• September 22, 2003
• Vol. 60
• No. 12

Lovely Manors

With Stars Clamoring for His Old Hollywood Homes, Architect Wallace Neff Is Hot Again

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From PEOPLE Magazine

Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston are Neffies. So are Madonna, Jenna Elfman and Diane Keaton. Which is to say that all of those stars have snapped up homes by Wallace Neff, Hollywood's hottest architect to the stars—again. More than six decades after Neff's heyday designing houses for such Old Hollywood luminaries as Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Cary Grant—and 21 years after his death at age 87—today's stars are rediscovering the California architect's soaring ceilings, grand fireplaces and peaked roofs. "Neff's homes are very theatrical," says Sotheby's Realtor Barry Sloane. "Like a movie set, but a classy one."

No surprise, then, that a new generation of Hollywood royalty is smitten—including the Pitts, who spent two years feathering their Neff before moving in this summer. "My father had a flair for beauty and proportion," says Wallace L. Neff of his dad's ever-evolving appeal. Other owners include producer Jon Peters, music mogul Jimmy Iovine and media magnate Rupert Murdoch, whose spread was once home to Katharine Hepburn. Oscars aren't included in the purchase price—but the vibe can't hurt.

1934 FRENCH NORMANDY-STYLE HOUSE

Bought by: Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston in 2001
Originally owned by: Actor Fredric March
Price: $13.5 million
Place: Beverly Hills
Pitt, an avid design enthusiast and amateur architect, personally supervised the two-year renovation of this 12,000-sq.-ft. home, which featured an octagonal tower, a screening room, a wine cellar and his-and-her sitting rooms. Says Wallace L. Neff, the architect's son: "It reeks of beauty and elegance."

1920s MEDITERRANEAN

Bought by: Jenna Elfman In 2000
Sold by: Madonna
Price: about $4 million Place: Los Feliz, Calif.
This 5,000-sq.-ft. house had no air conditioning and no sprinklers when Elfman bought it from Madonna in 2000. No problem: Madonna had hired someone hand-water the lawn.

1920s SPANISH-STYLE HOUSE

Bought by: Madonna in 2000
Sold by: Diane Keaton
Price: $6.5 million
Place: Beverly Hills After selling her first Neff to Elfman, Madonna moved on to this 7,000-sq.-ft. mansion. "People thought it was a tear-down," Keaton told the Los Angeles Times. "But I redid it. We made it as authentic as we could". In May Madonna put the home back on the market for $10.9 million after buying an L.A. house from Sela Ward. (Alas, that one is not a Neff.)