‘Jackal’ Hunting for Beach Tenant

BRUCE WILLIS and DEMI MOORE have put their Malibu home up for lease at $25,000 a month, a steal in contrast with the $50,000-plus monthly rent they got for it last summer.

But the reduced rent isn’t because of El Nin~o’s pounding of Malibu. Summer rates often double for beach houses like theirs, with its five bedrooms, projection room and 70 feet of beach frontage.

And while leasing out their Malibu house, Willis, who will turn 43 on March 19, and Moore, 35, can live in one of their other homes when not working on location.

He stars in the upcoming movie “Armageddon� and played the assassin in “The Jackal� (1997). She starred in “G.I. Jane� (1997) and appears in “Deconstructing Harry.�

They have at least two other houses in the Los Angeles area, a penthouse in New York and a house on 40 acres near Hailey, Idaho. Willis also owns considerable commercial property in Idaho and near his hometown of Carneys Point, N.J.

They listed their Malibu home, however, a bit more than a year ago. It was originally for sale at $8 million. It has since been reduced to $6.7 million.

Built in 1948, the house has been completely refurbished since Willis bought it for slightly more than $2 million in 1987, the year he and Moore were married.

The 4,600-square-foot house has a two-story living room, two offices and an oceanfront pool and lawn.

*

DON RICKLES, who plays crotchety neighbor Mr. Wilson in the upcoming Warner Bros. movie “Dennis the Menace 2,� and his wife, Barbara, have moved into their new Northern Italian-style home in a gated community in Beverly Hills.

Rickles, 71, has headlined for almost 40 years in Las Vegas, where he signed a multiyear contract last year with the Sheraton Desert Inn. He also appears in Reno, Lake Tahoe and Atlantic City, N.J., and elsewhere. He is to perform in Ottawa on March 21.

After selling their Beverly Hills residence of 26 years last August, the veteran comedian-actor and his wife bought their new home; they stayed in their Malibu getaway while remodeling and furnishing their new residence.

Designer Ron Wilson, who has worked with the couple on their homes for 20 years, just completed the refurbishing and interior decor, using many of the antiques that the Rickleses have purchased with Wilson’s help over the years.

The Rickleses bought their new home, built 15 years ago, for about $2.6 million, real estate sources have said. It has a master suite and three guest suites in 6,000 square feet. It also has soaring ceilings and gardens.

The couple sold their longtime Beverly Hills home last year for $3.8 million, real estate sources said at the time.

*

MICHAEL FEINSTEIN, the singer-pianist recognized as one of the best interpreters of works by such composers as George and Ira Gershwin and Cole Porter, has purchased a Los Feliz home for close to its $2.5-million asking price.

Feinstein, who will begin a four-week run at the Rainbow & Stars room at Rockefeller Center in April, also owns an apartment in New York.

The Grammy-nominated recording artist has released 15 albums, including his current “Nice Work If You Can Get It,� and he has appeared on stage internationally as well as in Carnegie Hall and, recently, on such TV shows as “Caroline in the City� and “Cybill.�

A longtime Hollywood Hills resident, Feinstein, 41, moved about a year ago to Los Feliz, where he bought a smaller home for about $700,000. He no sooner relocated than he realized that he needed more space.

He bought a 10,000-square-foot house known as The Glendower Estate. The house was built in 1926 as a tribute to 15th century Welsh hero Owen Glendower.

The Tudor-style house, which was a Russian consulate from 1935 to 1951, has hand-painted reliefs and frescoes by Russian artists on several walls and ceilings, and it also has a stained-glass window in the entry hall with a knight in full battle armor.

The three-story house, behind gates with a circular drive, also has music, spa and flower-cutting rooms; a wine cellar, veranda and four-room apartment.

Peter Whyte of Coldwell Banker-Jon Douglas, Beverly Hills, represented Feinstein in his purchase, and Dorothy Carter, of the firm’s Sunset Strip office, and Jodi Hodges of Fred Sands’ Los Feliz office were the listing agents.

*

EDGAR WINTER, the sax player-singer who wrote the Willie Nelson song “Good Ol’ Shoe� for the movie “Wag the Dog,� and his wife, Monique, have leased a Beverly Hills house with a studio for a year. They were living in New York.

Winter performed the song “Magic Carpet Ride� for the 1998 movie “Star Kid.� The 51-year-old musician is working on an album that will include the new song “One and Only One,� a collaboration with big-band legend Artie Shaw.

Shaw and Winter were introduced by Kay Pick of Mike Silverman Estates, a Coldwell Banker-Jon Douglas company. She handled both sides of the $4,000-a-month lease.

*

RISE DELMAR OCHSNER, an ophthalmologist-turned-portrait artist who has painted such celebrities as Julia Child and Mick Jagger, has purchased a three-bedroom adobe farmhouse on two acres in the Santa Barbara area for $875,000.

Ochsner, who is about to paint a portrait for the upcoming miniseries “Orson Welles: The Later Years,� plans to spend $200,000 on restoring the 3,500-square-foot farmhouse, which has an ocean view.

She had been leasing in Montecito after moving there from New Orleans in 1995. She was widowed in 1985 when her husband died at 57.

*

AL MASINI, creator of the TV shows “Entertainment Tonight,� “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous� and “Star Search,� and his wife, April, are moving back to Los Angeles after living in Hawaii for a few years, and they’ve listed their home there at $12 million.

They built the Mediterranean-style house, on a ridge overlooking Honolulu, in 1995. It has three bedrooms and eight baths in about 16,000 square feet. It also has a view of Diamond Head, a 50-foot-long pool with a cave-enclosed wet bar, an elevator, a small theater and a gym.

Jessica Russell of Coldwell Banker-Jon Douglas Co., Hollywood Hills, is representing the Masinis in Los Angeles.