Hot Property: John Travolta gets $18 million for longtime Brentwood home
Is it the end of summer loving in Brentwood for John Travolta? The actor and his wife, actress Kelly Preston, have quietly sold their longtime home in the Los Angeles neighborhood in an off-market deal for $18 million. The buyer was a trust tied to big-time record executive Scooter Braun, who also owns the property next door.
The fenced and gated estate centers on a Spanish-style mansion of 9,100 square feet with 10 bedrooms and 10 bathrooms. A guardhouse and two garages are among other structures on the site.
Built in 1949, the two-story house features beamed ceilings, Saltillo tile floors and hand-painted tilework. Fireplaces with imported stone mantels bookend the living and dining rooms, which connect to the entry through a row of arches. Of the 10 bedrooms, four are master suites. There’s also a screening room.
Outside, the double-lot property is surrounded by mature trees and landscaping. The swimming pool is outfitted with a rock waterfall and spa. A treehouse, a playground, lawn, dining patios and an expansive deck with canyon views fill out the grounds.
Travolta and Preston originally leased the compound before buying it in the late 1990s. The couple own other property in Los Angeles, Maine and Florida.
Travolta, 65, gained fame in the 1970s for his roles in “Saturday Night Fever” (1977) and “Grease” (1978) as well as the television show “Welcome Back, Kotter.” The actor has shown no signs of slowing down, appearing in three films last year, including “The Poison Rose” with Morgan Freeman.
Preston, 57, has film credits that include “Twins” (1988) and “Jerry Maguire” (1996). More recently, she played Victoria Gotti in the 2018 biographical crime film “Gotti,” which starred Travolta as mobster John Gotti.
Braun, 38, formed Raymond-Braun Media Group, a joint venture with the artist Usher, in 2008. Among its clients are Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato.
Touching down by the beach
Athlete couple Aaron Rodgers and Danica Patrick made a big splash in Malibu as 2019 came to a close, buying a beachfront villa from British singer Robbie Williams for $28 million. Rodgers, a two-time NFL MVP, and Patrick, a former race car driver, began dating last year.
The massive sale was the third-largest transaction in the coastal city last year, trumped only by the $100-million sale of entertainment executive Ron Meyer’s home and Golden State Warriors majority owner Joe Lacob’s $29.1-million purchase of a home on Carbon Beach.
Rodgers and Patrick’s new place is set on a narrow lot that descends to the sand. The bluff-top property has two separate structures: a three-story main house and a two-bedroom guesthouse/garage. A swimming pool, decking and lounges fill out the grounds.
Inside, concrete floors, glass walls and splashes of wood touch up the interior. The open floor plan is anchored by a living room, dining area and gourmet kitchen. There are also four bedrooms, four bathrooms, an office and a den.
Considered one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, Rodgers boasts the league’s highest career passer rating at 102.7 and the lowest career interception percentage at 1.5%. In 2010, he led the Green Bay Packers to a Super Bowl championship and was named the game’s MVP.
A native of Wisconsin, Patrick is arguably the most successful woman in the history of American racing. In 2008, she became the first and only woman to win an IndyCar Series race and competed throughout the 2000s before retiring last year.
In the seller’s game now
Stand-up comic and actor Pauly Shore has put a house in Hollywood Hills West up for sale at $9.5 million.
The single-story house, built in 1959 and since remodeled, is gated from the street and takes in sweeping views of downtown Los Angeles, the ocean and the surrounding mountains.
Designed for indoor-outdoor living, the house features glass walls in the living and dining rooms that connect to patios and terrace space. The updated kitchen is outfitted with an island and stainless-steel appliances. The master suite — one of four bedrooms — has glass walls that connect to a wraparound deck. There’s also a dry sauna.
Outside, grounds of more than half an acre center on an infinity-edge swimming pool with a spa. A two-car garage and additional parking fill out the estate.
