The Late Betty White’s Carmel Retreat Sold for $10.75 million
The late actress Betty White had a seven-decade career, admired by many. During the time of her life in Brentwood, White lived and worked, but would escape to her home in Carmel for peace and quiet. When this home was listed, after only a month on the market, Betty White’s home was sold for $10.77 million. The original asking price was $7.75 million but increased to $10.77 million because of high demand from interested buyers and it happened just after 19 offers came in.
For today’s blog, exclusive to our TTP members, we will be talking more about Betty White and her estate which was sold for $10.7 million. Pretty amazing right? Now without further adieu, let’s get into the blog.
So who is Betty White? Betty Marion White is an actress, activist, comedian, author, news anchor, talk show host, and producer. She was widely known for her light-hearted personality and was often labeled as hilarious, upbeat, and effortless. Just last year, on December 31, eighteen days before her 100th birthday she passed away.
Betty White was born on January 17, 1922, in Oak Park, Illinois, the only child of traveling salesman Horace White and homemaker Tess Curts White. They moved to Los Angeles during the Great Depression, where Betty’s love of animals intensified when they went on camping trips in the Sierra Nevadas every year. As a child, she dreamed about being a forest ranger or a writer, but in the end, she ended up making a career out of the performance. When she played the lead role in her high-school play that she wrote herself, that’s when she fell in love with performance. She skipped college and began performing on the radio. During World War II she drove an army truck delivering soap, toothpaste, and candy to soldiers in Santa Monica and Hollywood. She also married Dick Parker which ended up as a short-lived marriage lasting less than six months.
White began her acting career in Little Theater, starring in “Dear Ruth”. Eventually, she was discovered by agent Lane Allen, who emboldened her to pursue a career in acting, and they got married. And when that marriage ended in 1949, it was also Betty White’s big break. She and an L.A. DJ named Al Jarvis got their feet wet together on local TV. After Jarvis left the show in 1952, Betty White began hosting by herself. She worked for about five and a half hours of live ad-lib television six days a week for four years. She was nominated for her first Emmy Award in 1951 as the best actress on television. It was the first award and category in the new award show designated specifically for women in television.
This eventually paved the way for her first sitcom, the nationally syndicated Life with Elizabeth. It made her one of the few women on TV with full creative control in front of and behind the camera. The show featured short skits with a low budget and a small number of sets. The show was mostly just domestic skits of White’s daffy Elizabeth and her husband Alvin, played by Del Moore, but despite this, it was successful for White. And while on The Mary Tyler Moore Show in the 1970s, she earned her second and third Emmy nominations. She became the first woman to win an Emmy Award in the category of outstanding game show host while hosting Just Men! on NBC in 1983.
The two sitcoms that she was in, Life of Elizabeth and The Hazel Scott Show, were short-lived but they showcased a Black tap dancer named Arthur Duncan. This was rare at the time and White refused to remove him from the show, even though he was pressured to stop. In addition, Duncan offers high praise for White, considering her the core of his career. Later on, in 1970, White produced “The Betty White Show” during a time when it was extremely rare for a woman to be a producer.”
Betty White became a guest on many famous shows in the 1960s such as “To Tell the Truth,” “I’ve Got a Secret,” “The Match Game,” and “What’s My Line.” However, she was most known for “Password” where she met the host, Allen Ludden. Allen and Betty got married in 1963 and remained so until 1981 upon Ludden’s death which was caused by stomach cancer. White says that enthusiasm was the secret to their marriage. “When I knew Allen was coming home, I would freshen my makeup and put on a new blouse,” she said. They referred to one another as “parcels of wild honey” and ever after, White refers to Ludden as the love of her life. The two never had any children together. But Betty White was a step mother to Ludden’s three children from a previous marriage.
In the years following the success of Golden Girls, White’s work pace only accelerated. With The Golden Girls, she played Rose Nylund. Originally offered the role of Southern belle Blanche, White ultimately took on the part of Minnesota widow Rose Nylund. Alongside Bea Arthur and Estelle Getty, they made up three of St. Olaf’s most lovable women. White felt that Rose’s speeches reached him on an emotional level because all he had to do was substitute “Allen” for “Charlie”, Rose’s husband. After The Golden Girls ended in 1992, White starred in a series of TV shows, including The Golden Palace, Bob, and Maybe This Time. She also made cameos in programs including Ally McBeal and That ’70s Show. However, her most significant television role was as Bea Sigurdson on The Golden Palace, which is a spin-off of The Golden Girls minus Arthur.
The three successful sitcoms span decades, beginning in 1970 with “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”, where she played Sue Ann Nivens from 1973 to 1977, “The Golden Girls”, where she played Rose Nylund from 1985 to 1992; and “Hot in Cleveland”, where she plays Elka Ostrovsky from 2010 to 2015.
Betty White also starred in various TV shows such as “The Sonny and Cher” show, “The Carol Burnett Show,” and “Community.” She also starred in films including “The Proposal” with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, and “You Again” with Kristen Bell and Sigouney Weaver. After a Facebook campaign by a fan of White to let Betty White host “Saturday Night Live” paid off, she hosted the Mothers Day episode in 2010. This episode was rated as the highest rated episode in over a year. She also appeared on “SNL” again for their 40th anniversary special. Her television career won her 5 prime-time Emmys (the final one was for her “SNL” episode), a competitive daytime Emmy, and a Los Angeles regional Emmy. She was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1995 and won a lifetime achievement award from Screen Actors Guild in 2010. In 2014 she won a Guinness World Record for the longest female television career.
