Soccer Superstar Landon Donovan Sells Manhattan Beach Home in Two Weeks

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(Los Angeles, CA) -- Galaxy superstar Landon Donovan listed his compound in Manhattan Beach for $4.295 million and in two weeks had an offer in hand.

Built in 2007 and 2008, the compound is made up of two houses with a swimming pool. The main house features 11-foot ceilings, antique terra-cotta floor tiles, wide plank wood floors, custom wrought ironwork and coffered and vaulted ceilings. There are five bedrooms, seven bathrooms and 5,715 square feet of living space.

The smaller house includes a gym, sauna, home theater and 300-bottle wine cellar.

Donovan, 30, has played with the Galaxy since 2005. He has been named U.S. soccer athlete of the year four consecutive times by the United States Soccer Federation. At the end of June he earned Major League Soccer's player of the week award.

The property was listed briefly two years ago at $4.75 million, according to the Multiple Listing Service.

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MAKE ROOM FOR THE NEW OWNER

The former Danny Thomas estate in Beverly Hills has been sold for $5.764 million. It had been listed at $5.895 million.

Built in 1924, the two-story traditional-style house sits on a corner lot of nearly half an acre with a swimming pool, a guest unit, a sports court, a cabana, lawns and a detached four-car garage. The master bedroom suite features a fireplace, two walk-in closets and dual bathrooms for a total of five bedrooms and 5 ½ bathrooms.

Thomas gained a following as the star of "The Danny Thomas Show," originally called "Make Room for Daddy," from 1953 to 1965. He continued to work on television until his death in 1991 at 79.

Times archives reference a meeting of the St. Jude Hospital Foundation held at the comedian's home in 1955. His dream for the hospital began in Detroit, where the down-on-his-luck nightclub emcee found a pamphlet on St. Jude at a church into which he had wandered. "He walked to the poor box, dropped his remaining $7 into it and prayed for it to be returned sevenfold," the Times story said. Upon returning home, Thomas learned he had landed a job doing washing machine commercials. The pay was $75.

Public records show the property previously was sold in 1998 for $2.4 million.

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AN 'INSPECTOR' IS IN THE HOUSE

"Inspector Gadget" creator Andy Heyward and his wife, Amy, have listed their house in the Hollywood Hills West area at $7.85 million.

Set on more than half an acre with a swimming pool in the celebrity-populated Bird Streets neighborhood, the traditional-style house was designed by architect Paul Williams and built in 1966. The 3,560 square feet of living space includes a library/study, a screening room, an office, a gym, three bedrooms and 3 ½ bathrooms.

Heyward, 63, is the former head of the animation production company DIC Entertainment, which was sold in 2008. He and his wife have since founded A Squared Entertainment.

Public records show the property was purchased two years ago for $4.75 million.

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DESIGNER BUYS A PLACE WITH FLAIR

Interior designer Waldo Fernandez has bought a home in the Hollywood Hills West area for $2.4 million.

Designed in 1940 by architect F. Pierpont Davis and later redone by Hollywood Regency-style proponent John Woolf, the Italian villa was named "one of the 100 most desirable homes to own" by Architectural Digest.

The living room is adorned with 12-foot-high, hand-carved ceilings from a European cathedral and an oversized limestone fireplace. A domed ceiling caps the dining room, where French doors open to a terrace overlooking the swimming pool and gardens. The master suite features a 16-foot ceiling, a skylight and a fireplace. The house has three bedrooms and four bathrooms.

Fernandez, who started as a set designer on the 1960s films "Doctor Dolittle" and "Planet of the Apes," worked on the face-lift of the Beverly Hills Hotel for Merv Griffin in the late 1980s. His celebrity clients have included Brad Pitt, Tobey Maguire, Elizabeth Taylor and Goldie Hawn.

Property records show the house was last sold in 1984 for $267,500.

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WHERE COMIC WROTE HIS MATERIAL

The longtime Beverly Hills home of the Morey Amsterdam family has been sold for $4.9 million.

The 5,854-square-foot house, built in 1958, has walls of glass that open to the backyard, a living room with a fireplace and a step-down bar, a breakfast room, a den with a fireplace, four bedrooms and 4 ½ bathrooms.

The Amsterdams often entertained at the single-story home, throwing dinner parties in the formal dining room or larger parties around the kidney-shaped swimming pool.

The family made some additions to the house, adding a "playroom" with large picture windows, a television, a card table and a desk, where the comic wrote material.

Morey Amsterdam, who died in 1996 at age 87, played office worker Buddy Sorrell on "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (1961-66) and was in show business for more than seven decades.

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TIGHT END KEEPS IT SIMPLE

Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Marcedes Lewis has purchased a condo at the Residences at W Hollywood for about $1.2 million.

The unit has two bedrooms, 2 ½ bathrooms, nearly 2,100 square feet of interior living space and a deck off the master bedroom. The open floor plan encompasses the living room, dining room and kitchen with a center island.

Lewis, 28, played in college for UCLA. He has been with the Jaguars since he was drafted in 2006.

The 2010 Pro Bowl player was attracted to the building's location near restaurants, night life and shopping as well as its amenities, which include 24-hour concierge service and a rooftop pool. The newly built condo will provide hassle-free living when he is in town and eliminate upkeep concerns during the season while he is on the road, Lewis said through a spokesman.