Anthony Russo Sells One of Two Los Feliz Homes
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After dropping more than $20 million on a couple of high-maintenance landmark homes in Pasadena — more on that in a minute — “Avengers: Endgame” director Anthony Russo, a busy film and TV producer and a 2004 Emmy winner for directing the pilot episode of the cult-favorite TV series “Arrested Development,” has sold one of two neighboring residences in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles, Calif., for a small bit more than $2 million.
Tucked into a discreet, gated enclave in the low-key foothills above Bronson Canyon, the late 1940s traditional quietly evokes the clean lines of the Streamline Moderne architectural movement but without all the sexy curves and nautical affectations. Set atop a street-level two-car garage and a semi-subterranean basement, and, according to marketing materials, extensively remodeled about seven years ago, the comfortably unassuming dwelling has three bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms in just about 2,100 square feet.
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Just inside the front door, a spacious living room has a fireplace at its far end and rows of giant pictures windows on two other, opposing walls fill the room with natural light. Lustrous and light-reflecting honey-toned oak floorboards run into the adjoining dining room and into the retro-style eat-in kitchen that’s painted a pale shade of yellow and retains a utilitarian, 1940s feel with original, white metal St. Charles cabinets but with up-to-date, medium-quality stainless steel appliances. Two guest bedrooms on the main floor share an updated bathroom, while the master bedroom has a small bathroom of its own. Along with the garage, the lower level contains a nearly windowless room described in marketing materials as a “studio,” along with an updated but otherwise fairly pedestrian bathroom.
The vaguely pie-shaped hillside property encompasses two lots that together span more than a quarter of an acre. Just outside the living and dining rooms, a massive trellis covers a small shade garden and a vast dining terrace. Another, tree-shaded terrace has a fire pit and a classic kidney shaped swimming pool sits in a sunny clearing against a planted hillside.
The property was listed with Richard von Ernst and Compass and the buyer was represented by Patricia Ruben if Sotheby’s Int’l Realty.
Russo additionally owns a neighboring property, a nearly 3,600-square-foot, 1940s traditional updated to retain the original character of the home but with a bevy of modern-day creature comforts, that came up for sale for about three months ago at $3.5 million.
Tax records suggest Russo’s real estate interests turned to historic, architecturally significant homes in the affluent L.A. community of Pasadena in late 2018 when he plunked down $5.8 million for a celebrated Craftsman-style residence completed in 1911 and designed by acclaimed local architects Charles and Henry Greene. The more than 8,500-square-foot residence, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was built for three unmarried sisters and is known as the “Cordelia Culbertson House” after the eldest sister who commissioned the house. In addition to three en suite bedrooms — one for each of the sisters, presumably — the thoughtfully restored and carefully updated mansion includes a two-room guest or staff apartment discreetly tucked down on a lower level along with a ballroom large enough to be mistaken for the lobby of a luxurious boutique hotel.
Presumably in search of an even more grandiose residence and lavish gardens tantamount to a private park, Russo substantially upgraded his living situation once again in 2019 with the not quite $15.6 million purchase of an opulent Pasadena mansion of more than 10,000 square feet. Known to 1980s TV watching audiences as the “Dynasty Mansion,” where Krystle Carrington and Alexis Carrington had their legendary, high-camp catfight in the lily pond, and hidden at the end of a 100-foot driveway, the 1913 Palladian villa presides over early 2.5 manicured acres with seven bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, a keyhole-shaped swimming pool and a tennis court.
Launch Gallery: “Avengers: Endgame” Director Anthony Russo Sells One of Two Los Feliz Homes
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