One thing we love about the Hollywood Hills is the proliferation of unique and idiosyncratic homes everywhere. Go for a drive on Mulholland or down Laurel Canyon and on every wee side street there’s liable to be a random architectural gem hidden behind hedges and gates. So when our friend Vlad the Revealer at Celebrity Address Aerial queried us about the new owner of a cool Paul Williams design with a lengthy celebrity pedigree, Yolanda naturally started frothing at the mouth.
Turns out the buyer (who acquired title behind a blind trust) is a dude named Tony Cavalero. We swear that we’ve never previously heard of Mr. Cavalero — no shade — but he’s an actor-slash-comedian who currently stars in the Nickelodeon series School of Rock. He’s also married to a actress lass named Annie Cavalero. Both are members of the LA-based sketch comedy group The Groundlings.
As for the house, it’s located just off a busy street and just a couple hundred feet from the ever-packed 101 freeway, on a perfectly triangle-shaped property that is surrounded by roadway on all sides. Yikes!
Fortunately, the 1-acre estate is also ringed with a thick layer of dense foliage that effectively shields the multi-million-dollar premises from any of those untoward sights and smells. For the record, Mr. Cavalero paid $2,730,000 for the house.
A sweet Paul Williams is always fun, but a sweet celebrity-pedigreed Paul Williams is always preferable. And this house does not disappoint. For many years, according to the listing and other online resources, the home was the main residence of acting legend Marlon Brando. It later became — of all perennially LA stereotypical things — a celebrity yoga center, and it was also owned and/or leased by other famous (deceased) folks like David Carradine, Barbara Hershey, and Frank Zappa.
That’s all well and good, but the celebrity provenance on this place is a wee bit faded. As best as Yolanda can tell, it hasn’t had a famous owner in more than 20 years, although it has changed hands several times. Perhaps that is due to it being a little too exposed for most celebs, despite it being completely walled and gated. But we digress.
Like a proper estate should, the property boasts a double-gated motor court around front. The two-car garage is discreetly located around back and is a bit of a trek from the main house.
The house clearly went through at least one remodel in the past 20 years, and we’re not fans of the dated kitchen or the very staged-looking decor. But the good bones are clearly present — we love the sunroom — and there are decadent hardwood floors in nearly every room.
Listing information does not indicate the 1939 home’s total square footage, but public records put it at spacious but definitely not massive 3,653-square-feet. There are six bedrooms — four on the main floor, two guest suites on the lower level — and five bathrooms. The master suite has a surprsingly large outdoor balcony and overlooks the lush backyard. The master bathroom is puny by today’s outsized crapper standards, but it has a classic black-and-white checkerboard floor to distract from the size.
Grounds are elegant and totally private, with a ring of palm trees encircling an old-Hollywood-style pool and a large concrete terrace. In this or that part of the backyard are — per the listing — two lawns, a bamboo forest, and a sports court.
Mr. & Mrs. Cavalero previously resided in the nearby Laurel Canyon area of the Hollywood Hills, where they have been trying to sell their petite pad for nearly a year.
On the market since June 2016 and brazenly marketed as “Celebrity-owned”, the Mid-Century Modern is currently listed with an asking price of $1,250,000. Listing details show it is currently in escrow with an unknown buyer at an unknown price — but it’s still “Accepting Backup Offers“, so move quickly.
Listing agent: Joseph Babajian, Rodeo Realty
Mr. & Mrs. Cavalero’s agent: Marko Babineau, Gibson International