Livin’ large on the Westside
Ricky Martin, whose “Almas del Silencio” is the first Spanish-language album he’s made in five years, has purchased a Westside home for close to its $11.9-million asking price.
The pop star, 32, bought a six-bedroom, 11,000-square-foot home on a 2 1/2 -acre knoll behind gates. The newly built Mediterranean-style villa has views from downtown L.A. to the ocean, a gym and a detached guest house. The grounds also have a pool and a tennis court.
Martin, a native of Puerto Rico, started as a singer at age 12 as the youngest member of the Latin pop group Menudo. He released his first English-language album, with the hit single “Livin’ La Vida Loca,” in 1999. Martin’s breakthrough performance at the Grammy Awards that year sparked a musical-crossover craze.
Martin, who appeared in the mid-’90s on “General Hospital,” also has had such pop hits as “She Bangs” and “Shake Your Bon-Bon.”
Kurt Rappaport and Stephen Shapiro of Westside Estate Agency had the listing with Joe Babajian and Kyle Grasso of Prudential John Aaroe, and Barry Peele of Sotheby’s International Realty, Beverly Hills, represented Martin in buying, according to public records.
Time for less bay and more L.A.
Sharon Stone has put her San Francisco home of half a dozen years on the market at $15 million. The actress, who plays Halle Berry’s nemesis in the action-adventure “Catwoman,” is spending more time in the L.A. area, where she was living before 1998 when she married Phil Bronstein, executive vice president and editor of the San Francisco Chronicle. They were divorced this year.
The home that Stone, 46, is selling has seven bedrooms and 8 1/2 bathrooms in about 10,000 square feet. The house, built in 1908, was recently renovated. It has beach access and views of the Golden Gate Bridge.
The home, on a double lot, is co-listed with Gloria Smith at Sotheby’s International Realty in San Francisco and Barry Peele of Sotheby’s office in Beverly Hills.
Legendary lodge changes hands
Pickfair Lodge, once a part of the legendary Beverly Hills estate known as Pickfair, has been sold for close to its $3.9-million asking price.
The three-bedroom, nearly 7,000-square-foot lodge was sold by the late actor Buddy Rogers’ widow, Beverly, who lives in the Palm Springs area.
Rogers, who died in 1999 at 94, built the lodge in 1980, after actress Mary Pickford, his wife of 42 years, died. With her pre-arranged approval, Rogers moved into the lodge and sold the rest of the estate. After he sold it, the estate was almost entirely torn down and rebuilt.
Pickford was married to actor Douglas Fairbanks when he had architect Wallace Neff turn a hunting lodge into Pickfair, site of many Hollywood parties.
Pickfair Lodge has three wet bars, including a western-themed one with original items from Pickfair. The gated home, on nearly 30,000 square feet of land, also has a patio overlooking a pool and sports court, a separate guest house and a large motor court.
Elaine Young and Barbara Eisner of Century 21 Elaine Young Real Estate, Beverly Hills, had the listing and Dan Beder of Coldwell Banker, Beverly Hills, represented the buyer.
Wilshire condo for makeup magician
Oscar winner Stan Winston, who has described himself as a character designer for his makeup and visual effects work on such movies as “Jurassic Park” (1993), “A.I.: Artificial Intelligence” (2001) and “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines” (2003), has purchased TV icon Grant Tinker’s Wilshire condominium for about $2.6 million.
The condo has two bedrooms, a media room and 3 1/2 bathrooms in about 3,000 square feet. It’s in a building, constructed in 2001, with a concierge, valet, gym and pool.
Tinker, chairman of NBC in the ‘80s, listed the condo in July with Drew Mandile and Brooke Knapp of Sotheby’s International Realty, Beverly Hills. Stephen Shapiro of Westside Estate Agency represented Winston, sources said.
A deal is born
in Beverly Hills
Jon Peters, the former hairdresser who went on to produce a string of films starting with “A Star Is Born” (1976), starring Barbra Streisand, has been identified as the buyer of tennis ace Pete Sampras’ Benedict Canyon home.
Peters bought the four-bedroom, 5,000-square-foot house on 1 1/2 acres in the Beverly Hills area, for $3 million. The home also has a tennis court and a pool.
Peters also owns a couple of other homes on the Westside.
Home hip-hops onto the market
Actor Will Smith sold his home in the North Ranch area of Westlake a year ago, and now, after a major renovation, the Spanish-style estate is on the market at just under $4 million.
The one-story, 5,100-square-foot home, on 4 1/2 acres, has five bedrooms, 4 1/2 bathrooms and a recording studio that Will Smith had built. The gated hacienda also has a pool, a spa, seven waterfalls, an outdoor fireplace and a par-three hole for playing golf.
The house was built in 1991 and was renovated by Realtor Jordan Cohen and his investment partner, Ron Sentchuk. Cohen has the listing at Re/Max Olson & Associates, Westlake Village.
