Though it’s been less than three years since he bought a nearly $7 million estate in the Los Feliz part of town, Simon Helberg is already shuffling his Los Angeles real estate chips. Records reveal the Santa Monica native, 41, has paid nearly $8.4 million for a 116-year-old gated estate in Pasadena, on the fringes of California’s San Gabriel Valley. The deluxe spread includes a 23-room main house with three full floors, a substantial pool house, and a 1,200-square-foot garage building with four car stalls, an attic and workshop.
Of course, Helberg and his longtime wife Jocelyn Towne can well afford bouts of capriciousness. By the time hit sitcom “The Big Bang Theory” wrapped in 2019, Helberg was reportedly earning a cool $1 million per episode. In fall 2019, HBO Max secured the domestic streaming rights and TBS extended its syndication deal with the show, record deals worth well “into the billions.” Suffice to say that the show’s main cast is likely set for life.
Built in 1906 and described in the listing as an English Tudor Revival, the roughly 7,200 square foot mansion was designed by prolific turn-of-the-century architect Frederick L. Roehrig, a man credited with many of Pasadena’s fabulous old homes — including several on the so-called “Millionaire’s Row” — plus landmark buildings like Castle Green and the Braun Music Center at Westridge School, just to name a couple.
The mansion’s seller was foodservice businessman Jim Dal Pazzo, who bought the property in 2015 for $4.5 million and nearly doubled his money on the sale to Helberg, minus the cost of any renovations, taxes and seven years of utility bills and maintenance. Rita Whitney of The Agency held the listing; Elisa Ritt of Compass repped the buyer.
Over the last handful of years, Pasadena and the surrounding neighborhoods have become increasingly popular with showbiz types, folks appreciate the area’s laidback atmosphere, historic architecture and friendly neighborhoods. Current Pasadena residents include Meryl Streep, Oscar De La Hoya, Grimes, Kristen Wiig, Steven Yeun and Shia LaBeouf.
