The sale of Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell’s Malibu beach house
Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell
Goldie Hawn’s performance in the 1992 romantic comedy Housesitter with Steve Martin was described by the noted film critic Roger Ebert as “one of her best performances.” In the film, Martin’s character builds a dream home for himself and his girlfriend but is unable to bring himself to live in it after she refuses to marry him. Hawn’s character moves in to housesit the empty love nest and in turn the pair fall for one another.
The glass wall of the rear of Hawn and Russell’s beachfront home at 30802 Broad Beach Road, Malibu, California, CA 90265The vast living area of the propertyThe cinema room of the houseThe perfect bar for entertaining after a day on the beachOne of the property’s four bedroom suites
In the late 1980s, Hawn and her partner of some 30 years, fellow actor Kurt Russell, bought themselves a dream beach house at 30802 Broad Beach Road in Malibu, California. With direct frontage onto Broad Beach, which the Los Angeles Times describes as a “confusing mosaic of public and private sands” that “has shrunk into a narrow sliver of its former self” due to coastal erosion, the pair created a residence that has been decorated in a style described by some as “exotic” and “Buddhist themed” and by others as “late-1970s contemporary.”
Here, alongside neighbours including Pierce Brosnan, Steven Spielberg, Danny DeVito and Dustin Hoffman, Hawn and Russell were able to enjoy summer vacations in a 4,195 square foot two-storey home that includes 4 bedrooms and “4.5 baths.” The property also includes vast open plan living areas, a wet bar, a number of balconies and a media room kitted out with a Crestron home entertainment system. In addition there is separate guest accommodation and a 3-car garage, as well as landscaped garden areas with direct beach access via a path through the adjoining sand dunes.
Hawn and Russell, whose main residence is in Los Angeles, first put 30802 Broad Beach Road on the market in 2007 but it failed to sell. They subsequently sought $95,000 a month for it on the rental market and then $80,000 a month in 2010. In July 2011, the house was again put up for sale at $14,749,000 and now, after having failed to sell yet again, some $5,000,000 has been sliced from the price and it is available for $9,950,000.
The garden of 30802 Broad Beach Road, MalibuThe property enjoys direct access onto Broad Beach
Hawn was once quoted as saying:
“I noted that people are happy here in India. When I went back home, people had everything in the materialistic sense and were surrounded with abundance, but they were not happy.”
I am sure she and her husband will be a hell of a lot happier when they finally manage to offload this white elephant. For a start, they’ll no longer need a housesitter to mind it.
30802 Broad Beach Road, Malibu, California, CA 90265 is available through Kimberley Pfeiffer of Coldwell Banker. She can be contacted on +1 (310) 867 0033 or +1 (310) 383 3664.
Christian Huhnt recounts an evening of rock ‘n’ roll at the opening party for Hollywood Road’s latest venue, Honky Tonk
When you hear about the opening of a London-based “underground NYC inspired rock ‘n’ roll restaurant,” the last thing you expect is to find it in the very heart of an area that estate agents now call “Little Chelsea.”
Honky Tonk, 6 Hollywood Road, London, SW10 9HY
So, my companion Steffen and I headed off to determine what this mystery may be, and to learn what the owner, who is supposedly involved in The Supper Club, was willing to reveal that night. As soon as I arrived, I found myself sipping a chilled drink, while listening to some Screamin’ Jay Hawkins vibes. “The Gringo,” a mix of tequila, juice and wheat beer is described as “a delectable intertwining of Mexican and British” on Honky Tonk’s drinks menu and it is just such.
As I was pushed deeper into the venue, away from the bar at the entrance, I felt I had been left alone in the middle of Shoreditch, with a 60s-inspired retro-American “highway diner” flair interior of unrendered walls, raw lightbulbs, Formica tables, and pierced and tattooed modern-hippy looking 20-somethings; only the pretty waitresses reminded me, that I was in fact not in a greasy US-diner, but at an opening in Chelsea, West London.
Guests enjoying Honky Tonk’s opening bashHonky Tonk’s bar staff creating cocktailsOne of Honky Tonk’s waitresses serving cocktails
When it came to the food, served as canapés, it again became clear, that I was in SW10. The “not” fried chicken, as the waitress educated me, is only coated with a “special recipe” and then oven-baked. It has as much crispy pleasure as it would have had fried, but it is far healthier and plainly designed so as not to dispossess the figure conscious guests of this elite neighborhood.
