A house in Los Angeles' Studio City area that once was owned by the late actor Hal Buckley -- and that writer/psychologist/futurist/LSD guru Timothy Leary may have once inhabited as well -- has come off the market after having been listed most recently for $1,999,999.
In a Big Time Listings exclusive, we can report on the removal from the market of the 2,336-square-foot house at 3415 Coldwater Canyon Avenue in Studio City, which had been on the market since February 20. This is one of the last of the long-neglected items that we had had on our list from 2008 that we had wanted to get to but hadn't had the opportunity to do so -- until now. And we dragged our heels for so long that now, as it happens, the house has been taken off the market and recently was rented out.
Even so, we'd still like to write about the property -- if only because it's a pretty interesting property, given its unusually large acreage for the area and given its history (both true and reputed). We should note that the property was marketed as being a "private and secluded celebrity estate" -- something that does strike us as a bit of a reach.
Anyhow, built in 1936 and located just a short distance north of Mulholland Drive, the house was listed to be sold as-is. (Listing information describes the property as having five bedrooms and five baths, but we assume that that is the combined total of bedrooms and baths in the main house and the guest house; public records say that the house has just two bedrooms.) Features on the exactly 2-acre property include an 1,100-square-foot guest house, views, already-installed underground utilities, large flat pads, two 500-square-foot garages, a private driveway, and plans available permitting the construction of a house that would be up to 4,500 square feet, according to public records and listing information. Soil and geological testing already has been done according to listing information.
The house previously had been listed for $2,199,000.
Buckley, who largely was a bit actor in the 1960s and 1970s (with one-off appearances on shows of that era), did have a starring role in the very short-lived mid-1960s series "O.K. Crackerby," and his biggest role was a surprisingly meaty role in the ensemble cast of the 1970 movie "Kelly's Heroes." Buckley owned the Coldwater Canyon Avenue house until his (premature) death at age 48 in 1986. Records show that Buckley's son Michael Buckley sold the house in 1994 for $335,000. The current owner, who is not a celebrity, purchased the property in 1998 for $535,000, according to public records.
Did Leary ever own this property? He did move to Hollywood in the late 1960s, and he did die in a property on Coldwater Canyon. However, this is more of a question for our friend E.J. over at the Movieland Directory. The listing agent told us that that was his understanding; however, E.J.'s exhaustive database doesn't currently bear that out.