Celebrity Real Estate: The Late Easy-E's Wife Gets Foreclosed in Calabasas and the Search For Easy's Playhouse

Above images courtesy Coldwell Banker 

Back on October 1, 2012, TMZ (article has been removed) reported that late rapper Eazy-E's (Eric Wright) mansion in Calabasas known as "Eazy's Playhouse" was foreclosed on May 11, 2012. According to TMZ, the mansion "was famous back in the early 90's for all-night parties and an open door policy for entourage members and hoards of women." 

At the time I read the article, something didnt add up with this Calabasas home supposedly being the infamous party house which I will discuss shortly. To possibly support this claim, TMZ has even retracted the article from their site but some of it can be read on Calabasas Patch. 

The home measures 5 Beds/5.5 Baths on 6,701sqft on a total lot size of 0.33 acres built in 2005. According to the listing:

Sensational Mediterranean Estate on a cul-de-sac at the Ridge! Built in 2005 with impeccable craftsmanship and materials. Formal entry with mosaic floors leads to living room area. Great room with grand staircase and fireplace leads to family room, kitchen and breakfast area. Sun filled chef?s kitchen with granite counter tops, Viking appliances and pantries. Family room with built-ins and fireplace with French doors opens to backyard. Kitchen also overlooks breakfast area with its own fireplace and second staircase leading upstairs. Downstairs bedroom with its own full bathroom can be used as maids quarters, guest room or office. Attached three car garage with direct access. Upstairs features loft area/family room with built-in cabinets. Master suite with fireplace, sitting area and balcony that overlooks the backyard. Master bathroom with his/her walk-in closets, jet tub and dressing area. Great backyard with pool, spa, BBQ area and sweeping Valley & mountain views.

So this is where things get interesting. This home was built in 2005 and Eazy-E passed away at the age of 31 on March 26, 1995. So how could this home have been "Eazy's Playhouse" if there was no home to begin with? I reviewed aerial images from Google Earth (shown below with 'A' marker) back in May 1994 which clearly shows open land and no home.

Image courtesy Google Earth

The only factual item about this item with respect to Easy-E is that his wife, Tomica Woods Wright, purchased this home for $3,099,000 on September 22, 2005 near the peak of the market. Tomica Woods Wright inherited Ruthless Records from Eazy-E and continues to manage the business. The property records show that the land was also purchased by Tomica Woods Wright on January 9, 2004 for $980,000 but that may not be correct because she clearly purchased in 2005. Sometime in 2011, I guess due to financial complications, Tomica Woods Wright stopped making mortgage payments and was foreclosed on May 11, 2012 for $2,277,653. The home was later listed on the market on October 19, 2012 for $1.8 million and was sold for $2,067,000 on November 27, 2012.

Tomica Woods-Wright latest foreclosure follows a list of other notable celebrity residents in the SFV who have also gone down the route of short sale or foreclosure which have been documented on this blog:

1. John Larroquette's (actor) short sale in Sherman Oaks.
2. Bryon Russells' (basketball) foreclosure in Calabasas.
3. Kristen Bell's (actress) Studio City foreclosure.
4. Richard Fortus' (GNR music) short sale in Woodland Hills.
5. Morris Chestnut's (actor) short sale in Hidden Hills.
6. Eric Davis' (baseball) short sale in Calabasas.
7. Kristoff St. John's (actor) short sale in Canoga Park.
8. Jeremy London's (actor) foreclosure in Canoga Park which is literally down the street from Kristoff St.John. 

So where is the infamous "Eazy's Playhouse"? Well I am not entirely sure but a review of property records and internet searches leads to two distinct addresses linking Eazy-E to Calabasas.

The first link is a Calabasas home in the gated community of Mountain View Estates that is owned by Gerald E. "Jerry" Heller who hooked up with Eazy-E and formed Ruthless Records which was 80% owned by Eazy-E and 20% owned by Heller. Heller claimed that he invested the first $250,000 and eventually put up close to $1,000,000 into the company. In addition to working with Eazy-E, Heller managed NWA which included Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, DJ Yella, MC Ren, and Arabian Prince.  Prior to meeting Eazy-E, Heller managed War, Average White Band, Marvin Gaye, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Van Morrison, and Otis Redding.

Heller purchased his home (see image below) on February 26, 1991 for $1,120,000 which measures 5 Beds/6 Baths on 5,700 sqft  built in 1990. Although Easy-E's name appears on this home's address, I doubt that Heller allowed his personal residence to become "Eazy's Playhouse" regardless of how close these guys were which leads to the second address.

The other home linking Easy-E to Calabasas is actually in the same gated community as Heller and is literally two houses down. Not only were Easy-E and Heller business partners and close friends but they were also neighbors. Not sure if this was a coincidence or they really enjoyed each other's company. So I have a strong suspicion that this home was actually the infamous "Eazy's Playhouse." (Note: this location proclaiming as Easy's Playhouse is based on the little evidence I gathered on the internet and property records and its possible that this location is not the actual party house. If anyone has any supporting or refuting evidence, please share in order to correctly mark this location).

Easy-E purchased this home on January 8, 1991 for $1,175,000 which measures 5 beds/6 Baths on 5,770 sqft. Another surprising twist in this story is that nine months after Eazy-E's death, the home was foreclosed on December 27, 1995 for $810,000. I am not sure who ended up owning this property after Easy-E's death but clearly they couldnt keep up with payments and simply let it go. If the home went to his wife, I would imagine that she could keep up with the payments especially since she had inherited Ruthless Records. But maybe something else was going on at that time that I am unaware of like lawsuits, other money sucking schemes, or possibly the "open door policy." Most recently this home sold on June 26, 2007 for $2,290,000.

Image courtesy Google Maps

For all those curious to know more about Easy-E and his soft side, check out the following article from Esobar300's Blog titled The Last Days of Easy E (Rare Swindle Article).

In addition to the Calabasas home, it appears through property records that Easy-E and Tomica Woods Wright owned a modest 3 Bed/2 Baths on 1374 sqft Norwalk home that was purchased in 1988 for $175,000 and I believe was gifted to Eric's sister, Patricia. In the video below, Heller's wife, Gayle, mentions that Easy-E preferred to stay at this home rather than in Calabasas which I am wondering if it has something to do with the "open door policy" since Easy-E appears to have appreciated his peace and quiet. The odd thing about this house is that it is an hour's drive from the Calabasas home and faces a freeway. Not the typical crib for a multi-millionaire.

Image courtesy Google Maps

So back to Tomica Woods Wright, I was able to discover through property records that she also owns a modest 3 Bed/2 Bath on 1626 sqft West Hills home that might be her current residence after being foreclosed. This home was purchased on August 3, 2000 for $215,000 (shown below).

Image courtesy Google Maps

Speaking of NWA and gangsta rap. Most of the NWA rappers and rappers in general call the West Valley home. Ice Cube lives in Encino and also owns a condo in the same city that is next to the late Michael Jackson's former condo. Dr. Dre used to live in Chatsworth but now lives in Woodland Hills. The late Tupac lived in Calabasas. Death Row Records was based out of Tarzana. I believe Ruthless Records was based in the SFV. Easy-E and Ice Cube both attended Taft High School in Woodland Hills being bused in from Compton. I am pretty sure there are other gangsta rappers who lived here and continue to do so that I am missing. Sounds like I should do a post about gangsta rap living in the SFV one day.

Below is an interview with Jerry Heller talking about Easy-E and his Calabasas home:

And here is some music from Easy-E:

You can view more SFV Celebrity Real Estate here.

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Write by: Unknown - Thursday, January 10, 2013