Almost finished with this delight, I tasted the next dish on the menu: New England crab cakes in a chili-mayo sauce, followed by little potato skins loaded with chilli con carne and sour cream. As I wasn’t sure anymore if this food could be solely called “good old-fashioned American bites,” the next dish was most definitely the tip of the iceberg: the macaroni cheese, apparently the “Baked Beans of America,” the synonym of cheap grub, the epitome of total culinary absence. Here at Honky Tonk, though, they controversially served this with a porcini béchamel and truffle oil sauce, along with roasted wild mushrooms. Believe it or not, it worked and it was bloody good.
While getting in the mood with another fancy drink, one of my favorites by the way, I tried a rum and ginger beer concoction topped with a slice of lime and listened to Elvis Presley’s Mystery Train playing in the background. Whilst enjoying this, I realise that the Chelsea boys and girls have arrived and are mingling with the hip East London crowd. I have seen this lot at many other openings and can’t assume they were shipped in, but nonetheless the spot is suddenly buzzing and a great evening follows.
Examples of the humour of Honky Tonk’s management adorn the venue’s walls
Honky Tonk promises to deliver the New York vibe, bringing cool Blues, Jazz and Rockabilly tones with regular live music to the heart of posh Chelsea. Well done so far.
We never miss an opportunity to pat ourselves on the back here and our last foray into golf tipping resulted in Ernie Els winning The Open at the rewarding odds of 40/1. We are not going to be offered such generous terms by our good friends the bookies on The Ryder Cup in Chicago but The Tout does see a chance for the punter to come out on top and pull the bookmakers trousers down in great style.
With this renewal being stateside, the US team are favourites at around 8/11 as outright winners and they deserve this position at the head of the market but the Europeans are in great form and are possibly more used to playing as a team having competed together more often and we think this is the key. Take the odds today at 5/4 for a European outright victory and spend the rest of the weekend watching the action. We may even be lucky enough to have it in the bag by Sunday morning!
Medinah Country Club, Medinah, Chicago Illinois, USA
As far as individual bets go, there is one outstanding lay for those of you on Betfair and that is Tiger Woods to be the leading US player at 5/1. This would not be too harsh if he were to pull it off but it is impossible in reality. He has a terrible record in The Ryder Cup and does not have a team mentality despite the form he is in.
The Tout’s selections are as follows: Europe to win at 5/4, Lee Westwood to be top individual European at 8/1 and Jim Furyk to be top individual American at 14/1.
Have a great weekend and settle back to watch the action in comfort. The Tout certainly will be doing just such.
The deportation of Abu Hamza and the story of Hassan Butt
It’s taken far too long but thankfully the day of Abu Hamza al-Masri’s deportation has arrived. This evil one-eyed Egyptian-born Sunni preacher, best known for his hateful views and involvement in terrorism, has been in prison in Britain since 2004 and is now finally to be extradited to America to face terrorism charges.
Abu Hamza al-MasriHassan Butt when he appeared on the American CBS television magazine news show “60 Minutes”
My only experience of such people involved meeting a young man named Hassan Butt in 2008. Butt, known in the Muslim community as the Al Qaeda supergrass,” was allegedly a former recruiter for the organisation. I met with him after he wrote an article for the Daily Mail in which he stated:
“My plea to fellow Muslims: you must renounce terror… My pleas to fellow Christians: you must renounce racism.”
These words came from a man, born in 1980, who had previously said of Britain:
“I feel absolutely nothing for this country. I have no problem with the British people… but if someone attacks them, I have no problem with that either.”
These words came from the very mouth of a man who had been a member of the now banned radical Islamist group Al-Muhajiroun. Butt claimed to have taken tea with Mohammad Sidique Khan, the leader of the 7 July bombings, recruited upto 200 people to undergo jihadist training in Pakistan and raised between £7,000 and £9,000 a month towards the “cause.” Here was someone who had concluded that:
“I would agree to being called a radical and one day I may even be called a terrorist, if Allah permits me. That is something it would be an honour to be called.”
