Issue 12 STY Bela Lugosi Property - H 2014
Michael McNamaraThis story first appeared in the April 4 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.
Bela Lugosi‘s 1926 Beachwood Canyon retreat, a 5,000-square-foot spread with five bedrooms and a ballroom-size living room, has been extensively restored and updated. Think sparkling new kitchen and baths along with such original features as Italian slate floors, hand-carved mahogany and lead-paned windows that look out toward Moby‘s nearby Wolf’s Lair home. “This has such Hollywood soul, and inside it’s like a brand-new house,” says listing agent Konstantine Valissarakos of Sotheby’s International Realty. “There are even original stone walkways that still have pawprints of Lugosi’s dog.”
Price: $4.2 million
Janet Leigh‘s former Beverly Hills home is perched high on its own promontory for downtown-to-ocean views. Newly remodeled and transformed into a contemporary estate, the gated house, set on three-quarters of an acre and surrounded by pine trees, has four bedrooms, four and a half baths and a two-sided fireplace in the center of the living room. Leigh purchased the property, which includes an outdoor cabana, detached office and tennis court, in 1976. Joyce Rey of Coldwell Banker International Previews shares the listing with Valerie Fitzgerald, also of Coldwell Banker.
Price: $6.5 million
Bruce’s East Coast traditional in Pacific Palisades.
Originally designed by architect Herbert Ridenberg for The Great Ziegfeld actress Virginia Bruce (who was married to John Gilbert from 1932 to 1934), this 7,000-square-foot East Coast traditional in Pacific Palisades was built in 1938 and has been extensively updated while keeping its original character. Set on more than 1.5 acres, the compound includes a detached apartment, an orchard, a swimming pool and a meandering stream. Original details, like a hidden staircase connecting the master suite to a ground floor “pub” area, have been maintained. Cindy Ambuehl of Partners Trust has the listing.
Price upon request.
