Before Ray Kappe’s death in 2019 at age 92, the modernist architect and Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) founding director designed over 100 single-family houses throughout his 70-year career—mostly treehouse-style dwellings built on challenging terrain, like the landmark midcentury home he created for himself and his wife, Shelly, in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Pacific Palisades.

Kappe rarely departed from his signature style, which was marked by sharp geometric lines, post-and-beam construction, and the heavy use of redwood. However, on one occasion, he went totally outside the box, devising a curvilinear, smooth white stucco structure adhering to the natural flow of its Hollywood Hills site and anchored by a dramatic circular pool with a fountain and an overhead oculus.

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Completed in the late 1950s for Earl and Betty Clemmons, the home’s original plans and drawings are preserved at the Getty Research Institute due to their significant departure from Kappe’s typical style. Beginning in the late 1970s, it was occupied by actor, puppeteer, and voice artist Chuck McCann and his wife, William Morris agent Betty Fanning, who lived there for 45 years until their deaths in 2018 and early 2026, respectively.

The midcentury abode was transferred to custodians of the McCann Trust that holds the property in 2022 and, after hitting the market April 10 for nearly $3 million, a contingent offer for its sale has already been accepted. Brent Watson and Marco Salari of The Beverly Hills Estates share the listing, which refers to the home as a “dream restoration project.”

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Known as the Tempo House—for its cinematic and entertainment history—the decidedly dated dwelling sits on an elevated, greenery-encased parcel spanning almost a third of an acre with city, canyon, and hillside views. Four bedrooms (one currently being used as an office) and an equal number of bathrooms are found in roughly 4,700 square feet.

Tall double doors flanked by floor-to-ceiling glass block sidelights open into a stone-tiled entry foyer, which flows to a living room showcasing a soaring cylindrical gas fireplace and walls of glass opening to a trellised patio and the skylit pool surrounded by columns. An L-shaped kitchen comes with flat-paneled wood cabinetry, a breakfast bar, and stainless appliances, while a formal dining room is lined with built-in shelving.

A two-story theater added in the early 2000s by architect Gus Duffy, in keeping with Kappe’s original design, includes a bottom floor for movie screenings and live entertainment and a spiral staircase leading up to a mezzanine level housing McCann’s former studio.

Click here for more photos of the Hollywood Hills residence.