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Composer Johnny Mandel Lists Longtime Estate on Malibu’s Point Dume

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Grammy- and Academy Award-winning composer Johnny Mandel is ready to pen his last Malibu tune, having plunked his longtime blufftop estate onto the market with an eye-catching $20 million list price. Owned by the Mandel family since 1971 — when records show it was acquired for an unfathomable $120,000 — the sublime property appears to be in pristine condition, containing a variety of lust-inducing features.

Despite the sky-high pricetag, the ask is not out of line with other recent sales in the immediate area. Mandel’s home is located on what is arguably the best street in the exclusive Point Dume neighborhood, where other residents include Julia Roberts, Matthew McConaughey, Gerard Butler, Bob Dylan, Chris Martin, Owen Wilson and Anthony Hopkins — just to name a few.

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Obscured from the road behind big electronic driveway gates and a towering hedgerow, the midcentury compound totals five bedrooms in about 4,100 square feet of living space spread out among a main house, separate guest quarters above the detached garage and a wee poolhouse that’s also detached.

There are three bedrooms in the main house, which offers an appropriately beachy atmosphere with honey-hued hardwood floors and muted neutral decor throughout. Walls of glass flood the home with light and drink in majestic views of the Pacific Ocean, while some of the more tangible amenities include a chunky log-and-stone fireplace in the great room, plus a remodeled kitchen with a full array of restaurant-quality stainless appliances. Upstairs, the ocean-view master sports walls of glass and a private balcony.

Likewise, the poolhouse also offers windows aplenty and skylit ceilings, in addition to a kitchenette and ensuite bedroom. And above the garage, the guest quarters — they’re probably more suitable for a live-in staff member, really — contain another bedroom with ensuite bath.

The blufftop property spans more than an acre of usable land, all of it lushly landscaped with mature trees, meandering pathways and well-watered lawns. Stone patios offer plenty of space for alfresco entertaining, and tucked into a corner of the yard is a lagoon-style swimming pool with spa.

Mandel, now in his mid-90s, has been active in the music industry since WWII. Over the ensuing decades, he’s worked with everyone from Jimmy Dorsey and Buddy Rich to Tony Bennett, Barbra Streisand and Nat King Cole. But he might be best-known for “Suicide is Painless,” the iconic theme to the ’60s TV show “M*A*S*H.” The so-called “musical omnivore” has won five Grammy awards and took home a Best Original Song Oscar in 1966 for “Shadow of Your Smile.” In 2010, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Chris Cortazzo and Joe Masiello of Compass jointly hold the listing.

Launch Gallery: Inside Johnny Mandel's Point Dume Estate

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