Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa February/March 2019 | Page 65

CELEBRITY HOMES awards, top international awards and multiple honorary degrees, he has been recognized with the Kennedy Center Honors and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The charming Napa getaway, named Danza del Sol, lies perched on a knoll on 10 ultra-private acres surrounded by woods and vegetation with walking paths. The compound includes the main house, a 90-square-foot artist studio/guest house and two large garages. The 5,200-square-foot main house is modest by film mogul standards with three bedrooms, four bathrooms, a large great room, den, library-office, sunny white kitchen and formal dining room. Multiple wood-burning fireplaces exist throughout the home. The quaint studio/guest house has a huge open space filled with light from a wall of French doors and double garage door that rise high into the vaulted ceiling. One of the two garages houses a large workshop and exercise studio. Terraces by the pool, spa and outdoor dining areas offer calming views and are perfect for entertaining. The Napa Valley estate of Robert Redford is now for sale upon his retirement. Priced at $7.5 million, the listing agent is Steven Mavromihalis of Pacific Union International, San Francisco. “Zsa Zsa Gabor & Elvis Presley Lived Here” It doesn’t get much better than Zsa Zsa, Elvis and a party with The Beatles - one of the most storied celebrity homes in America was for sale at $23.45 million and sold in a few months for $20.8 million. The Bel Air home was built in 1955 by eccentric playboy, wealthy businessman and aviator Howard Hughes - romantic friend of Ava Gardner, Katharine Hepburn and several more Hollywood stars. It was later Elvis Presley’s home who entertained The Beatles there in 1965. Zsa Zsa Gabor bought it in 1974 and stayed until she died in 2016. Guests who have visited the property include Queen Elizabeth, Ronald Reagan, Elizabeth Taylor and Frank Sinatra. A house well-known in the film industry, it was the location for ‘Behind the Candelabra,’ starring Michael Douglas and Matt Damon, and in the Oscar- winning film ‘Argo,’ starring Ben Affleck. Zsa Zsa was on her sixth of nine husbands when she purchased the house, married to Jack Ryan, the creator of the Barbie doll, Hot Wheels and Chatty Cathy. They were divorced two years later, but as Zsa Zsa was fond of saying, “I am a marvelous housekeeper. Every time I leave a man, I keep his house.” She continued to live in the house for 40 years and three more husbands. Zsa Zsa decorated it lavishly from the era and place in history to which she felt most connected, the French Court of Louis XV, with touches of gold leaf, elegant furnishings and her ultra-feminine dressing table. When Zsa Zsa died, so did part of the legendary Old Hollywood glamor. Sited on over an acre, the residence features spacious rooms with high ceilings, a main level that opens into a circular foyer to a grand living room, formal dining room, six bedrooms including a master suite with a two-room closet, seven bathrooms, office, breakfast room, and chef ’s kitchen with a butler’s pantry. The large, upper-level bonus room opens to a Monte Carlo-style rooftop terrace with commanding views ideal for entertaining. The grounds feature expansive patio space and a pool, all overlooking the city views. The ultimate celebrity property located in the East Gate area of Bel Air that was once owned by Elvis Presley and Zsa Zsa Gabor and has welcomed top celebrities from musicians and actors to world leaders was listed at $23.45 million and sold for $20.8 million. The listing agent was Jade Mills of Coldwell Banker Global Luxury, Beverly Hills. “Ronald Reagan & Jane Wyman’s Home” Swept off the market in just three months, the 1938 Colonial Revival home of Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman, designed by architect-to-the-stars, Paul Williams, sold for the first time in 64 years for $6.45 million. When Ronald Reagan got his first starring role at age 27 as Dan Crawford in Brother Rat in 1938, his success not only drew the attention of the film industry but also of his co-star, Jane Wyman. She was only 21 but after meeting the handsome Reagan, she soon divorced her second husband and married Reagan in 1940. But instead of wedded bliss, almost from the start the relationship started going downhill until she filed for divorce in 1948. Between each working hard to advance their film careers, the life disruptions of World War II and afterwards the time Reagan spent working against the Hollywood blacklist, the biggest blow was losing their premature baby. Wyman fell into depression, tried to fill the void with work, and neither took the time to work on family, for which Reagan later expressed personal regret. As for Wyman, she expressed the belief that she wasn’t the type for ‘forever after’ and proved her theory by continuing her trail of divorces after ending her marriage to Reagan. Of their two homes together, their Little Holmby property was the grandest and exudes Old Hollywood glamor. It was also used as the home of Joan Crawford in the television series ‘Feud.’ At 6,153 square feet, the classic, five-bedroom, six-bath house retains its original architectural layout with large rooms, high ceilings, hardwood floors and hand-crafted millwork. The impressive foyer is in Williams’ signature oval design with sweeping staircase and wrought-iron banister that continues through the second-floor overlook. The dramatic foyer set the tone of glamour for the rest of the home and the Reagan-Wyman guests invited by the Hollywood power couple to their home. The vast public spaces, private yard, swimming pool, gazebo, firepit and terraces, both open and covered, make entertaining comfortable and enjoyable. The reception hall includes a sunroom and the spacious family room has both fireplace and a bar. The master suite claims one whole side of the second floor along with three additional ensuite bedrooms. The elegant home of Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman sold after only three months on the market. Designed by architect Paul Williams, it was the epitome of Old Hollywood glamor. Selling for $6.45 million, co-listing agents Christophe Choo and Joyce Essex Harvey of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage arranged the sale. Coldwell Banker represented both the seller and the buyer. SOURCE TopTenRealEstateDeals.com  SA Real Estate Investor Magazine FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019 63