David Lee's Desert Digs

SELLER: David Lee
LOCATION: W. Hermosa Place, Palm Springs, CA
PRICE: $5,995,000
SIZE: 7,000 square feet (approx.), 6 bedrooms, 7.5 bathrooms
DESCRIPTION: Designed by architect Donald Wexler for Dinah Shore in 1963 this legendary tennis estate defines timeless architecture. The 1.3 acre property offers a rare opportunity to experience a piece of architecture and design that embodies the enjoyment of past, present and future. Extensive renovations were done to bring the interiors current while honoring the bones of the house. The blue print for modern desert living, this property embraces the beauty of the environment by commingling the interior and exterior space, while using current materials Wexler might have used if available to him during original creation.

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Listen puppies, Your Mama and the Dr. Cooter decided to dart out to the desert for a few days of much needed and rest and relaxation among all the greys and gays in Palm Springs. Therefore we don't have much time to pontificate and digress since Marc the pool boy is waiting to plug in the gin and tonic I.V. drip system that will smooth all the rough edges created by the gaggle of giggly and annoying women roaming the property like it's their personal bachelorette party playground.

Anyhoo, in honor of being among the cactus and extreme heat we thought we'd bring the children a little real estate desert dee-voonity in the form of a long, low and fully rehabbed residence owned by television titan David Lee being offered for sale with an asking price of $5,995,000.

For those who do not know and/or are too damn lazy to google Mister Lee, back in the early 1980s the man wrote for the boob-toob tour de force The Jeffersons, went on to write and produce a few episodes of Wings and Cheers, and then created, wrote and directed the award winning but ferociously annoying program Frasier about a couple of highly effeminate but allegedly straight psychiatrist brothers. Frasier, which by our blurry eyed count earned Mister Lee 8 Emmy nominations and five statuettes will surely keep lucky Mister Lee residuals rich the rest of his life.

Property records show the Mister Lee scooped up his desert digs back in December of 2002 when he forked over three million clams for a flat 1.34 acre estate with a Donald Wexler designed modernist residence built in 1963 for Dinah Shore,whose name is associated with a great big lezbo golf tourney in Palm Springs but who, apparently, was not into the ladees. Who knew?

Located in the lovely and expensive Old Las Palmas neighborhood that hugs the base of the spectacularly rugged San Jacinto mountain range, listing information shows the W. Hermosa Place house sprawls across (approx.) 7,000 square feet of meticulously modernized and eye-popping mid-century modernity and includes 6 color-coded bedrooms and 7.5 bathrooms.

The multi-winged mansion includes walls of floor to ceiling glass that frame views of the very verdant and expensive to keep green back yard and towards the magnificent mountains beyond. The long and low structure is comprised of linear elements of stone walls, vast floor to ceiling panels of glass and a wood ceiling. In addition to the main house a tennis shack houses a fully equipped gym where Mister Lee and his man-friends can pump iron and a large sparkling swimming pool is surrounded by loungers and umbrellas for baking like a potato in the blistering desert sunshine.

According to our pal Kenny Kissintell, who cattily calls Mister Lee the very philanthropic, "Valentino of prime time tee-vee," Mister Lee's Los Angeles residence is in Studio City where records would indicate he lives in a large but somewhat modest house well-sited for privacy on Wrightwood Drive.

The real estate market in Palm Springs is currently in the terlit so Your Mama wishes Mister Lee all the luck in the world unloading his desert digs.

Now then, the bridzilla and her bitches have already starting causing an auditory ruckus so we're going to leave the children to their own devices and critical analysis of the property while we scoot over to the pool to see Marc about that I.V. drip of ice cold gin and tonics.

And p.s., we're taking tomorrow off to recover from our impending hangover using the good ol' hair of the dog method. Bye now.

I Love Love Love Anna

This is Anna Vocino. She plays the lovely, but long-suffering Anna on VH1's pee-yr-pants funny Free Radio. I don't particularly want to see her in porn. I just want to see more of her. She makes me feel all tingly inside. Just thought I should share.

Graham Edwards Double Whammy

SELLER: Graham and Lauren Edwards
LOCATION: Brewster Drive, Tarzana, CA
PRICE: $2,999,000
SIZE: 4,753 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms
DESCRIPTION: Spectacular Spanish compound with profession detached recording studio!! Unbelievable privately gated estate with a beautiful custom main house, plus mother-in-law suite, detached guest unit, pool house with bath, den/office, separate detached gym and an amazing sound proof recording studio that has recorded some of the music's top stars! Entertainer's courtyard with pool, spa, outdoor fireplace and bbq center.

