Noses sometimes get turned up at the idea of living in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley. I “fer sure” blame Frank Zappa for singing about those Valley girls and casting aspersions on the whole geographic area. Truth is, if you can handle the summer heat of Valley life, it’s a dang fine place to park your Uggs – and quite the little hotbed for celebrities.
The buzzwords for the best neighborhoods are “south of the boulevard” – a reference to the regions in the hillier areas south of Ventura Boulevard. Living in the Valley makes for an easy spit of a commute to the studios, which explains the industry’s interest in it. That, and the relative affordability. You get more bang for your housing buck and you can always get a Beverly Hills post office box for your mail if your ego won’t step aside for your wallet.
Right now, there is a plethora of Valley celebrity listings, including two local newscasters who live close enough to one another to pass the Grey Poupon.
ABC Channel 7 News anchor David Ono – winner of eight Emmys — has listed his Toluca Lake house for $2,395,000 (pictured above). It’s a classic 1936 one-story Southern colonial of 5,300 square feet with six bedrooms and seven bathrooms. There is a formal dining room, lots of covered open terraces, a grand pool that’s well-landscaped and an expansive family room with a wet bar. It’s listed by Prudential California Realty Estates Director Rick Chimienti, who works out of the Beverly Hills office but says that these days, the Valley is where the real estate action is.
Expect Ono to wind up with a weekend home at the beach or in Palm Springs.
Also on the market is the 1949 home of long-time Los Angeles broadcast journalist Harold Greene and his wife, Charlene ‘Chuckie’ Greene, who recently reduced the price of their four-bedroom, 3,912-square-foot Toluca Lake home to $1,850,000. Fans of Greene mourn his loss from the airways, part of CBS’ cutbacks that cost us our favorite anchor. We can still, however, visit his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The home has five fireplaces and a leaded glass bay window in the living room. The chef’s kitchen includes two stoves, two dishwashers, a double oven and butler’s pantry with extra sink. Methinks the Greenes like to entertain. Funny, I don’t remember an invitation.
Greene reportedly owns a condo near the beach in North County San Diego and another home in Oregon. Sharon Barron of White House Properties has the listing.
Actress Brooke Langton and director-producer Randy Zisk just listed their Longridge Estates home in Sherman Oaks for $2,749,000. The pair expects to move to Malibu, said agent Chimienti, who has this listing as well.
You’ve seen Langton in Friday Night Lights and Life. Zisk produced 96 episodes of Monk.
The 4,474-square-foot home for sale has five bedrooms and four bathrooms on about an acre lot. It was built by architect Leonard A. Jones and has two separate detached guesthouses, including one with its own fireplace, Murphy bed, and private terrace. The main house has a formal entryway, a formal dining room with wainscoting and a living room with a fireplace and walk-in bay window. Yes, of course there is a pool. This is the Valley after all.
