$3.8 Million . . . Gone in 60 Seconds

Newlyweds Billy Bob Thornton and Angelina Jolie have purchased the Beverly Hills home of British rock star Slash for just under $3.8 million.

Thornton, 45, and Jolie, 25, were married in May in Las Vegas.

Thornton gained fame as the director, writer and star of the movie “Sling Blade� (1996), for which he won a best screenplay adaptation Oscar. He subsequently appeared in the movies “The Apostle� (1997), “Primary Colors� (1998), “Armageddon� (1998) and “Pushing Tin� (1999). He directed the upcoming movie “All the Pretty Horses,� starring Matt Damon.

Jolie, daughter of Oscar-winning best actor Jon Voight (“Coming Home� [1978]), appeared with Nicolas Cage in this summer’s “Gone in 60 Seconds.� She co-starred in 1999 with Denzel Washington in “The Bone Collector� and with Winona Ryder in “Girl, Interrupted,� for which Jolie won a best supporting actress Oscar. She played Thornton’s wife in “Pushing Tin.�

Built in 1929, the house that they purchased has eight bedrooms in 11,000 square feet. The walled and gated Spanish-style house also has a pool, spa and paddle tennis court.

Slash, the 35-year-old former lead guitarist with Guns N’ Roses, had owned the home since 1996. His band, Snakepit, performed this year at President Clinton’s New Year’s Eve party.

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Screenwriter-director Cameron Crowe and his wife, singer-songwriter Nancy Wilson (formerly of the rock group Heart), have purchased a Pacific Palisades home for $3.4 million.

Crowe, whose breakthrough came as writer-director-producer of the movie “Jerry Maguire� (1996), signed a three-year deal with DreamWorks in 1997. The former boy-wonder rock journalist for Rolling Stone, now 43, wrote the book “Fast Times at Ridgemont High� (Simon & Schuster, 1981) and then wrote the screenplay for the 1982 film of the same name.

His latest work is a rock ‘n’ roll movie that he wrote and directed for DreamWorks called “Almost Famous.� It’s due to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

Wilson co-wrote and performed one song from the soundtrack album for the movie “Say Anything� (1989), which Crowe wrote and directed, and she wrote the score for “Jerry Maguire.�

The house they bought was built in 1937 and has five bedrooms in 3,800 square feet.

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The former Palm Springs estate of the late Jack Benny and his wife, Mary Livingston, has been listed at about $2 million. Built for Tom and Anita May of the May Co. in 1952, the home was sold to the Bennys in 1964. They used it as their winter home until 1970.

A mid-century, modern-style home, the house has post-and-beam construction, floor-to-ceiling glass walls, vaulted exposed-wood ceilings and a lot of stone and wood. The house was updated in 1995.

There is a main house and two guest houses with a total of seven bedrooms in 5,700 square feet. The buildings share a common roof with patios and breezeways between them. The home also has a tennis court, pool and spa.

Andy Linsky, who has owned the home for five years, has the listing at Prudential California Realty, Palm Springs. He is selling because he plans to buy a property where he can build a home with valley and mountain views.

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Hot Property runs Thursdays in SoCal Living and Sundays in Real Estate. Ryon may be reached at [email protected].