In the Books
Santa Barbara author Catharine Riggs launched her debut novel, What She Gave Away at a bijou bash at Tecolote, the bustling bibliophile bastion in the upper village.
Catharine’s father, George Manset, was one of the organizers of the Knollwood Tennis Club.
The book, one of psychological suspense, is set in our rarefied enclave and centers around an outsider with a dark past and a bitter grudge who moves to our tony town only to find herself enmeshed in the secrets of her boss and his hapless wife.
A graduate of UCLA with a master’s in business administration from Drake University, Catharine is a former business banker, adjunct college instructor, and nonprofit executive, with a handful of starter novels tucked away in a drawer.
She is currently at work on What She Never Said, the second novel in her Santa Barbara suspense series.
Rumer Has It
Carpinteria actor Ashton Kutcher is clearly the magnanimous type.
Ashton, who has an oceanside home on Padaro Lane near Oscar winner Kevin Costner and mega-producer George Lucas, has reportedly given his ex-stepdaughter Rumer Willis, 30, sole ownership of the Hollywood Hills home they bought together.
The 40-year-old star, who was married to Rumer’s mother, actress Demi Moore, from 2005 to 2013, bought the 2-bedroom, 4-bathroom property in 2009 for $971,500, with a co-ownership agreement signed listing him and Rumer as the owners.
Ashton, married to actress Mila Kunis, appears to be cutting the last ties he has with his ex-wife as, according to the Blast, he has signed over his half of the property to Rumer, giving her full ownership.
Out with the Old
The late glamorpuss Zsa Zsa Gabor’s home in the ritzy Los Angeles enclave of Bel Air has sold for nearly double the price it went for before her death two years ago.
The one-acre property, where I would have tea with the actress in the late ’70s, was sold for $11 million in 2013, but under an agreement she was able to live there until she died.
Now the 9,000-sq.-ft. property, formerly the home of the reclusive tycoon Howard Hughes and singer Elvis Presley, has found a buyer for $20.8 million after developer Albert Taban put it back on the market in July, according to Curbed Los Angeles.
Zsa Zsa lived in the estate for four decades. The Regency-style property, with panoramic Pacific views and even its own discotheque, the Moulin Rouge, where I would occasionally dance with her, was built in 1955 and has 6 bedrooms and 7 bathrooms.
Sadly, the home will likely be torn down to make way for a 24,020-sq.-ft. mega mansion.
So many memories.
