The former Encino home of actor Efrem Zimbalist Jr. is back on the market, and it remains one of the more unusual celebrity real estate listings in the San Fernando Valley.
Located at 4750 Encino Avenue, the gated estate is currently listed for $24,888,000. According to the current Redfin listing, the property includes 12 bedrooms and 15 bathrooms in a private, compound-like setting south of Ventura Boulevard.
Zimbalist was one of those classic Hollywood names with deep ties to television history. He is best remembered for starring as Stuart Bailey in 77 Sunset Strip and later as Inspector Lewis Erskine in The F.B.I. He was also the father of actress Stephanie Zimbalist, best known for Remington Steele.
The property’s entertainment history may go back even further than Zimbalist. A 1934 City of Los Angeles building permit appears to list lyricist and former vaudeville performer Bert Kalmar as the owner of the property, then shown as 4790 Encino Avenue. Kalmar was one half of the famed Kalmar and Ruby songwriting team with Harry Ruby, writing for Broadway and Hollywood and contributing to Marx Brothers projects including Animal Crackers, Horse Feathers, and Duck Soup. That makes the estate’s show-business roots even deeper than previously assumed.
The Encino estate appears to have been Zimbalist’s longtime family home. A 1990 Los Angeles Times report stated that he had lived at the property for 35 years before listing it for $3.75 million. At the time, the home was described as a French Normandy-style country house on slightly under two acres, with a lake, koi pond, stream, stables, riding ring, guest house, seven-car garage, four bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, and 11 fireplaces.
That earlier description makes the current listing even more interesting, because the property has since evolved into a much larger compound. The present listing describes a private estate with ponds, floral and vegetable gardens, a mini-paddock and barn enclosure, multiple structures, creative workspaces, and a secluded setting that feels removed from the city despite being in the heart of Encino.
There is also a historical breadcrumb connecting the address to Zimbalist’s celebrity life. A 1983 Reagan Library dinner document lists Mr. and Mrs. Efrem Zimbalist Jr. at 4750 Encino Avenue, confirming the address during the period when he was still living there.
The home later sold after Zimbalist’s long ownership. A 1995 report noted that Zimbalist sold his Encino home of 37 years to recording studio executive Allen Sides and his wife, Anne, with the asking price reported at $2.65 million. That chapter helps explain one of the property’s most interesting later features: the recording studio.
The estate made national real estate news again in 2022 when The Wall Street Journal reported that the compound was being privately marketed for $39 million. The article highlighted the property’s unusual scale, noting that it included four houses, a recording studio, a pond, and a small collection of animals, including alpacas, miniature horses, and a bull named Felix.
By 2023, the estate was again covered in local real estate news when the Los Angeles Daily News reported that the compound was seeking $30 million, highlighting its speakeasy and recording studio. Those details fit with the estate’s layered history — part old Encino country compound, part Hollywood-era retreat, and part music-industry creative property.
The recent listing history also shows how ambitious the pricing has been. The property was listed in May 2022 for $34.9 million, removed in January 2023, then returned in April 2024 for $26.5 million. It was later listed in February 2025 for $26.499 million, removed in July 2025, returned in August 2025 for $25.888 million, and then reduced in March 2026 to $24.888 million.
Public records also show later ownership associated with William D. Hillis, Patricia S. Hillis, and the Hillis Family Trust. William Daniel “Danny” Hillis is a noted inventor, engineer, and computer scientist best known for the Connection Machine and Thinking Machines Corporation, adding another unexpected layer to the estate’s post-Zimbalist history.
Today, the estate feels like a rare surviving example of old Encino celebrity living: private gates, expansive grounds, equestrian touches, guest structures, creative spaces, and a sense of retreat that feels very different from the newer spec mansions now dominating many Valley luxury listings.
It is not just another expensive Encino property. It is a piece of Valley celebrity history tied to one of television’s most recognizable mid-century stars, with earlier roots connected to Bert Kalmar, and later chapters tied to the music industry and technology world.
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