On the day Butt’s “Damascene conversion” article was printed I was working with an American billionaire vodka tycoon on his various projects in the UK. The man concerned came to London on a periodic basis and always began his day by scouring his favourite right-wing paper for whatever took his fancy. If there were something or someone he liked the look of in it, he’d yell across the room: “Get ‘em round.” More often than not, when I made the call, such people would turn up as many sought funding for their projects. Few of them ever got whatever they were after as this individual was especially careful with his dollars.
On reading Butt’s article, which I admit I also found well written, the Jewish billionaire was thoroughly impressed. He said: “I like the sound of this guy. Get him round.” At the end of the article was a Gmail address so reluctantly, imagining that no doubt MI5 would begin monitoring my own account, I sent off a message. Within minutes, Mr Butt was on the phone.
Butt told me that he’d be in London in the following days to appear on Newsnight with Jeremy Paxman so I invited him to lunch. On the day in question, an extremely well presented 27-year old appeared in a brand new £50,000 Audi Q7. After he’d parked, I said: “That’s a nice car.” His response: “The BBC have loaned it to me.” I was perplexed and thought this unlikely, but let it go.
I introduced Mr Butt to the vodka tycoon and for the next hour, the Muslim and the Jew chatted about the differences and similarities between their religions and ways of life. The utterly charming Butt wanted the billionaire, who happened to own a publishing house, to pay for and print his autobiography. The aggressive billionaire had another agenda. His vision of how to unite the religions was to produce a leaflet. He ranted: “It’ll begin thus: ‘If I want to worship a tree, I’ll worship a tree’.” An impasse was reached.
Over lunch at Choy’s on the Kings Road, the conversation continued hopelessly in the same vein. When it was over and as Butt drove away in the Q7, all I could think of was that the security services would most probably now begin monitoring our business activities.
That night, Butt appeared on Newsnight and beat off all of Jeremy Paxman’s attacks. I suppose all who recruit for terror organisations are probably charm personified but Butt most definitely showed his utter brilliance of mind when put up against the media’s finest.
Butt’s strategy worked as he was subsequently invited by the then Minister of State for Security, Counter-terrorism, Crime and Policing, Tony McNulty, to advise them on how to stop young Muslims being “radicalised.” Butt, whom a government source described as having “understood the terrorist mindset perfectly,” had managed to get to the heart of the British government.
The next move of this man, who was arrested but released without charge on five counter-terrorism charges between 2002 and 2008, was to claim that Greater Manchester Police were harassing him. Many of his allegations, though, were illustrated to be pure fantasy in the transcripts of interviews held with them:
“I actually arranged myself to be stabbed in the shoulder, sorry in my arm and in my back because I knew if I said I had been attacked Shiv ([Malik] a freelance journalist and co-author of Butt’s autobiography, Leaving Al Qaeda: Inside The Life And Mind of A British Jihadist) was going to ask for some proof so basically I stabbed myself… you know it was just part of the whole scam.”
I do not know what has become of Butt now but the last reports of him I have been able to find were published in the Daily Mail in July 2009. Here, the paper reports that he “hurled an onslaught of race abuse at police” during an argument over where his Audi Q7 was parked. How odd that that vehicle, supposedly loaned by the BBC, had surfaced again but equally strange was that this educated man was accused of shouting such things as: “Do you like feeling Pakis up?” and calling police “Gestapo,” “bald dogs” and “members of the BNP.” This portrayal was most certainly at odds with the Butt that I met, but plainly he was the Jekyll and Hyde of Al Qaeda.
Whilst my encounter with the pseudo-terrorist Butt was almost certainly with a young man of fantasist tendencies, Abu Hamza truly is a preacher of hate and a force for evil. This hook-armed “terrorist facilitator with a global reach” claimed tens of thousands in benefits in Britain yet also incited others to blow up our citizens. He solicited murder and stirred up racial hatred yet happily ran up legal costs at this nation’s expense. As such, Abu Hamza’s downfall is very much welcomed and his deportation from the British Isles will be celebrated not just by Her Majesty the Queen but indeed by the whole nation.
