22, and this was his second home purchase. There are more photos at latimes.com.

--Lauren Beale

Thoughts? Comments?

Photo: A firepit in the backyard of the home, on which McCartney spent $200,000 improving. Credit: William MacCollum / www.maccollum.com