Soap Star Dana Sparks on the Lake

SELLER: Dana and Steven Sparks
LOCATION: Trentham Road, Lake Sherwood, CA
PRICE: $4,850,000
SIZE: 5,300+ square feet, 3 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms
DESCRIPTION: One acre on Lake Sherwood, Casa Della Madonna is an Italian Villa appointed w/ top of the line finishes. A rustic stone retreat is artfully blended w/ an amazing 2004 addition, creating a warm atmosphere both authentic and new. Open floor plan w/ high ceiling throughout the entire home, 3 bed, 4 bath and over 5300 sq ft, and cascading outdoor decks overlooking private and scenic Lake Sherwood, includes boat house, boat dock & over 150 ft. of frontage on the lake.

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: At first we did not recognize the name of Ms. Sparks, but when we looked up her long resume we certainly recognized her face from her turns on many successful televison programs such as JAG, Melrose Place, L.A. Law, and back in the day Miz Sparks acted her way through a long stint on Falcon Crest. Remember that crazy show with Lorenzo Lamas and Ronnie Reagan's ex-wifey Jane Wyman? Children that show was one of Your Mamas very first primetime guilty pleasures.

More recently all you people without jobs who sit in front of the television watching the soaps will recognize Ms. Sparks from her ongoing role as Grace Bennett/Faith Standish on the strange and excellently done Passions. Children, ordinarily Your Mama has little tolerance for daytime dramas. But if y'all have not spent at least a week watching Passions, you have not lived a full life. Seriously. These characters don't just suffer from the standard sky high dramatics and oodles of unrequited love triangles like all the other daytime soaps. Oh no. These people are made to grapple with pimps, witches, ghosts, and visits to the depths of hell to save a teenage virgins caught in the clutches of demon possession. The injection of the supernatural into a daytime soap program was brilliantly over the top and Your Mama gives it a standing ovation.

In addition to her acting, Miz Sparks and her huzband, along with their musician pal Kenny G have been doing what so many rich and famous have been doing around Los Angeles in the last few years: flipping houses. This is totally off topic, but we just have to say that Your Mama finds Kenny G utterly repellent. We have do not doubt the man is a lovely fellow and a good friend, but all that kinky curly hair and strange clarinet music sends shivers up and down our spine.

Anyhoo, this trio have bought and renovated a couple of houses, including the one directly next door to this house, which 0f course is Miz Sparks' primary residence. If we're being honest with our opinions, and you know we always are, there are plenty of things not to like about this house, such as the seemingly bizarre location a million miles from the studios, the not so well done interior decor, and for some reason the kitchen with its two stoves makes us never want to cook again.

But we are loving the house itself. All the stone work at the front door warms the cockles of our heart and we think the living room architecture succeeds in it's attempt to look like a Tuscan farmhouse in Italy. We also really dig the marble choice in the master bathroom and in fact we're appreciating that whole space. Your Mama hates to take baths because it just feels like we're sitting in our own filth, but we might reconsider that a time or two to sit in that tub looking at the stunning view of the lake.

We can't imagine anyone who works in daytime television wanting to live in the boondocks of Lake Sherwood, which is basically Thousand Oaks. Children, do you know how long it must take this lady to get to work in the morning and then back home at night? Your Mama would sooner sleep in our car parked in the garage at The Grove than navigate all that Los Angeles freeway at peak driving times.

That said, the setting really is magnificent andwe can understand why someone might want to live up there. Of course, that would be someone besides Your Mama who has never been anywhere near this Lake Sherwood. But we confess to being very pleasantly surprised by the scenic setting and would certainly not spit at the opportunity to whittle the day away on the floating dock or bobbing around in a boat on the azure waters.

Property records show the happy couple bought this house in 1987 for just $350,000. And even though records reflect they've refinanced for a much higher mortgage over the years, they stand to make millions when they sell this faux Italian villa. So clearly the lady who has a knack for making money on the T.V. also has an impressive knack for making money in the real estate game. Brava!

Source: Internet Movie Data Base, Soap Opera Digest