It has been said that every house tells a story. This week’s collection is full of them: a free agent NFL player prepping for a potential move, a home flipper trying to springboard off his reality show fame, a lakeside home that has attracted generations of entertainment industry notables.
Our Home of the Week in Sherman Oaks tells a story too. The 1958 football-shaped design was conceived by Modernist architect John Lautner, who had a falling-out with the original owner. Lautner’s protege saw the more than 3,100 square feet of curvaceous living space through to completion. The asking price is $2.279 million.
Once you’re done reading about these deals, visit and like our Facebook page, where you can find Hot Property stories and updates throughout the week.
— Neal Leitereg, Jack Flemming and Lauren Beale
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Keys to the house
A high-profile name has emerged as the buyer of the Razor House, an architectural masterpiece on the coast of La Jolla: Alicia Keys.
The singer-songwriter shelled out $20.8 million for the modernist home, which has a cantilevered base and hugs the side of a cliff. The three-story blend of concrete and glass takes in sweeping ocean views.
Walls of glass enclose the more than 11,500 square feet of living space, which include a two-story great room, a rounded living room, a billiards room, a library, a tiered movie theater and two kitchens. There are four bedrooms in the main house, and the 1,300-square-foot detached guesthouse has two more.
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Keys, 38, has won 15 Grammys. Her hits include “Fallin’,” “No One” and “If I Ain’t Got You.”
Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys is the buyer of La Jolla’s Razor House.
(Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage)
Where a Charger recharged
Former Chargers tight end Antonio Gates has put his home in Encino on the market for $7.249 million.
The open-concept floor plan features wide-plank oak floors, walls of glass and 15-foot ceilings. A two-way fireplace divides the family room and kitchen area. A glass-enclosed wine cellar and tasting room, a home theater, six bedrooms and nine bathrooms are among the living spaces.
The modern showplace sits behind gates on two-thirds of an acre containing an infinity-edge swimming pool with a spa, a sports court, a fireplace and a built-in barbecue.
Gates, 39, has made eight Pro Bowl teams and set a league record for most touchdowns by a player at his position. He is currently a free agent.
NFL free agent Antonio Gates is seeking $7.249 million for his modern Encino home of two years.
(Wayne Ford)
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Keeping up with the flipper
Scott Disick of “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” fame has listed a home in Hidden Hills for sale at $6.89 million. He bought it last year for $3.25 million.
The 5,663-square-foot floor plan features an open-concept kitchen, dining room and family room. A floor-to-ceiling fireplace anchors the vaulted-ceiling living room. A total of five bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms includes two master suites.
The grassy backyard centers on a zero-edge swimming pool with a spa and a fire pit.
Disick, 36, is known for his on-and-off relationship with Kourtney Kardashian and his appearances on the Kardashian family’s reality show.
Scott Disick’s latest home makeover project has come on the market in Hidden Hills.
(Redfin.com)
A well of talent at the lake
A Toluca Lake property that was owned at various times by Walt Disney nephew Roy E. Disney, actor Boris Karloff and Oscar-winning composer Erich Korngold has sold for $5,174,361 — over its asking price of $4.995 million.
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The lakeside house is entered through a gated courtyard shaded by olive trees. The 2,443 square feet of living space features a beamed-ceiling living room, a center-island kitchen, three bedrooms and three bathrooms.
Hedges frame the tiered backyard, which contains a patio with a fireplace overlooking the swimming pool. A lakefront sun deck sits near the private boat dock.
Disney, who died in 2009 at 79, was the chairman of Disney animation, ushering in a new wave of animated classics that included “The Little Mermaid,” “The Lion King” and “Aladdin.”
The Spanish-vibe Toluca Lake home counts Roy E. Disney, Boris Karloff and Erich Korngold among its former owners.
(Luke Gibson Photography)
TV mom swept here
A Beverly Hills house that looks like a beloved TV mom would live there has sold for $4.08 million. The 1938 Southern Colonial was once the home of actress Donna Reed, who played a housewife and mother in a sitcom bearing her name starting in the late ’50s.
Beyond the broken pediment front door and columned front porch lie nearly 5,000 square feet of living space. Among the rooms in the rambling two-story are a foyer, a formal dining room, living and family rooms, six bedrooms and five bathrooms.
The half-acre landscaped lot includes rear patio space and a keyhole-shaped swimming pool.
Reed, who died at 64 in 1968, played opposite Jimmy Stewart in Frank Capra’s 1946 classic “It’s a Wonderful Life.” “The Donna Reed Show” ran from 1958 to 1960.
The gracious Southern Colonial in Beverly Hills was once home to actress Donna Reed.
(Redfin.com)
Ready to be reanimated
A Midcentury Modern house in Hollywood Hills named for its original owner, Millard Kaufman, the co-creator of the cartoon character Mr. Magoo, has come back on the market for $2.999 million.
Built in 1949, the 2,501-square-foot renovated home features lofted beamed ceilings, skylights and walls of glass.
Kaufman hired a trio of notable architects — Modernists Richard Neutra, Alexander Ban and Josef Van Der Kar — to design later additions to the four-bedroom post-and-beam house.
The quarter-acre lot contains a stone-lined swimming pool.
Kaufman, who died in 2009 at 90, was also a screenwriter and novelist. He earned Oscar nominations for the screenplays for “Take the High Ground!” (1953) and “Bad Day at Black Rock” (1955).
The post-and-beam home in Hollywood Hills is named for its original owner Millard Kaufman, who co-created the cartoon character Mr. Magoo.
(Redfin.com)
From the archives
Ten years ago, “Meet the Parents” star Ben Stiller was ready to meet the buyers, having listed his Hollywood Hills property at $12.5 million. The acre site included two houses and a one-bedroom guesthouse for a total of 10 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms.
Twenty years ago, “The Nanny’s” Fran Drescher sold a Hancock Park home for about $589,000. The Spanish-style house, built in 1923, had three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
What we’re reading
Architectural Digest takes readers inside Oscar-winning actress Anne Hathaway’s country house in California. The Swiss-inspired getaway, constructed in 1906 as a hunting lodge and rebuilt in 1917 after a fire, blends contemporary and vintage furnishings to create a homey yet contemplative vibe.
This freaked us out. A Civil War-era Colonial, on the market for $1.325 million in Thornwood, N.Y., looks completely normal — until one steps inside, reports Today.com. The rooms are crammed with antique statues and mirrors, old paintings in gilded frames, a porcelain doll collection and other Victorian accessories. Turns out the sellers are antique dealers.