In Brentwood, a Spanish-style ranch with a star-studded past has sold for $5.219 million – more than $200,000 over the asking price.

It’s no surprise the 1930s home exceeded expectations. Not only was it owned by famed Rat Pack member Dean Martin, but it was built by Cliff May, the architect who popularized the California ranch and the indoor-outdoor lifestyle that accompanied it.

Eighty years later, May’s fingerprints are still all over the estate. Through pocketing doors, the sunny home expands to various courtyards with Terracotta tile and verdant landscaping.

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The exterior is a confluence of white stucco, clay tile and ivy. Inside, the 3,256-square-foot floor plan has five bedrooms and five bathrooms across a single story.

Vaulted and beamed ceilings hang over the indoor-outdoor living room, which anchors the interior. Other highlights include an office, gym, family room, formal dining room and tile-splashed kitchen with a wrought-iron chandelier.

The property has a third-of-an-acre grounds. There’s a grassy courtyard, a tree-shaded patio with a fountain and fire pit, a basketball court and a swimming pool with fruit trees and a dining area.

Christopher Pomeroy of Crosby Doe Associates held the listing. Mick Partridge and Justin Alexander of Hilton & Hyland represented the buyer.


Public records show the home last traded hands in 1996 for $1.71 million.

Martin, who died in 1995 at 78, gained popularity with Jerry Lewis as the comedy duo Martin and Lewis in the ’40s and ’50s. He dipped into singing, acting and producing over his prolific career and was a member of the Rat Pack alongside Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford and Sammy Davis Jr.

jack.flemming@latimes.com | Twitter: @jflem94