Friday, February 15, 2008

Miscellaneous Mash Up

1.
Last June, Your Mama cooed and coveted the modest, low slung and architecturally dignified Mulholland Drive house (pictured above) of screenwriter Naomi Foner and television director Stephen Gyllenhaal when they put it up for a short term lease at $20,000 per month. And now, almost a year later, the old school and down to earth Hollywood couple who produced two big name celebrity children have put their Runyon Canyon adjacent house on the market with an asking price of $4,200,000. Listing information indicates the house contains 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms and that two of the bedrooms are currently being used as home offices. Property records show the house has 2,563 square feet, but that seems a bit smallish of a number for a house with 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.

Your Mama happens to love this house and it's juicy Jay Griffith designed landscaping. No babies, we don't love every stick of furniture or every hinge or every finish and pebble, but there really is little we'd alter about this house before moving in with the Dr. Cooter and our two long bodied bitches Linda and Beverly. Perhaps even our sour tempered pussycat Sugar could learn to be happy in a house with floor to ceiling windows looking out over the wilds of the canyon. We doubt it, but it would be worth a shot.

Natch, we don't have any idea where the Foner/Gyllenhaals will be moving their typewriters and enviable book collection. Will they head back east to be closer to daughter Maggie and her baby daddy Peter Sarsgaard and their their toddler who live in Brooklyn? Will they move full time to Martha's Vineyard where they have long maintained a residence? Or will they go to another lovely and well located contemporary house in Los Angeles? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? Anyone?

Since our previous discussion, and with the help of Lucy Spillerguts and Mirakle Mike, Your Mama has learned that His Hollywood Highness Jake Gyllenhaal beds down at night up on one of the better sections of Woodrow Wilson Drive. That is when he's not shacked up with his dee-vorcee ladee-friend Reese Witherspoon in her Brentwood crib, which is where all the tabs and gossip glossies say he's been sleeping a lot lately.

2.
Speaking of Woodrow Wilson Drive...Yesterday–or was it the day before?–Mister Big Time announced that buck toothed beauty Beverly D'Angelo had made the unexpected and unlikely purchase of Dan Aykroyd and Donna Dixon's legendary and rumored to be haunted house in the Hollywood Hills. This house had been on and off the market meh-nee times and Your Mama was starting to think no one would ever buy it.

Your Mama discussed this house and it's ka-rayzee wallpapered kitchen back in September of 2007 when the Aykroyd/Dixons had it up for lease at $30,000 per month, and we discussed it again in early November 2007 when they put it up for sale at $4,200,000.

Anyhoo, the children will recall that the 4,828 square foot house was previously owned by several other quirky and famous people including Ringo Starr and Mama Cass from The Mamas and the Papas. According to Mister Big Time (no link currently available) and property records, the lovely and talented Miz D'Angelo paid $3,800,000 for the 5 bedroom and 5.5 bathroom house. Your Mama could not be more thrilled that this property will continue to be owned by a big name personality who both rides the wave of Hollywood and manages to function outside of it's strictures.

3.
Speaking of four-plus million dollar asking prices...Did Dido get a deal? A few weeks ago, Your Mama discussed the Bird Street aerie that singer songwriter Dido dropped on the market with an asking price of $4,600,000, and it appears that the lucky ladee might have already secured a buyer. Although the house was clearly not without its bothersome issues of decor and layout, the location on celebrity laden Oriole Way makes it highly desirable for another celeb, or some rich someone who like to live around celebs. Or perhaps a developer who plans on building a new palace here and selling it for $9 or $12,000,000? We know nothing, but we certainly would not be surprised.

4.
Speaking of celebrity laden locations...We hear that the scuttlebutt about the surprising sale of socialite and philanthropist Nancy Daly's colossal Carbon Beach mansion is sweeping through the real estate community all up and down the Pacific Coast Highway. Your Mama is now hearing that the deal is done like a Thanksgiving Turkey and that the purchase price is actually closer to $55,000,000 rather than the $50,000,000 number that had first been whispered to us. That's one for the history books children.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful Home.

With the butterfly roof, it slightly resembles Wright's Buehler House in Orinda, CA.

Anonymous said...

Regarding no.#3
yes, the dido house sold quickly, it would only make sense that is from a developer, who else is going to drive that far up and not have a view. (even though aunt B sloane says it has one, he left out the part about the buyer having to walk to the edge of the deck, stretch your neck around and across into the neighbors yard and through the fence ... to enjoy a small view.. but maybe he wrote the copy for the listing after a very very late night of whiskey sours.......or they found another swallow drive fool ... who drives half hour up the hill, turns left, gets inside the house and says.. damn, i just spent $5,725,000 for a 5,000 sqft (that includes the garage)house.. I thnk i will go enjoy my view.... oh thats right, i don't have one..........damn

Anonymous said...

Great house.