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Due to unforeseen circumstances beyond our control, we have to be brief (and not particularly sassy) today. Sometimes that happens. And we do not want any lip or complaints...at least not until the children start paying our bills.

Anyhoo, Your Mama knows an old, cross-eyed ladee who lives in Tarzana, CA, a suburban Los Angeles location that might as well be the moon to many Angelenos including Your Mama and the Dr. Cooter who seldom venture into that part of the San Fernando Valley unless it's required we visit this malevolent and crotchety octogenarian which, of course, we avoid if we can.

However, many rich and famous folks who don't care to hassle with the hateful west side traffic or deal with the balloon lipped ladees in Beverly Hills and the roaming packs of paparazzi that wreak havoc all over the Sunset Strip head out to the western end of the San Fernando Valley where they can live in big houses in places like Calabasas and Tarzana and pick up pineapples at the supermarket while wearing dirty sweat pants without fear of appearing without their celebrity face in the pages of the gossip glossies.

Two of those people are super-successful songwriters and producers Graham Edwards and his lady-mate Lauren Christy Edwards who recently listed their hacienda style house in hot as Hades Tarzana, CA with an asking price of $2,999,000. Coincidentally, the Edwards' residence sits just a hop skip and a 1-minute drive from the Ol' Cross-eyed Coot's hideousity that she calls a house.

Together, Mister and Missus Edwards–and with a third dude named Scott Spock–form a music production team called The Matrix. The trio has worked with a long list of pop stars and musicians like Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Avril "The Spitter" Lavigne, Jason Mraz, Liz Phair and the unfortunately named rock band Korn which explains why the Edwards' digs includes a fully functional and sound-proofed recording studio.

Property records show the musical maestros snatched up their very private property in February of 2004 when they paid $2,600,000 for what property records show as a 4,753 square foot house with 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. Listing information also shows the house as having four bedrooms but it also indicates there are seven poopers on the property. Presumably these three other poopers are spread around in some of the detached rooms that listing information shows include a guest house, gym and pool house.

The "U" shaped casa on Brewster Drive is located down a private and gated driveway that leads to a large motor court with a bulky (and some might say unsightly), front-facing five car garage. This isn't the most elegant façade for a three-million dollar mansion but we imagine all the rock stars and wanna be pop stars appreciate being able to park their Range Rovers and Escalades out of the blistering heat of the Southern California sunshine when they're making music with The Matrix people. Next to the motor court and opposite the entrance to the house is a pergola like colonnade and small grassy area that appears to have a few holes for putting practice, a feature that will appeal to all those people who think that chasing a little white ball around the lawn is recreation but is completely useless to Your Mama and the Dr. Cooter who prefer racket sports over stick sports.

The open plan main living spaces have saltillo tiled floors, high wood beamed ceilings and, while not our personal taste, a reasonably well done melange of eclectic furniture that looks like people might actually be comfortable living here.

The central courtyard, which for all intents and purposes is also the front yard and the backyard, centers around a small, slightly raised swimming pool and is ringed by covered verandas perfect for sipping booze in the shade. An outdoor living room area is tucked off to one side of the courtyard and features a peaked wood ceiling, a fireplace and a wet bar for whipping up cocktails in between dips in the pool. Other courtyard amenities include a spa and built in bbq center for cooking up ribs and late night romantic encounters.

As it turns out, Mister and Missus Graham also own the house next door which property records show they purchased in May of 2006 for $1,800,000. A little peeping around on the interwebs reveals that the couple have also listed that 4 bedroom and 3 bathroom quasi-Mediterranean style residence with an asking price of $1,999,000.

Records also show that in October of 2008 the pair plunked down $1,962,500 for a newly built quasi-Cape Cod style house with 5 bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms on Carpenter Street in what listing information called Studio City but is technically the less desirable Valley Village area just north of Studio City.

Your Mama would bet our long boded bitches Linda and Beverly that if any of the children are looking for a very private two house compound the Edwards would be willing to cut a deal because better to sell both of these houses at once than sell one and have the other linger on the market indefinitely.