Estate Sale

The contents of one of Montecito’s greatest estates, 70-acre El Mirador, will be up for auction by Kaminski auctions in Beverly, Massachusetts.

The expansive property belonged to the family of John J. Mitchell Jr., a founding force behind United Airlines and heir to one of Chicago’s most prominent banking dynasties.

The auction takes place over three days this week.

Mitchell’s life and legacy are part of American industry, aviation, and high society. But it is through his marriage in 1921 to Lolita Armour, only child of meatpacking magnate Philip D. Armour – in that day second only to John D. Rockefeller in wealth – that a uniquely American tale of wealth, taste, and transcontinental elegance comes to life.

Their combined fortune was estimated at $120 million at the time.

The contents of the auction span from Chicago’s Gold Coast to the sun-soaked Santa Ynez Valley.

Later the tony twosome expanded their holdings with the acquisition of Ranch Juan y Lolita, a 12,000-acre property at Zaca Lake in the Santa Ynez Valley. The land would remain in the family until its sale in the 1960s to Hollywood icon James Stewart.

Among the auction highlights are several rare Chinese antiques acquired during extensive travels through Asia, including a remarkably well-preserved 19th century Imperial Chinese robe. There are also important pieces of American and European furniture and art.

Like Father, Like Son

One of Montecito philanthropist Michael Hammer’s final wishes before his death from brain cancer three years ago was that his film star son, Armie Hammer, play him in a feature film.

Barry Avrich, director of the Netflix art scandal documentary Made You Look, tells the tabloid New York Post’s Page Six that former Manhattan gallery owner Michael was lobbying for Armie to play him in the film adaptation.

Avrich has also written a new tome on the art world scandal The Devil Wears Rothko.

“We are still shopping, and Michael was keen to use his son, Armie, or Tom Cruise as him – and offered to introduce us to both,” says Avrich.

Michael, a keen car collector, owned the Knoedler gallery, Manhattan’s oldest, which closed in 2011 after being accused of selling $80 million of fake art.

Home Renovations

Actor Ashton Kutcher and his actress wife Mila Kunis are turning lemons into lemonade.

Their $17 million Carpinteria beach house is undergoing a major improvement to the property near Kevin Costner, Oscar hosts Conan O’Brien and Stars Wars mogul George Lucas.

The renovation will add a 2,146 square foot, two-story addition. The twosome bought the property for $10.1 million in 2017.

Matrimony in Mexico

The late Carpinteria actor Alan Thicke’s singer son, Robin, 48, finally married his longtime girlfriend April Love Geary, 30, with a lavish ceremony in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, at the weekend.

The bride, who has three children with Thicke, wore a stunning white lace gown and a ruffled veil.

In a loving gesture to his late father, the twosome left a seat in the first row empty. Alan died in 2016 aged 69.

The couple’s son, Patrick, 2, served as ring bearer.

Thicke proposed to Geary twice – the first time in December 2018, and last month at the luxurious Hotel du Cap – Eden Roc in the south
of France.

The couple started dating in 2014 after Thicke split from his first wife of ten years, actress Paula Patton.

Suit Filed

Carpinteria actor Kevin Costner, 70, has been slapped with a lawsuit from a woman who worked on his film Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter Two.

Devyn LaBella, filed a lawsuit against the Yellowstone actor alleging sexual harassment and the creation of a hostile work environment. 

Jetsetting

Prince Harry made a surprise trip to China as his father, King Charles, landed in Canada with Queen Camilla for a state visit.

The Duke of Sussex was attending a tourism conference in Shanghai.

It was his first visit to the country and the Riven Rock resident spoke of his role with Travalyst, an organization that provides environmentally friendly foreign travel.

Making the List

In other royal news, Time Magazine’s Time 100 Philanthropy 2025 lists Prince William and his wife Kate for their focus on mental health, as well as the royal twosome spotlighting innovative solutions to climate change launching the Earthshot Prize, an environmental award founded by William in 2020.

Air Waves

Montecito actress Gwyneth Paltrow has revealed the great lengths she has gone to prevent her signature golden locks from falling out.

The Oscar winner has undergone various treatments to keep her hair, even injecting her scalp.

The latest treatment involved a plastic surgeon and a device that uses acoustic sound waves and air pressure to stimulate hair growth.

“It is completely painless,” says Paltrow. “Honestly, I think my hair already feels a bit fuller.”

Sightings

Kevin Coster noshing at Tre Lune… Oscars host Conan O’Brien at Pierre Lafond… Weakest Link host Jane Lynch at Montecito Country Mart.

Pip! Pip!