Friday, July 8, 2011

Friday Quickies: Regis Philbin Lists Connecticut Crib



SELLER: Regis Philbin
LOCATION: Greenwich, CT
PRICE: $3,800,000
SIZE: 5,919 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 5 full and 3 half bathrooms

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Just between us chickens, Your Mama would rather walk bare-footed over jagged glass than discuss the real estate activities of retiring morning chat show host Regis Philbin. We know he's an accomplished and beloved showbiz icon, a real jocular ol' feller with four Daytime Emmy awards plus another 30 nominations. None the less, we find him to be like, well, chewing on tinfoil when you have a mouthful of metal fillings. How-evuh, we can't tell you the number of requests we've received the last couple days regarding the mansard-roofed mansion in Greenwich, CT he and the Missus recently plopped on the market with an asking price of $3,800,000.

So, in the interest of keeping the kids happy...

Property records reveal that Mister and Missus Philbin acquired the 6.02 acre estate at the tail end of Meeting House Road in May 1992 for $2,500,000. The house, a vaguely Second Empire style thing, measures 5,919 square feet and includes 5 fireplaces according to property records. The stately but somewhat squat looking residence contains a total of 4 bedrooms and 5 full and 3 half bathrooms including a second floor master with fireplace and his and her facilities.

The front door, recessed into the brick façade opens to a foyer with Parquet de Versailles style wood floors has a curving staircase with elliptical gallery. Interior spaces include a lemon chiffon-colored formal living room with marble fireplace mantel, formal dining room and a library/office. There are two family rooms, both with fireplaces. One has a built-in wet bar and the other a built-in entertainment center that holds a large flat screen tee-vee.

The eat-in kitchen has tile counter tops, older but high grade appliances, center island with snack bar and (empty) pot rack, chestnut colored raised panel cabinetry with some glass fronted uppers and French doors the open to the covered patio with blue stone pavers and a lot of wicker furniture with floral cushions.

The expansive grounds include a circular drive, a side motor court, broad lawns and thick stands of mature shade trees. A large gazebo and deck stands between the swimming pool and tree-ringed tennis court.

Mister Philbin and his Missus Joy first attempted to unload their Meeting House Road residence in 2008 when it was listed with a $5,900,000 price tag. This was just before the real estate markets tanked, which may or may not have had something to do with the Philbin's taking the property off the market. In May 2011 the French-Colonial style crib was re-listed at $4,195,000, a number that has since been sliced to $3,800,000.

Mister and Missus Philbin own a second Greenwich estate with less land but a larger house. The couple also maintain a residence in Manhattan, a high-floor three-unit combo-condo with 4,027 square feet at the Park Millennium building on the Upper West Side where other high profile peeps in residence include shock jock Howard Stern and Oscar-nominated actor Liam Neeson who recently added to his multiple holdings in the building.

listing photos: Sotheby's International Realty

32 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the post. This is a decent price for a "decent" home in Greenwich. Actually with some nice gay decorators this could be a stunning gem!

Happy Weekend to Mamma! Can't wait to hear on your blog about Maria's new Brentwood abode!!! Do tell us children.. we are salivating!

midTN said...

Oh look, a post about Regis..........zzzzzzzzzz...


...so sorry, nodded off.
***
;o)

Anonymous said...

They paid 2.5 in 1992 and now is only worth 3.8M? Seems like it should have doubled at least after all these years, no?

Anonymous said...

Not bad in my view. I can't tell whether Mama's rather cursory description comes from not much liking the house or not much liking the owner. Anyhoo, nice to have the pictures, etc.

Anonymous said...

Exactly what I expected his home to look like. About as dull as he is.

Anonymous said...

Find it hard to believe they paid 2.5 in 1992, but if Mama says so. . .

The house was formerly owned by New York sportscaster Warner Wolf. Philbin and his wife made some additions and alterations before moving on to another soulless spec house around the corner that they significantly overpaid for just before the crash of '08.

Greenwich is swimming in houses for sale in the mid seven figures. Many of them are far nicer than this one. Hence, the price adjustments. As unbelievable as it may seem, this place actually showed up in the pages of Architectural Digest. I guess then editor Paige Rense owed Philbin's publicist a favor, or something.

The wife here fancies herself something of a decorator (I believe solely of her own properties), but she's hopelessly aspirational middle class in her taste. Hey, I said it.

The first time around, Mama posted nothing on this listing. Whatever Regis did to her must have been very, very bad.

Anonymous said...

"...a vaguely Second Empire style thing"..

..."stately but somewhat squat looking...."

Oh Moma, you just can't help yourself can you?

Even when you're trying to be generous....

That's why I love you!

Anonymous said...

I like the house, and like most New Yorkers, I like Regis Philbin.

Anonymous said...

I'm shocked at the lack of imagination inside! wow, couldn't they afford a decorator?

Anonymous said...

He's not funny and he's never clever.

tovangar2 said...

OMG, that house is SO dull...

Anonymous said...

@ anon 6:34 - I think it's actually quite close, somewhere around 51% of New Yorkers do not like Regis.

Lady J

Mr Tibbs said...

Anonymous said...
They paid 2.5 in 1992 and now is only worth 3.8M? Seems like it should have doubled at least after all these years, no?

NO real estate is supposed to only go up 10% every 10 years, except for this last cycle,

the bankers and wall street forced real estate pricing worldwide in the rich areas to go up 1000% and in the poor areas 3000% which is why we are in a huge economical mess and why half of wall street is now dead or in jail

:)

angie said...