The 51-year-old Shore is known for his film roles in “Encino Man” (1992), “Son in Law” (1993) and “In the Army Now” (1994). He currently hosts the Random Rants video podcast on YouTube.
Shore bought the property in 1996 for $1.15 million. In recent years, he has had it up for lease for as much as $27,500 a month.
Marcie Hartley and Rick Hilton of Hilton & Hyland hold the listing.
Ready for another hit
A Beverly Hills home once owned by singer-songwriter Bobby Darin and later voice actor Noel Blanc has come up for sale at $8.5 million.
The Spanish-style compound, which has a separate guesthouse and a world-class recording studio, was owned by the “Beyond the Sea” crooner during the 1960s. Blanc, known for voicing Looney Tunes characters such as Elmer Fudd and Porky Pig, sold the property in the late 1990s after nearly three decades of ownership.
The current owner — a corporate entity tied to Takahiro “Tak” Matsumoto, a guitarist with Japanese rock duo B’z — bought the property in 2011 for about $3.64 million, records show.
Built in the 1920s and since renovated, the two-story house has hardwood floors, recessed lighting and an updated chef’s kitchen. The living room, which has a fireplace, opens to the family room. The five bedrooms and six bathrooms include an expansive master suite with a separate office, a bar and two private terraces.
Outside, the landscaped grounds feature a dining patio and swimming pool with a spa and waterfall feature. The recording studio — used by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Black Sabbath, Carlos Santana and Ozzy Osbourne, among others — sits in the rear.
Matsumoto, 58, formed B’z in the late 1980s with vocalist Koshi Inaba. He won a Grammy Award for best pop instrumental album in 2010 for his collaboration with Larry Carlton on “Take Your Pick.”
Markus Canter and Cristie St. James of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties are the listing agents.
Poof! It’s sold
Longtime Philadelphia Eagles long snapper Jon Dorenbos has been busy since retiring from the NFL, finding a second act as a magician competing on “America’s Got Talent.” He’s also been active in the real estate realm, selling his Huntington Beach townhouse for $1.15 million.
Recently remodeled, the two-story home sits a few blocks from the beach in the guard-gated Seacliff on the Greens community. Tile and hardwood cover the split-level floor plan, which steps down to a sunny living room and up to an open-concept space with a kitchen, dining area, family room and breakfast nook.
Vaulted ceilings top a second level complete with a loft and office. The story also has the master suite — one of two bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms in 2,300 square feet. It also has a fireplace and spa tub.
A pair of outdoor spaces take advantage of the coastal setting. A two-car garage with checkered floors completes the property.
Sukie Fee and Chelsea Roger of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage held the listing. Jeb Smith, also with Coldwell Banker, represented the buyer.
A two-time Pro Bowler, Dorenbos spent short stints with the Bills and Titans before signing with the Eagles, where he played 11 seasons and 162 consecutive games. In 2016, he competed as a magician on “America’s Got Talent” and placed third before rejoining the competition last year on the spinoff show “America’s Got Talent: The Champions.”
Northern closure for musician
The show appears to be over in Portland, Ore., for Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock. The indie musician, who co-owned an area bar that recently closed down, has listed his home nearby for $1.3 million.
Found a mile away from the now-shuttered Poison’s Rainbow, which Brock opened in 2018, the 111-year-old home retains its classic look. Green shingles cover the exterior, and tapered columns frame a covered front porch.
The 3,860-square-foot interior boasts hardwood floors, beamed ceilings, and wood-framed windows and doors. Built-ins sandwich a brick fireplace in the living room, and other highlights include a formal dining room and a music alcove. The kitchen is topped by a colorful pressed-tin ceiling.
Upstairs, the master suite extends to a private deck. There are three bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms in all.
Brock, 44, co-founded Modest Mouse in 1992 in Washington, and the band is currently based in Portland. The group has put out six studio albums over the last three decades. Its most recent release was “Strangers to Ourselves” in 2015.
Pat G. Kaplan of Kaplan Real Estate Group holds the listing.
