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    ‘The A-Team’ Producer’s Former SoCal Estate Lists for $20 Million

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    Almost 25 years after he died from melanoma at age 69, Stephen J. Cannell is still making headlines. The Laguna Beach estate of the prolific TV writer, director, and producer has popped up for sale, with an asking price of $20 million. Built in 1947 and recently remodeled, the residence sits amid a secluded enclave within the Woods Cove neighborhood, with the listing held by Shauna and Leita Covington of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties.

    A Los Angeles native, Cannell worked at his family’s interior design business before selling his first script for It Takes a Thief to Universal Studios in the late 1960s. Despite suffering from severe dyslexia, he went on to write for crime shows such as Columbo and Ironside, and served as a story editor for Adam-12. Ultimately, as head of his own studio, he both created and co-created some of the small screen’s most beloved shows of all time, including The Greatest American Hero, The A-Team, Wiseguy, 21 Jump Street, Silk Stalkings, The Commish, and The Rockford Files, the latter of which won an Emmy in 1978.

    Though he also penned several bestselling mystery novels, he might be best remembered for his iconic insignia after the ending credits of his TV shows: a short sequence of a pipe-smoking Cannell typing feverishly, then ripping a page from his typewriter and tossing it in the air.

    The legendary writer, director, and producer worked on some of TV’s most iconic shows from this ocean-view office.

    Alisam.net

    RELATED: A Rare Coastal Compound in SoCal’s Orange County Just Hit the Market for $50 Million

    Fully walled and gated with a street-side two-car garage, the four-bedroom, five-bath property is perched high atop a nearly quarter-acre bluff overlooking the rugged Orange County coastline, with a landscaped courtyard out front and private steps in the back leading down to a peninsula jutting into the Pacific Ocean. A Dutch door opens into the stucco and brick-accented structure, which features roughly 4,700 square feet of space and numerous French doors that create a seamless indoor-outdoor feel.

    Among the highlights is an entry foyer sporting a sky-lit stairwell. From there, a spacious coffer-ceilinged great room holds a living room with a two-way fireplace that connects on the other side to a bookshelf-lined office where Cannell worked on many of his hit shows. There’s also a family room, plus a dining room that flows via a butler’s pantry to an eat-in kitchen outfitted with custom cabinetry, a quartz-topped island, Thermador appliances, a wine cooler, a Shaws farmhouse sink, and a bay-windowed breakfast nook flanked by a large white brick fireplace.

    A landscaped front courtyard introduces the Laguna Beach home.

    Alisam.net

    RELATED: This $3.85 Million Laguna Beach House Has a Deck With Stunning Pacific Ocean Views

    A posh primary suite occupying the entire upper level comes with a fireplace, a mini-bar, a balcony offering coastline views from Palos Verdes to San Diego, a separate office, four closets, and a spa-inspired bath with a soaking tub and a sauna. A secondary kitchen, a fireside living room, and a mirrored fitness area can be found on the lower level, which spills out to a backyard showcased by an in-ground spa, a barbecue station, and a grassy sitting area bolstered by a soaring pole donning the American flag.

    In addition to the Laguna Beach home, Cannell’s three children still maintain his former primary residence in Pasadena. His eighth-grade sweetheart and wife of 46 years, Marcia, passed away last year.

    Click here for more photos of the Orange County estate.

    Alisam.net

    Authors

    Wendy Bowman

    Wendy Bowman is a real estate writer at Robb Report. Before that, she was a freelancer for Modern Luxury and several other media outlets, where she primarily covered luxury properties for…

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      in Luxury

      Joe Francis’s Parents Quietly Sell Their Ocean-View Mansion in SoCal for $25 Million

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      Though it was never officially on the market, a lavish Laguna Beach residence long owned by businessman Raymond Francis and his wife Maria, the parents of Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis, has sold to a neighbor for $25 million, a large number for Orange County’s guard-gated Emerald Bay enclave and among the biggest sums ever paid for an Emerald Bay home without direct beach access.