I hear you Mama. Regis = too cute by half. The price for this property seems quite reasonable for 6+ acres in Greenwich. The pool setting is spectacular.

StPaulSnowman said...

I am guessing that Regis called Mama a republican......or dissed dachshunds. There can be no other reason for neglecting this national architectural and decorating treasure.

Anonymous said...

A $3.8M home with old appliances and ceramic tile countertops? Really?

Anonymous said...

Neither Regis nor his house is as bad as some of his detractors would suggest. With a few minor alterations the house would be just fine. Now re Regis: I don't make a habit of watching but I do recall his interviewing Dan Radcliffe years ago after the first Harry Potter movie and the whole thing was charm itself. Dan was shy, diffident and adorable and Regis and his sidekick were very nice. A memorable interview. So there!

lil' gay boy said...

"There can be no other reason for neglecting this national architectural and decorating treasure."

Except, perhaps, good taste? Snowman, too funny by half ––– I would have said it makes the White House look like a Motel 6, such is it's compelling charm...like throwing up in your mouth a little.

Architecturally (we're kidding, right?) incoherent, the decor is somewhat pedestrian (or "...aspirational middle class..." as Anon 4:40 so aptly puts it) and oddly enough, reflects him to a "T"; it looks exactly like his wardrobe.

Actually, the pool setting is quite lovely, but suffers from the lack of a proper pool house considering the original (as well as) current asking price; six acres to schlepp to the pooper or does he just leave a box of Depends® on the gazebo floor, next to the red plastic cooler? No kitchen? No bath? Perhaps an Hibachi?

The listings photographer should be shot; how on earth did s/he think the shot of the façade, making the garage appear to angle across the front (when it's actually at a right angle), the weirdly compressed stair hall, or the vertigo-inducing bias in the master bedroom be a great way to highlight this property? Sotheby's? Really?

And honestly, they couldn't even have bothered to either stage or remove the unused pot rack? It looks like it's ready for some B-grade slasher movie, ready to lower it's next scantily-clad, morally suspect teenager onto the flames below ––– (cue dramatic base chords...)

StPaulSnowman said...

Yes of course we're kidding you vile randian republican!
Thinking I might be serious about this being a gem done gone runed my whole sweltering, humid July 9.

midTN said...

OMG StPaulSnowman........ROFL....!

PebbleBeach said...

Like the grounds and the pool. The house looks like old people live there. So, in fact, very appropriately decorated.

lil' gay boy said...

"I see old people..."


I've been called far worse than "republican"...

;-)

Snowman, you know I love you... are you saying you wouldn't have gotten all sweaty if it weren't so humid?

Mama'sBoy said...

I think it's so cool iTunes is advertising Rye Rye's new single at the top of your page, Mama!!! Have all ya'll heard it? Here's the vid (and all the Fall fashion tips you'll need):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Z3OIACLcg0
xx
Yer Boy

Anonymous said...

What's with all the advertisements all over the place? I haven't been here in a while and it's totally commercialized. Completely ruins the experience. Such a great site too...

StPaulSnowman said...

It isn't that Regis is old, it is just that he is so obsequious and toady. Oatmeal with Log Cabin syrup. I love the "it looks like old people live here" comment...what an insightful criticism of the decor, all chintzy and uriney.
LGB; I didn't say anything about sweating, I said sweltering here. But you, of course, know Minnesotans sweat whenever the mercury climbs above 58 so I pretty much sweat May through August. Come to think of it, Regis' place looks like sweaty people wouldn't live there.

Anonymous said...

Oh MaMa can we please get a description & pics of the new house? Plueeze.
On the matter of upper-middle class taste I would sure like to have a job that pays as well as his did for 1 hour a day. And I will take the houses with the decor too. And most people would be very happy to have it. Love ya always Reege! Big love to you too Mama!

Anonymous said...

oh, little gay one, using a hopelessly outdated bitch-phrase like""throwing up in your mouth a little" to make fun of that which is merely sad and elderly doesn't make you Oscar Wilde, but an atypical boring homogenizual.

Aunt Gina said...

...the smell of BenGay permeated the entire house, despite the best efforts of the realtor..."

Earnest Bracknell said...

Anon 1:10pm. Would that you had the "Eier" to come out of your little closet. If you are going to talk shit about one of the chillun, then you should own it. You could at least use upper case letters when naming our favorite gay sibling.

lil' gay boy said...

Oh my darlin', we're not saving lives here... nor are we trying to change the world, or even record any wisdom of the ages for posterity.

It's only celebrities & real estate; we're here merely to try to connect, share, and make ourselves, and perhaps each other, laugh. If for some reason that troubles you, then I am truly sorry for whatever makes you so unhappy.

I do like "homogenizual", though...

Anonymous said...

Mama, we are all waiting. We know you know about Maria Shriver's new house. So she is remodeling the whole inside? Heard it was taking three months. Is this house on West Evans Road?

Jeannified said...

Anonymous 3:47 PM, I was wondering the exact same thing. I like Mr. Philbin for his quirky ways, though I wasn'a fan for a long time. He put up a good fight for a while, when they were trying to get rid of him from his show. Then when he finally jumped ship after his contract renewal hit a snag I gained some respect for him. I wonder where he'll end up.

I DO like the carpeting in the master bedroom. I also like the fact that he has tile kitchen counters, rather than granite, which is in every home in America, it seems. It's just refreshing that someone with a lot of money is rather down to Earth with the decorating.