Monday, March 22, 2010

Chachi Arcola Lists Encino House

SELLER: Scott Baio
LOCATION: Encino, CA
PRICE: $2,895,000
SIZE: 4,403 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Listen chickens, Your Mama and the Dr. Cooter decided to take a last minute vacation so we're phoning this in while sitting next to the swimming pool of a lovely Albert Frey designed house in Palm Springs. That's right. Palms Springs where it's all greys, gays, grey gays most of whom look like gym toned strips of bacon with diamond earrings and pedicures. Anyhoo, being on a much needed and earned vacation, we're gonna keep things as brief as we can without leaving the children with a complete case of the celebrity real estate withdrawls.

Thanks to several sources who have contacted us by way of covert communique over the last few days, we've learned that Scott Baio, better known perhaps as Chachi Arcola from the 1970 and 80s situation comedy Happy Days, recently listed his house in Encino, CA with an asking price of $2,895,000.

Mister Chachi first appeared on the silver screen with ladee lasagna Jodie Foster in the fierce Alan Parker version of Bugsy Malone in 1976. If any of you children haven't seen it, run out and rent it or NetFlix it or whatever it is you kids do nowadays. He then went on to his seminal role on Happy Days that lead, of course, to an unfortunate spin-off called Joanie Loves Chachi. That program ran one season–and one season too long–before it was canceled and Mister Chachi to the greener television pasture of Charles In Charge, which, frankly, was of no better quality but none the less ran a shocking 126 episodes according to the Internet Movie Data Base.

The next 15 years were celebrity purgatory for Mister Baio. He did appear in a number of situation comedies we've never heard of during those years but he was a unquestionably better known in Tinseltown as cocksman of epic proportions dating–or screwing–everyone from Beverly D'AngeloBrooke Shields, tErin Moran, Heather Locklear, Mogan Fairchild, Nicolette Sheridan, Lesley Ann Warren, Pamela Anderson, Liza Minelli, and Denise Richards, just to name of few of the bigger name females he's seen in the nood. He even dated Kristy McNichol and Jodie Foster. Make of that what you will children. In 2005 Mister Chachi appeared in a 4 episode arc on the brilliant but canceled Arrested Development and then, in 2007, he popped up with a reality program titled Scott Baio is 45...and Single. Your Mama, who will watch any damn reality program at least one time, found the show to be utterly pointless other than as a vehicle to restart a career that had all but died. Plus, he wasn't single, he had a ladee friend named Renee to whom he is now married and making babies with.

Anyhoo, property records show that Mister Baio bought his house in Encino way back in 1994 paying $1,385,000 for the single story residence located on the same street that sinking star Ashlee Simpson used to live on before she got too big for her britches and moved to Beverly Hills.

Both property records and listing information indicate the 4,403 square foot residence, situated at the tail end of a gated driveway, sits on just over an acre and includes 4 bedrooms, each with a private pooper, plus an additional half pooper for guests.

From the looks of things, the interior spaces were done up in a not very successfull Kelly Wearstler-lite meets 1995 sort of style with dark hardwood floors, tur-qwaze and swimming pool blue walls in the living and dining rooms, white tufted leather sofas and dining room chairs and at least one Arne Jacobson Egg Chair in white leather that we'd bet our long bodied bitches Linda and Beverly are imitations and not the real thing. It's all rather theatrical and oddly feminine and looks like it's trying (and not succeeding) to look like the lobby of a trend boo-teek hotel. This is not a good look puppies. Despite the off-center fireplace in the living room, it's not the bones of the house that are the real problem, but the suspicious day-fore. Fortunately that will go with the Mister and Missus Chachi when they decamp to their next home.

Just off the formal living room is the family room with it's leopard print carpeting and Z Gallerie brown micro-suede sectional sofa. The kitchen, all 1990s white glossy cabinetry, gray speckled granite counter tops and chunky stainless steel appliances, has an adjacent, glassy breakfast room outfitted with a cool on the footsies flagstone floor, a circular rug from Ikea, a round glass topped table and a couple of hanging paper lantern lights that were a decorative mistake from the get go. The children will note Mister and Missus Chachi's wee Pomeranian puppy tucked into its little dog bed in the corner.

Much of the back of the house opens to the back yard through floor to ceiling sliding glass doors. The grounds consist of a couple of terraces near the house, expansive lawns, planted gardens, an elevated swimming pool, built-in barbecue area, tennis court, koi pond and a gazebo all done up with a projector and flat screen tee-vees.

