Since he was launched into stardom in the early 1990s as lantern-jawed teenager A.C. Slater on the original “Saved by the Bell” series (and all the show’s numerous sequels and TV movies), hard-working Hollywood stalwart Mario Lopez amassed a real estate portfolio of at least four homes across several communities sprinkled along the eastern flank of L.A.’s sprawling San Fernando Valley.
Earlier this year, the former “Extra” host, who switched over to rival entertainment news outfit “Access Hollywood” in 2019, added to his holdings with the $9.4 million purchase of a fancy new mansion in the quietly ritzy La Cañada Flintridge suburb, about 15 miles north of downtown. Since then, he has been on a selling spree.
Most recently, the jovial “Dancing with the Stars” alum — he finished in second place on the long-running hit show’s third season — shed his former home in Burbank. The deal went down for not quite $2.1 million, a bit below the $2.35 million asking price but still a solid chunk over the $1.35 million the showbiz fixture paid back in 2004.
Set high on an elevated corner parcel of just over 8,100 square feet, with a gated drive and pretty, over-the-treetops mountain views, the ochre-hued 1930s Spanish villa sits amid a verdant oasis of Mediterranean and tropical plantings. Numerous original (or re-created) details include a curlicued wrought iron stair railing, polished medium-brown oak floorboards, and vintage (or vintage-inspired) light fixtures. Formal living and dining rooms flank the foyer, while the updated center-island eat-in kitchen flows through a wide arch to a family room with a fireplace. A lower-level family room, with a brick fireplace and wet bar, spills out to the party-ready backyard.
Five bedrooms and five bathrooms are dispersed throughout the three-story abode’s almost 4,400 square feet. One bedroom, with a private bath that makes it suitable for staff or guests, is discretely nipped away on the lowest level behind the garage, while the four top-floor bedrooms include the primary suite, with its cedar-lined closet, mountain-view balcony and bathroom complete with steam shower, jetted tub and bidet.
Designed for easy-going al fresco entertaining and ringed by high hedging and countless swaying palms, the lush grounds include a built-in barbecue and pizza oven, a swimming pool and spill-over spa encircled by extensive terracing, a four-tier fountain bordered by a glass rock fire feature, and an outdoor shower. A poolside cantina includes a fridge for cold drinks and and a curtained dining loggia offers built-in heaters and retractable sunshades.
The property was listed with Dan Sanchez of Dilbeck Real Estate, while the buyer was represented by Brock Worthen at Keller Williams Realty Los Feliz.
Just a few months ago, Lopez sold another of his former homes, an unassuming three-bedroom spread in the Sunset Canyon area of Burbank. The slightly more than one-million-dollar sale price is more than four times the $238,000 Lopez paid for the place in 1994, when he was just 21 years old. And Lopez’s 12-room Spanish villa in the affluent foothills above Glendale, scooped up in 2010 for about $2 million, popped up for sale a few months ago at almost $6 million but has been taken off the market for a brief period over the holiday season.
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Image Credit: Geoff Yale Photography -
Image Credit: Geoff Yale Photography -
Image Credit: Geoff Yale Photography -
Image Credit: Geoff Yale Photography -
Image Credit: Geoff Yale Photography -
Image Credit: Geoff Yale Photography -
Image Credit: Geoff Yale Photography -
Image Credit: Geoff Yale Photography -
Image Credit: Geoff Yale Photography -
Image Credit: Geoff Yale Photography -
Image Credit: Geoff Yale Photography -
Image Credit: Geoff Yale Photography -
Image Credit: Dilbeck Real Estate