Hollywood’s Classic Style
Photo: William Abranowicz via Elle Decor
“Erik Hyman and Max Mutchnick’s Tudor-style mansion in Beverly Hills used to belong to Pete Sampras. During his Grand Slam reign, the tennis star prac- ticed on the championship court on the property. “It’s tragically underused,” Mutchnick admits. “In the shadow of Mr. Sampras, we don’t feel worthy.” Today, the court serves another athletic purpose, as a tricycle racetrack for the couple’s three-year-old twin daughters, Evan and Rose.
Even before Sampras, the estate had celebrity chops. It was built in the 1930s for the son of John Clum, a Federal Indian agent who captured Geronimo and was a close friend of Wyatt Earp. The current homeowners work in L.A.’s most famous business: Hyman is an entertainment lawyer, and Mutchnick is a writer and producer who cocreated the hit TV series Will & Grace. Even their decorator, Melinda Ritz, has fame in her blood: Her father was one of the Ritz Brothers, a comedy trio that starred in such films as The Goldwyn Follies.
What attracted the pair to the property in the first place was what they call “the backyard.” Renovated with the help of landscape designer William Shapiro, the grounds feature huge old-growth trees, an oval pool, and a tropical garden.”
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