David Lee's Desert Digs

SELLER: David Lee
LOCATION: W. Hermosa Place, Palm Springs, CA
PRICE: $5,995,000
SIZE: 7,000 square feet (approx.), 6 bedrooms, 7.5 bathrooms
DESCRIPTION: Designed by architect Donald Wexler for Dinah Shore in 1963 this legendary tennis estate defines timeless architecture. The 1.3 acre property offers a rare opportunity to experience a piece of architecture and design that embodies the enjoyment of past, present and future. Extensive renovations were done to bring the interiors current while honoring the bones of the house. The blue print for modern desert living, this property embraces the beauty of the environment by commingling the interior and exterior space, while using current materials Wexler might have used if available to him during original creation.

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Listen puppies, Your Mama and the Dr. Cooter decided to dart out to the desert for a few days of much needed and rest and relaxation among all the greys and gays in Palm Springs. Therefore we don't have much time to pontificate and digress since Marc the pool boy is waiting to plug in the gin and tonic I.V. drip system that will smooth all the rough edges created by the gaggle of giggly and annoying women roaming the property like it's their personal bachelorette party playground.

Anyhoo, in honor of being among the cactus and extreme heat we thought we'd bring the children a little real estate desert dee-voonity in the form of a long, low and fully rehabbed residence owned by television titan David Lee being offered for sale with an asking price of $5,995,000.

For those who do not know and/or are too damn lazy to google Mister Lee, back in the early 1980s the man wrote for the boob-toob tour de force The Jeffersons, went on to write and produce a few episodes of Wings and Cheers, and then created, wrote and directed the award winning but ferociously annoying program Frasier about a couple of highly effeminate but allegedly straight psychiatrist brothers. Frasier, which by our blurry eyed count earned Mister Lee 8 Emmy nominations and five statuettes will surely keep lucky Mister Lee residuals rich the rest of his life.

Property records show the Mister Lee scooped up his desert digs back in December of 2002 when he forked over three million clams for a flat 1.34 acre estate with a Donald Wexler designed modernist residence built in 1963 for Dinah Shore,whose name is associated with a great big lezbo golf tourney in Palm Springs but who, apparently, was not into the ladees. Who knew?

Located in the lovely and expensive Old Las Palmas neighborhood that hugs the base of the spectacularly rugged San Jacinto mountain range, listing information shows the W. Hermosa Place house sprawls across (approx.) 7,000 square feet of meticulously modernized and eye-popping mid-century modernity and includes 6 color-coded bedrooms and 7.5 bathrooms.

The multi-winged mansion includes walls of floor to ceiling glass that frame views of the very verdant and expensive to keep green back yard and towards the magnificent mountains beyond. The long and low structure is comprised of linear elements of stone walls, vast floor to ceiling panels of glass and a wood ceiling. In addition to the main house a tennis shack houses a fully equipped gym where Mister Lee and his man-friends can pump iron and a large sparkling swimming pool is surrounded by loungers and umbrellas for baking like a potato in the blistering desert sunshine.

According to our pal Kenny Kissintell, who cattily calls Mister Lee the very philanthropic, "Valentino of prime time tee-vee," Mister Lee's Los Angeles residence is in Studio City where records would indicate he lives in a large but somewhat modest house well-sited for privacy on Wrightwood Drive.

The real estate market in Palm Springs is currently in the terlit so Your Mama wishes Mister Lee all the luck in the world unloading his desert digs.

Now then, the bridzilla and her bitches have already starting causing an auditory ruckus so we're going to leave the children to their own devices and critical analysis of the property while we scoot over to the pool to see Marc about that I.V. drip of ice cold gin and tonics.

And p.s., we're taking tomorrow off to recover from our impending hangover using the good ol' hair of the dog method. Bye now.