Bigger Yard for Small Soldier

Oscar-winning actor GEORGE KENNEDY, who did the voice of one of the four roughnecks in the computer-animated and live-action movie “Small Soldiers,” and his wife, Joan, have bought a home in the Santa Rosa Valley, between Thousand Oaks and Camarillo.

Kennedy, who won the Academy Award for best supporting actor in 1967 for his role in “Cool Hand Luke,” appears in the movie “Dennis the Menace Strikes Again,” just released on video. He played J.R. Ewing’s nemesis in this year’s TV movie “Dallas: War of the Ewings” and was Leslie Nielsen’s partner in the “Naked Gun” comedy films.

“A large part of our reason for moving is that [earlier this year] we adopted our granddaughter, Taylor, who is 4,” said the actor, who is in his early 70s.

The Kennedys were granted custody because Taylor’s birth mother, the Kennedys’ daughter Shaunna, and her husband, were “unfit for custody,” according to a Ventura County judge’s ruling. Both parents suffered from “chronic alcohol and drug-related problems,” according to court records.

“We have raised Taylor since she was born,” the actor said, “and we’re incredibly lucky to have her with us, but she needed more room to play.”

The Kennedys worried about their small yard and a flight of stairs in their previous home. “Joan’s mom, who has lived with us for 20 years, is 90 now, and the stairs had gotten to be too much for her,” he said.

The Kennedys bought a slightly larger house with no stairs and more land. They purchased a 5,500-square-foot home, with a four-bedroom main house and a two-bedroom guest cottage, on two acres for about $1 million. They’re spending $300,000 in refurbishing and landscaping.

“We have such a big yard now that we are laying out a kids’ soccer field for Taylor and our other grandkids,” he said. “We’ll use the yard and extra room in our new home, because the kids stay over a lot.” The Kennedys have four children and seven grandchildren.

The Kennedys’ former home in the North Ranch area of Westlake Village has been on the market at $1.3 million. The five-bedroom 5,200-square-foot house, on half an acre, has a deck, pool, rose garden and brook.

Molly and Bob Friedman of Young Realtors in Westlake Village represented the Kennedys in their purchase and have the listing.

The Encino home of the late PHIL HARTMAN has been listed at $1.65 million. The comedian, fatally shot in his sleep by his wife on May 28, had owned the home since 1988, sources said.

Built in 1980, the house, where Hartman’s wife committed suicide after taking his life, has five bedrooms in a bit more than 4,000 square feet. It is behind gates on half an acre.

The home has several levels, including a loft, many built-ins and custom wood cabinets. It also has three wet bars and three fireplaces, with handcrafted mantels.

The house looks like a Swiss chalet, sources say. It was designed by architect Robert Byrd, known for his Hansel-and-Gretel knotty-pine designs. Byrd also extensively used brick, rock and flagstone in the Hartman house.

The home is being sold by the Hartmans’ estate. The former “Saturday Night Live” star, who was most recently a regular on the sitcom “NewsRadio” and did a voice in the movie “Small Soldiers,” and his wife of 10 years are survived by two children, son Sean, 9, and daughter Birgen, 6. The comedian was 49; his wife was 40.

The house is listed with Marlene Geibelson of Fred Sands Estates in Encino.

Actor TOM ARNOLD, 39, has sold his horse ranch on nearly 20 acres near Malibu for about $3 million, sources say. The buyer was described as a local businessman.

Arnold and his wife, Julie, bought singer-actress Paula Abdul’s former Beverly Hills-area home in July for close to its asking price of $2.4 million, sources said at the time.

The actor’s sitcom “The Tom Show” was canceled this year after airing on WB from September through May. Since then, Arnold has been cast in Oliver Stone’s upcoming movie “On Any Given Sunday” and the indie film “Shepherd,” about the cover-up of a murder.

Arnold listed the ranch in December at $3.9 million when he and his wife decided to move closer to Los Angeles. He had owned the ranch, in the hills about eight miles from Malibu, since April 1995. He and his wife were married in July 1995.

After buying the ranch, he installed a full gym, bought a few additional acres and did considerable landscaping. The 10,000-square-foot house was newly built when he bought it.

Raymond Bekeris of John Bruce Nelson & Associates, Beverly Hills, had the listing.

FRANK MANCUSO SR., MGM chairman and chief executive, and his wife, Fay, have purchased a traditional-style house in Holmby Hills for about $5 million, sources say. The home had been listed at $6.5 million.

The Mancusos are expected to remodel the house or tear it down. Built in 1948, the 6,400-square-foot house is on 2 1/2 acres near the Playboy Mansion.

After spirited bidding in Santa Barbara Superior Court, the Hope Ranch home of the late CLARENCE GAUSS, U.S. ambassador to China in the 1940s, was sold at $3 million. The asking price was $2.15 million. Before the auction, there was an accepted offer of $2.25 million.

Four bidders competed for the property, which includes a Chinese-style mansion in need of refurbishing or razing. The winning bidder was L.A.-based Ameriquest Corp., a real estate company, sources say.

What made the property so appealing was its size--three acres--and location--oceanside, with many mature oak trees. The Gauss family had owned the property since the former ambassador bought it in 1951. He died in 1960. The death of his son, Charles B. Gauss, precipitated the late-July sale.

Paul O’Keeffe of Joyce Gibb Realtors, Santa Barbara, had the listing; the buyer was represented by Dave Ralston of Pollard Ralston Associates, Santa Barbara.

A newly built $5-million eight-bedroom home on an acre with a forest, waterfall, stream, amphitheater and playground will be ready for occupancy by its residents later this month--at the Los Angeles Zoo.

TOTO, 44, and 12 younger members of his chimpanzee family are getting ready to move into the trilevel complex, designed to resemble a natural habitat for chimps: an abandoned logging camp in the Mahale Mountains of Tanzania.

The chimps’ new home will be the zoo’s first major attraction in nine years.

The chimps won’t have a kitchen in their new home, but they will have simulated termite mounds or feeder logs containing such edibles as jam, honey and mustard, although Toto likes spaghetti with tomato sauce, washed down with a glass of pickle juice; BONNIE, 42, loves a salad of raw onions and radishes without dressing, and JUDEO, 19, favors Jello.