Watch a Channel 4 News video clip featuring Hassan Butt at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t3uw2nZ7kY
Living on a private island would, to many, seem like a dream. The prospect of being able to do what you want, when you want and without having to pander to rules and regulations indeed does sound appealing. Swapping the rat race and daily commute for white sandy beaches, crystal-clear waters and peace and tranquility would undoubtedly tempt huge numbers of us. Taking up the mantle of Robinson Crusoe certainly has it’s merits, but what are the perils of owning an island and what is currently available?
The Greek island of Patroklos
On the leading website for the sale of islands, Private Islands Online, the most expensive undeveloped island on offer is the island of Patroklos in Greece. This relatively flat 643-acre undeveloped island boasts a “mild and pleasant” climate and 275-acres of cultivable land. It has about 150 goats and 5,050 olive trees and the agent suggests now is the perfect opportunity to exploit and develop tourism there. A price of £120 million is sought. So much for Greek austerity as whoever buys it will still have to shell out further to construct at least one residence.
The Frank Lloyd Wright inspired Massaro House on Petra Island
An especially spectacular option, also available through Private Islands Online, is Petra Island, just 15 minutes by helicopter from New York City on Lake Mahopac. The island itself, which is said to have been for sale for a number of years, is 11 acres in size and is currently owned by Joseph Massaro, a sheet metal tycoon. The highlight here is a 1,200 square foot cottage designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and a 5,000 square foot residence, Massaro House, built to the same architect’s designs in 2008. Though the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation state of the latter: ““It’s not a Frank Lloyd Wright house, because it hasn’t been certified by the foundation,” this is a home that would certainly suit any James Bond villain. The agent declines to share the asking price, but it certainly at the higher end of the scale.
At a more modest price is Nautilus Island, off Brooksville in Maine. This 37-acre island was in the ownership of the same family for 130 years until 2004 and is named after the British war sloop “Nautilus,” that engaged the American vessel “Hazard” in battle in it’s waters during the American Revolutionary War.
An aerial view of the island of NautilusThe main residence on Nautilus IslandThe island of Nautilus’s boathouse now serves as a stylish private bar
The island includes a renovated 6-bedroomed main house, a farmhouse and a guest cottage. It also boasts open fields, perennial and kitchen gardens and a seaside vineyard for wine production. There is a protected harbour with a pier and moorings and over one mile of rocky coastline with gravel and shell beaches. A price of approximately £4.9 million is sought prior to auction on the 18th October through John Saint-Amour of LandVest.
Returning to Europe, Knight Frank offer a 65-acre island off Ireland’s west coast named Inishturk Beg at a price of £2.85 million. Sitting in Clew Bay, County Mayo alongside 364 other islands, receivers of an Egyptian-Irish businessman named Nadim Sadek are trying to find a buyer for a property that includes a main 7-bedroom house, 4 smaller properties, various outbuildings and an AstroTurf sports pitch.
An aerial view of Inishturk Beg IslandThe main residence on Inishturk Beg, The Island House, comes complete with extensive leisure facilities
Singing the praises of Insishturk Beg, Harriet Grant of Knight Frank comments:
“It is an easily accessible island and although it’s in the Atlantic it is very sheltered. And the island itself has plenty of natural shelter. It is an extraordinary development in which no expense has been spared. The electricity and water come straight from the mainland and it also has broadband access.”
British TV presenter Ben Fogle, who starred in the BBC reality show Castaway 2000, set on the Scottish island of Taransay, warned of the dangers of island ownership in an article in The Times recently when he commented: “A lot of people get seduced by the island dream without thinking of the realities.” Taransay came up for sale in 2011 and though Fogle put together a consortium that raised £1.5 million, he was beaten off by a landowner from the neighbouring island of Harris.
Television presenter Ben Fogle pictured on Taransay during the filming of the BBC’s “Castaway 2000” reality show
The Barclay brothers, owners of amongst other things The Ritz and The Telegraph Group, have had their fair share of trouble since purchasing the sister island of Sark, Brecqhou, in 1993. They have rowed with Sark’s government over everything from inheritance law to property taxes and whether they should or should not be allowed to use motor vehicles. Their case illustrates the perils of upsetting the locals.
Issues such as electricity provision, sanitation, the delivery of food supplies and how one would cope with an emergency may seem more mundane but also must be considered by those purchasing an island. Sir Richard Branson found this to his cost when the 8-bedroomed Great House on his £60 million Necker Island in the Caribbean burnt to the ground in August 2011. If he’d been on the mainland, his residence would most probably have been saved.