Beyond television, it was important to White to be remembered for her love for animals. White cared about animals and took many steps to help them. She was an animal rights activist and hosted a TV show about pets in 1971. She donated her time, energy, and money to organizations such as the American Humane Association and Fund for Animals. In 2006, she was given the title of “ambassador to the animals” by the Los Angeles Zoo. While accepting an Emmy in 2018, White said “It’s incredible that you can stay in a career this long and still have people put up with you. I wish they did that at home.” White considered herself a born cockeyed optimist, which came from not taking things or herself too seriously.
The day before her death, she made a video that was meant to be shown at her 100th birthday celebration. In the video, she thanked her fans and told them that the celebrations were in honor of and for them. She called herself a “lucky old broad”. In honor of her 100th birthday, a group of her friends and co-stars including Drew Barrymore, Bryan Cranston, Tina Fey, Ellen DeGenerous, and Tracy Morgan got together on NBC to remember Betty White. It includes clips of her throughout her career, a message from Joe Biden, a performance from Cher, and many more. Betty White was known as a pioneer of her time, who had a love for people and animals. She will be surely missed by all.
Now that we have known more about Betty White and her achievements, let us now check out the one that you are waiting for, the Carmel Retreat house that was sold for $10.77 million.
The late Betty White‘s long time beach home in California finally has a new owner after just a little more than a month on the market. The vacation home was sold for $10.77 million, which is nearly $3 million more than the original asking price, according to People. It was said that the beach house went up for sale three months after her death last year on December 31 at the age of 99. It was built by Betty White and her husband Allen Ludden back in 1981 on a 0.3-acre lot with a waterfront view. When the couple moved into the home in 1978, they spent $170,000. Sadly, the couple only lived together in their beautiful beach home for a few months before Ludden died. The realtor that sold the home, Nicole Truszkowski, said that White continued to enjoy the home after her husband passed away. Truszkowski told People, “The home embodies the spirit of Betty and Allen. It was eloquently understated with the focus on nature and the natural beauty surrounding the home.” Spending time in Carmel was one of Betty’s favorite things to do. She enjoyed many treasured moments with her family and close friends.
This 3,600 square foot home rests on about a quarter acre of land and has 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. White and her husband Allen, bought the property and then had it turned into a three-story building. The walls and ceilings of this home are made of light wooden panels, while the exposed beams and fireplace add to the cozy feeling. The most striking feature is the large windows that offer a view of Point Lobos Nature Reserve, Ribera Beach, and Monastery Beach from almost every room in the house. And as you can see, a view of the ocean can be seen from just about every room in this incredibly spacious house.
In addition, there are many outdoor decks where sunrises and sunsets can be witnessed. There’s a beautiful groundskeeper to maintain the area, direct access to the beach, and walking trails that lead all the way to Carmel Meadows. Another great thing about this home is its location which is in one of the coast’s most popular towns. Carmel is a laid-back coastal town with beautiful scenery. However, the town was once led by Hollywood legend, Clint Eastwood. It also has one of the highest populations of dog-friendly homes which is why it would be a great place to call a second home and follow in Betty White’s footsteps. So if you want to check the 3, 621 square foot home by yourself, the listing can still be seen online via the Sotheby Realty website. And you can clearly see why it has held its value over the years.
And for any Betty White fans out there looking for their own piece of Hollywood, sorry to break it to you that she has already sold her house. However, another property in California is on the market. Betty White’s colonial style estate in Brentwood Park in Los Angeles, California can be yours for $10.5 million.
This house is enormous, sitting on three quarters of an acre of land, and is located in a prime spot looking out onto iconic views such as the Getty Museum and mountains. A home that was built in 1952 and is 3,029 sq feet, has 5 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms. It has an all-white exterior with cheerful yellow accents and terracotta roofing. There are many amenities offered, such as a pool, a three-car garage, and an idyllic sunroom. To make it even better, there is a guesthouse where the Hollywood power couple played charades with other A-listers like Dinah Shore and Burt Reynolds. This property is gated and guarded in order to provide lots of privacy. The large, well-manicured grounds will allow the owner to host celebrities as it is ideal for this type of event. “Betty White was a California girl through and through,” said a statement from White’s estate. “Despite living in New York when she and Allen Ludden were first married, she longed to be back home in Los Angeles where she grew up.”
The listing is being held by Marlene Okulick of Sotheby’s International Realty’s Pacific Palisades Brokerage. According to them, this is the first time the property has been on the market in over 50 years. Also, the property will most likely be torn down.
The listing states, “The property is being sold for land value. There will be no interior access of the home,” and adds that this is a great opportunity to build “your dream home on a flat lot in a serene country setting.”
This means the value of the land itself and any improvements that have been made to it are taken into account. However, there are still parts of the property that are certainly worth saving. The spacious backyard features a large rectangular pool with plenty of space for sunbathing and entertaining and a grassy lawn perfect for family games. The gated lot also has perfectly manicured gardens, lush hedges, and old trees providing shade and privacy.
There you have our TTP blog for today. Now, who do you think is the mystery buyer of the gorgeous beach home? And what do you think about this new home that is being listed? Let us know in the comments below.
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