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Last year, the Lady GaGa and Bradley Cooper vehicle “A Star Is Born” debuted to rave reviews, sold-out theaters and a vast array of award nominations. And top-billed producer Bill Gerber already has another smash hit on his hands: the sale of his dynamic midcentury modern home in Beverly Hills. Records show the Hollywood veteran quietly sold the property — the so-called Kritzer House — earlier this year, off-market and without fanfare.
Designed by British-born master architect Rex Lotery, the hilltop structure was built in 1966 for the Kritzer family, who retained ownership of the property for more than 40 years. In 2008, the the house was sold for the first time to Gerber and his wife Eve; records show they forked out $4.75 million for the premises. This latest transaction was recorded for just over $9.3 million, revealing the property has nearly doubled in value over the past decade.
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The midcentury abode’s new keeper is Wendy Abrams, a prominent Chicago-based philanthropist and major donor to Democratic causes and candidates. Abrams is married to Jim Abrams, the COO of healthcare giant Medline Industries. She’s also the sister of Charles Mills, Medline’s CEO, and a first cousin of Medline president Andy Mills. Medline Industries is one of the largest healthcare manufacturers and distributors in the country, and has remained a private, family-owned company since its founding more than 100 years ago.
According to his former home’s off-market listing, Gerber hired the specialists at L.A.-based Kovac Design Studio to painstakingly restore and update his flat-roofed architectural extravaganza. The result, as seen in the gallery photos, perfectly retains Lotery’s original vision while including all the modern conveniences of today: the kitchen sports high-end Wolf and SubZero appliances, there’s a new soaking tub and dual vanities in the master suite, and trendy new glass sliders invite the California sunshine inside the nearly 4,500 sq. ft. structure.
Midway up a pine tree-lined street, a long gated driveway leads uphill to a generous motorcourt and carriage porch just before the house. From there, a short walkway leads to the front door, which opens directly into a light-filled living area with rows of clerestory windows, a wood-burning fireplace and honey-hued hardwood floors. Towering walls of glass provide that quintessentially SoCal indoor/outdoor living, and there’s a plush outdoor family room with views of the surrounding treetops.
The rest of the home is a satisfyingly organic and dramatic blend of hardwoods, steel and glass. Spaces include a formal dining room, a library — where the bookshelves are actually filled with real books, something of a rarity these days — and a detached office with private entry. Acclaimed landscape designer Pamela Burton designed the desirably private grounds, which feature a mix of mature trees, gardens and hardscaped areas — an outdoor dining/patio space and swimming pool. Below the pool, a flat grassy pad has ample space for a dog run and a hammock for outdoor siestas.
Once upon a time in Brentwood Park, the Gerbers owned a charming East Coast-style traditional home that was sold in 2007 for $10.5 million to fellow entertainment industry veteran Stefan Sonnenfeld. That property, incidentally, is now owned by “Stranger Things” executive producer Shawn Levy.
Richard Ehrlich of Westside Estate Agency held the Rex Lotery listing; Max Nelson of Compass repped Abrams.
Launch Gallery: Wendy Abrams Buys Bill Gerber's Midcentury Modern House
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