Homes of Comedy Stars

Maria Bamford of “Comedians of Comedy” loves watching “Celebrity Homes” on E! She has a bit where she imagines hosting her own show called “Comedian Homes” in which she would feature the pathetically humble abodes of her standup-scene friends: “This is the kitchen, this is the bathroom, the bedroom—and this is really where the 400 square feet of my apartment is.”

If Bamford were interviewing friends who have parlayed their comic talents into blockbuster movies, lucrative TV roles, and best-selling books, however, it would be a different story. These homes owned by comedy stars, provided by Realtor.com, have closets larger than 400 square feet, they have beachfront and bay views, they have invisible edge pools, and spas and guest houses. While many of the following 12 homeowners got their start in standup comedy, most of them are better known for their work on the big and small screens — and one is nominated for a 2012 Oscar.

By Colleen KanePosted 24 January 2012

Location: Malibu, California                
Price: $7.25 million
Bedrooms: 6
Bathrooms: 7   
Square Footage: 5,936

It’s been years since Howie Mandel's standup days of inflating the medical glove on his head, and maybe that’s for the best. We’re thinking this Cape Cod-style beauty he recently put on the market probably owes more to his latter-day and present-day gigs as host of “Deal or No Deal” and “America’s Got Talent.”

Dominating the interior is the airy great room, with its soaring ceiling and built-ins flanking the fireplace. When choosing this house, Mandel nailed it on the “location-cubed” trope: It’s situated in the Point Dume area, it’s got Santa Monica Bay ocean views, and the new owners can walk to Malibu’s beaches.

Location: Chicago
Price: Nearly $2.5 million
Bedrooms: 5
Bathrooms: 5-plus       
Square Footage: 6,000

When Rosie O’ Donnell was preparing to host her new show on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network last fall, the longtime New Yorker moved to Oprah’s windy city. “The Rosie Show” has gone over better than “Rosie Live,” so she may be staying put in this Chicago Lakeview home, which she purchased from an executive at the OWN network.

The “Riding the Bus With My Sister” star’s new digs came fully furnished, and includes a home security and audio/visual system, a heated three-car garage, and 2,000-square-foot roof deck.

Location: Venice, California
Price: $949,000
Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2   
Square Footage: 1,399

John Leguizamo of “Ice Age” voiceover fame, as well as one-man shows like “Freak” and “Sexaholix,” has a couple of houses on the market. His Venice condo, pictured here, falls on the more modest end of celebrity homes. It has the most normal-scale kitchen we’ve seen in a famous person's abode this side of New York City. The home was on the market in December for $949,000, according to Real Estalker. Realtor.com now says it’s off the market.

The Leguizamos have been trying to unload their upstate New York weekend home since last year. Also in the Leguizamo portfolio are two properties in New York, according to the Real Estalker, one in the West Village and another across town in Alphabet City.

Location: New York City
Price: $29.5 million
Bedrooms: 3-4
Bathrooms:  4 full, 1 partial      
Square Footage: 5,190

In the 2010 documentary “A Piece of Work,” standup comedy veteran Joan Rivers’ opulent golden penthouse was a memorable presence — as was her library card catalog filing system for her jokes. A still from that film is shown here.

Rivers put this apartment on the market for $25 million in 2009. Even though it didn’t sell, she’s listing it now at $29.5 million. The maintenance and fees on this apartment alone amount to more than $20,000 monthly as noted on Real Estalker, which has a floor plan of the apartment.

Location: Malibu, California
Price: $13.5 million
Bedrooms: 3.5
Bathrooms: 4   
Square Footage: 3,763

David Spade has done all right for himself with his “Joe Dirt” money, judging by his oceanfront Malibu vacation home. He has done less well at selling one of the fruits of his labors on “Saturday Night Live” and “Rules of Engagement,” as he recently re-listed the home after trying to sell it for $16 million in 2007.

Spade bought the La Costa Beach property in 2005 for $9.3 million, and since then, says Realtor.com, he has sunk quite a bit of money into renovating the house. Many rooms open out to the outdoors, either to the private pool patio, or the coast and the city views. There’s also custom spiral staircase, hardwood flooring, and four fireplaces.

Location: Santa Monica, California
Price: $4.45 million
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 4 full 1 half
Square Footage: 3,700

Call it the house that Beavis and Butt-Head built. The creator of the newly resurrected 1990s animated favorite, as well as “King of the Hill,” and the sleeper hit films “Office Space” and the all-too prescient “Idiocracy,” Mike Judge recently bought this updated 1970s-era Mediterranean villa for $4.45 million, according to Realtor.com's blog.

Features of this house include a combination saltwater pool and spa, and the master suite has his-and-hers bathrooms and walk-in closets, and a private balcony.

Location: Tarzana, California
Price: $2.175 million
Bedrooms: 5
Bathrooms: 6   
Square Footage: 4,650

Jonah Hill is the affable star of “Superbad” and “Get Him to the Greek.” He picked up this circa-1956 Cape Cod-style house last summer for $2.175 million, according to the Real Estalker blog, around the time of his dramatic weight loss. That was shortly before the release of “Moneyball,” for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for supporting actor.

The home is a rather sedate estate for a 28-year-old bachelor. Features on this updated property include a storage-friendly kitchen with Shaker-style cabinets and a butler’s pantry, built-in shelving, wood and marble flooring, and coffered ceilings with recessed lighting.

Location: Los Angeles
Price: $5.942 million 
Bedrooms: 6
Bathrooms: 7  
Square Footage: 5,572

As host of the talk show “Chelsea Lately,” a sitcom based on her high jinx also bearing her name, and the author of four best-sellers — three of which also contain “Chelsea” in the title — Chelsea Handler has crafted her own branded empire. Her chic modern Bel Air home, which Hollywood Reporter says she bought in November 2010 for $5.9 million, is befitting of a multimedia empress.

While the house is luxuriously appointed — the closet is large enough to be its own dressing room with windows — there isn’t a lot of flash or frills on evidence. As was already established with her choice of $35,000 per month rental home, Handler likes her homes rectangular.

Location: Beverly Hills, California
Price: $29,000/month
Bedrooms: 5
Bathrooms: 6   
Square Footage: 5,721

Amy Poehler and Will Arnett aren’t just married professional funnies in real life, they also played a married couple on TV in “Arrested Development” as well as siblings in “Blades of Glory.”

This gated 1926 home was their rental pad from 2009 through early last year. At the time the couple was moving out, the rent was $29,000 a month and the home was for sale for $6.995 million, according to the Real Estalker. It has a paneled family room with a wet bar, a staff suite, and a pool cabana.

Location: Los Angeles
Price: $2.9 million         
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 3   
Square Footage: 2,806

This 1959 home, with its clean and classic modern design, sits on a stately perch atop Laurel Canyon in Los Angeles, never betraying that one of the owners is known for parading around in a neon green monokini thong bathing suit.

This funny pair — he of alter egos Borat, Ali G, and Bruno infamy, and she of “Wedding Crashers” and “Confessions of a Shopaholic” fame — were offering their home for rent last year for $10,000 per month, after trying to sell it for $2.9 million. The house is now off the market.