      Records show the buyer is veteran mortgage lender/entrepreneur Evan M. Stone—cofounder and CEO of Champions Funding, a provider of non-traditional mortgage financing services—who also purchased a smaller Emerald Bay home last summer, paying $8.5 million. Stone also serves as chairman of Community Savings Bank, as well as a co-owner and partner of Rep 1, a sports agency for pro athletes such as Los Angeles Rams receiver Cooper Kupp and Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff that was recently acquired by Excel Sports Management.

      The Francises paid $2.2 million for the Emerald Bay property some 27 years ago, back in May 1996, before completely leveling and rebuilding an existing home on the site. Completed in 2007, and resting on a nearly quarter-acre parcel, the resort-like abode features five bedrooms and seven baths spread across almost 7,600 square feet of two-level living space overlooking sweeping views of the Pacific coastline and surrounding bluffs.

      Upon entry, a glamorous living room is warmed by a floor-to-ceiling fireplace and crowned with a massive chandelier.

      Once inside, the interiors are decked out with high coffered ceilings, bespoke millwork, ornate stair railings, hand-crafted chandeliers and clerestory windows. Posh amenities range from two wood-paneled offices and a wine-tasting chamber, to a seated wet bar, screening room and sauna-equipped gym.

      Additional highlights include formal living and dining rooms, plus a gourmet kitchen outfitted with custom cabinetry, stone countertops, a center island, top-tier stainless appliances, a butler’s pantry and an accompanying breakfast nook. There’s also a sumptuous master retreat, which sports a fireplace, sliding glass doors opening to a private ocean-facing patio, a walk-in closet, and spa-inspired bath boasting dual vanities, a dressing area, soaking tub and separate shower.

      Several rooms in the house open to terraces offering up picturesque ocean vistas.

      Outdoors, the landscaped grounds host numerous terraces adorned with fire features, along with a fountain, built-in barbecue and putting green. Rounding it all out: an attached two-car garage, plus an $8,200 annual HOA fee allowing Emerald Bay residents access to a private beach, junior Olympic-size pool, tennis courts, parks and playgrounds.

      The listing was held by Tim Smith of Coldwell Banker Realty; Maura Short and Michelle Cormier of Compass repped the buyer.

      Click here for more photos of 145 Emerald Bay. More

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      in Luxury

      ‘The Mandalorian’ Creator Jon Favreau Adds Fourth L.A. House to His Portfolio

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      Two years ago, Jon Favreau spent nearly $25 million to buy a palatial house in Laguna Beach. But that doesn’t mean the the prolific Hollywood multi-hyphenate is abandoning his longtime main residence in Los Angeles, where he owns three side-by-side houses in the seaside town of Santa Monica.

      On the contrary, Favreau is again expanding his Santa Monica footprint. Records show he acquired his three current properties from three different sellers in three separate transactions: the first in 2002, the second in 2005 and the third in 2021, for a total outlay of $6.9 million. Now he’s added a fourth residence into the mix, splashing out an additional $6.8 million to buy the property adjoining his current estate.

      The $6.8 million residence was built in 2023 and never officially listed for sale.

      While all three of his first homes are Spanish- or Mediterranean-style structures built decades ago, this fourth one is different. Bulky, boxy and ultra-contemporary, the two-story smart home was completed just this year, and built on speculation. Unfortunately, the house was never on the market, so photos and details are scant. But aerial photos reveal there’s a patio and grassy lawns out back, plus a swimming pool and a detached garage and cabana.

      This latest acquisition gives Favreau a contiguous four-house compound that spans two-thirds of one flat acre, a lot of space for the tightly-packed town of Santa Monica.

      The four-house estate, set on a leafy street in prime Santa Monica.

      Favreau, 56, is perhaps best known today as an actor who’s starred in numerous Marvel Cinematic Universe blockbusters (Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: No Way Home, the Iron Man franchise), but he also directed and produced the recent remakes of The Lion King and The Jungle Book, and is the creator of The Mandalorian series on Disney+. The New York City native got his professional start in indie films during the 1990s; notable works included 1996’s Swingers and 2001’s Made. Per various reports, his net worth exceeds $100 million.

      Besides their expanded Santa Monica compound and relatively new Laguna vacation home, Favreau and longtime wife Joya Tillem also maintain a $5 million property in L.A.’s Venice neighborhood, which is reportedly used as offices for Favreau’s Fairview Entertainment production company. More