‘Walking Dead’ Producer Gale Anne Hurd Steps into $7.3 Million Mount Olympus Contemporary

They unsuccessfully attempted to sell their Pasadena, Calif., penthouse earlier this year with an asking price of $4.8 million but that didn’t stop powerhouse producer Gale Anne Hurd and screenwriter/director Jonathan Hensleigh from shelling out nearly $7.3 million for an organic-modern contemporary home in L.A.’s Mount Olympus neighborhood.

Initially an executive assistant for legendary film producer Roger Corman, aka “The Pope of Pop Cinema,” Hurd went on to launch her own production company in 1982. Early on she produced several smash hits, including “The Terminator” (1984) and “Aliens” (1986), as well as Michael Bay’s 1998 blockbuster “Armageddon,” before she took on the 2010 megahit TV series “The Walking Dead” and its numerous spinoffs that include “Talking Dead” and “Fear the Walking Dead.” Previously married to both James Cameron and Brian de Palma, Hurd has been hitched since 1995 to Hensleigh, whose credits include “Jumanji” (1995) and, more recently, “The Ice Road” with Liam Neeson.

A puzzle-like collection of boxy smooth stucco volumes interspersed with planes of glass and wood-clad insets, the roughly 6,200-square foot home was built about seven years ago and contains six bedrooms and 6.5 bathrooms. Light filled interiors showcase high ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows that disappear into the walls, and carefully book-matched walnut built-ins and cabinetry. A double-sided fireplace separates the living room from a library/office with built-in desk, the kitchen is open to the dining area over a doublewide island snack bar and, like the living and dining areas, the cozy family room, with wet bar, flows easily out to the backyard through disappearing walls of glass. There’s also a walk-in wine-display and tasting room as well as a sparely appointed media room that sports tiered seating platforms and an integrated sound system.

Each of the five guest bedrooms has a private bath and access to a balcony or other outdoor space, while the primary bedroom is a spacious aerie with fireplace, sitting area and dressing room. Walls of disappearing glass open the main bedroom to a glass-railed balcony and sweeping city and canyon views.

Unusually large and flat for a home in the hills, the backyard includes a charming dining terrace, swimming pool and wide sweep of lawn, all with serene cross-canyon views, while a roof terrace provides wrap-around mountain, canyon and city lights vistas.

The couple, who once owned a three-acre estate in Pasadena they sold in 2007 for $11.5 million to Oscar de la Hoya, were represented in the deal by Julie Thomson, CFO of Hurd’s production company, Valhalla Motion Pictures, and the seller, philanthropist Katharina Harf, daughter of businessman and investor Peter Harf, chairman of the global beauty conglomerate Coty Inc., was represented by Branden Williams and Rayni Williams of The Beverly Hills Estates.