The remains of The Great House on Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island
On this morning’s Desert Island Discs, Hollywood actress Goldie Hawn requested that the luxury she would like to take would be lip-gloss. Presenter Kirsty Young said she could have two tonnes of the stuff. Frankly, in reality though, anyone buying into island life would have to have a lot more practical things higher up their lists.
George W. Bush is a man who most of our readership no doubt loathe. Most people know that I take an utterly different view and like the historian Andrew Roberts believe that history will remember him and Tony Blair far more favourably.
George W. does Dr. Evil
Our video of the week, discovered on the Facebook page of Gavriel Merkado, is illustrative of George W.’s humour. I hope it will make you laugh.
To watch the video, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hmz6DVpz0s&feature=player_embedded
He co-founded City AM and was executive producer of the 2009 film Boogie Woogie. This Russian financier and lawyer led a closeted life and disappeared in March 2008. Elements of the Russian press suggest he’s living in California under the Federal Witness Protection Program but others argue that he was the victim of foul play at the hands of the KGB. A credit card belonging to Rozhetskin, whose favoured haunts numbered The Wolseley and Nobu, was found next to a body found in woods in Latvia in August 2012.
Sarah Tucker gives an update on goings on at the resort where Madeleine McCann vanished
Four hundred and thirty euros, one bedroom apartment, one week at the height of season at a luxury family resort in Portugal. And oh yes, it’s the Ocean Club at Praia da Luz. There’s availability with two and three bedroom apartments as well. I asked about apartment 5a where Madeleine disappeared but the PR is coming back to me on that one. That was four days ago.
The Ocean Club entrance and Apartment 5A at the top of the street
I checked this out because having looked at the comments on The Steeple Times McCann roll call entry, I wanted to know what became of the resort where she disappeared. Last year the lady who owned the property itself couldn’t sell it because women buyers were put off by it’s history. I don’t blame them. I would never recommend buying from a divorcing couple, no matter how good the deal, so buying somewhere where a child has been allegedly kidnapped is a no no. Estate agents will say nonsense, but that’s a woman’s superstition for you. Or a mother’s superstition.
I remember writing at the time about Mark Warner, a company synonymous with a reputation for keeping parents who treated parenting as a subject to be studied to A*, not as something to leave to instinct, God forbid. Perhaps that’s an exaggeration, but having recently vox popped over 500 parents* asking if they would leave their children in their hotel room unsupervised while they ate in a restaurant on site, none of them, not one, said they would do so. I never mentioned the McCann case. The question about childcare was mixed in with other family travel related stuff, but some even mentioned the McCann’s case when they responded. And all claimed they would take advantage of a babysitting service if it was offered or eat earlier and with the kids if it wasn’t.
I was asked at the time if I would ever leave my son alone. I never have. Too risky and having lost him for ten minutes in the salubrious area that is East Sheen high street at five in the afternoon five years ago, because I refused to wait for him to tie up his shoe lace for the nth time, and getting no less than eighteen other men and women, all who had been either waiting for buses, serving or being served in shops, or in several cases drinking in the local pub, to run up and down, shouting his name, I understand the McCann’s need to go to the end of the earth, the prime minister, the Pope, to find their daughter. I completely understand this. What I never understood was their emotional reaction or rather lack of it. In the meantime babysitting services are still offered at the Ocean Club.
* Using social media (parents of three to six year olds).
Discovered by Alfred Hitchcock, this thrice married actress endured five days of prop men throwing live gulls, ravens and crows at her in her debut film, The Birds. Cary Grant told her: “I think you’re the bravest lady I’ve ever met.” She worked with Hitchcock next on Marnie but then decided she didn’t wish to continue. Afterwards, she commented: “He told me he would ruin my career and he did.” Hedren, whose daughter is Melanie Griffith, now runs the Shambala Preserve in Acton, California. Here she keeps lions that have previously belonged to Anton LaVey and Michael Jackson.
A rising star in the interiors industry. Caldwell, who hails from Gastonia, North Carolina, has just completed a stint as a freelance designer at NH Design by Nicky Haslam and is now based in New York. He has a penchant for colourful trousers and American-style cookies.