There were loads of rumors and reports in early 2008, including right here on Your Mama's little online endeavor, that Mister and Missus Chachi had gone and purchased an ass-uglee architectural atrocity in Encino. It seems that on his reality program he and the missus visited a hideous 5 bedroom and 5.5 pooper property on Strawberry Drive and during the visit Mister Chachi moaned and groaned about the mortgage payments. However, Your Mama can find no evidence Mister and Missus Chachi actually bought or moved into the house. They were, quite simply, making "reality" tee-vee.

It seems now, given that their house in on the open market, Mister and Missus Chachi have finally gotten serious about moving. Will Mister Scott Baio remain a valley boy or will Missus Scott Baio encourage a move to Brentwood or one of the other more swish zip codes on the other side of the hills?

source: Ewing / Sotheby's International Realty via Redfin

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

http://www.beaumondevillas.com/california/palm-springs/russell-house/index.html
this is were your mama resides at the moment.

Anonymous said...

The couldn't remove the baby gate (dog gate?) separating the entry foyer from the living room long enough to snap a picture?

Every room looks cheap and trendy. I'm pretty sure the hanging paper lights in the dining area are Ikea, too.

Candi Speling said...

Mama LOL at the Jodie Foster and Kristy McNichol references. That last one is a name I haven't heard in a long time. Everyone's in their mid- to late 40s now! Hope you're having a gay ole time on vacay! P.S. Watched "Mommie Dearest" over the weekend and I could swear those were gin-and-tonics Mommie was throwing back.

Anonymous said...

OK, so it ain't a mansion but it looks like a home where real people live ... comfortably!

Anonymous said...

Curious as to what kind of house he can afford which will have a lot to do with what he owes on this one?

Anyone have an idea of what kind of pay he got for the reality show? Just does not seem like he has made money for a long time but he still lives a nice lifestyle based on the show.

Carla Ridge said...

Imagine if Garry Marshall had lived another street in Toluca Lake; we might have been diss-cussin' the not-so-gaykor of Chachi Talofa, Chachi Mariota, or worse, Chachi Moorpark, LOL. We make that joke every time we go to TJ's over on Riverside. Yah, we're a barrel of laughs.

PS: remember to wipe the tanning butter from the diamonds before cocktails, mama. No one wants a crash of glass shattering the desert peace, poolside!

SID DELUCA said...

Mama if you and your main squeeze are still out in the desert please let us know what's going on with the real estate market there. Very curious how a second-home heavy area is faring during this "market adjustment". Don't burn.....turn!

Madam Pince said...

The chicken in the kitchen is just too ... [words fail me]

Anonymous said...

The impression given on the reality show was that Mr. Baio was, er, if not necessarily cheap, very careful with money, so given that I've never heard of him getting ripped off from his parents, if he's been that way his whole life, invested well since the 70's (with compounding), plus residual checks that still probably roll in on a monthly basis for "Happy Days" which hasn't gone out of syndication in 30 years, throw in the Charles in Charge, Diagnosis Murder & recent reality money, and he's probably got a decent nest egg...not enough to live lavishly, but probably enough to keep him living in upper-middle-class comfort for the rest of his life as long as he doesn't start spending like a drunken Chachi...

Anonymous said...

I feel quite sure that you both had a lovely holiday. But in the wake of that drastic healthcare business, I couldn't help but to conjur up a moment of silence for you and the Dr. Cooter yesterday.

It is my sincere "Hope" that you will maintain the resources with which to continue blogging, and that you will not have to resort to bushwhacking in the suburbs in order to pay the premiums for your covert communiques... no offense to either you, Barrack, George W., or even the proverbial vaginal shroud.

In case the above references make you queasy, then I will be happy to mail you a Prilosec for $15 + shipping and man-handling.

Carry on.

Jeannified said...

Everything in his house looks like it came from IKEA, which it probably did!

Liezl said...

What gets my attention here is the landscape of the garden. Having a backyard like that is cool and relaxing. It is an important factor to consider when moving out. My new home should always have a lovely touch of nature.

Anonymous said...

Fourth pic. Bottom left corner. The resident in the dog bed appears to be addressing us: "Bitch, why do I have to look at all these square lamps?"

property said...

it#ll be interesting to see where mr Chachi finally ends up and whether he can go through with the purchase of a new house. Let see who has the upper hand :)

Virgtastic said...

Liza Minelli? REALLY??