Celebrity Homes

You can tell Hugh Hefner was seriously beloved because even his former employees are rallying to celebrate his life.

Our Playboy Mansion sources tell us ... staff members, new and old, started planning the reunion almost immediately after Hef died Wednesday. We're told 2 former butlers created a Facebook group that night to put the band back together -- employees, Playmates and Hef's children are all invited.

We're told the employees -- many of whom were featured in "The Girls Next Door" -- wanted to get together out of respect for Hef and the close-knit environment he created at the Mansion. Although many of them were laid off 2 years ago, we're told they still treat each other like family.

The staff event will be off-site from the Mansion, and is separate from the final tribute party to Hefner.

Hugh Hefner's not going out without one more legendary Playboy party ... TMZ has learned planning is underway for a celebration of his life at the Mansion.

Sources close to Daren Metropoulos -- the Pabst heir who bought the mansion last year -- tell us he's going to sign off on a party for Hef sometime soon. We're told the get-together will be more of a tribute to the Playboy founder's life ... and less of the standard Playboy blowout bash.

Daren needs to OK all parties since he made the purchase.

We broke the story ... Daren bought the Playboy Mansion last year for a cool $100 mil, on the condition that Hef could live there for the rest of his life. Sources say he plans on combining an adjacent estate he owns with the Mansion and restoring both to their OG condition.

As for the birds, monkeys and other animals that call the mansion home ... we're told they'll all stay on the property when Daren moves in.

Daren released a statement Thursday on the passing of Hef, saying ... "Hugh Hefner was a visionary in business, a giant in media and an iconic figure of pop culture whose legacy will leave a lasting impact."

8:07 AM PT -- Law enforcement tells us multiple people forced their way into Derulo's home, possibly breaking a door and window. We're told they beelined it for one room where they stole $300,000 in cash and jewelry. At some point later in the day, the maid discovered something was amiss. Cops believed it may be an inside job because the burglars only hit one room. And, we're told, there may be surveillance video.

Jason Derulo is the latest celebrity to have his house looted in a string of L.A. burglaries ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... a member of the singer's team went to his home Friday afternoon and noticed something was amiss. It appeared someone had entered and taken items from the house.

Cops were called to Derulo's pad and took a burglary report.

Cops are tight lipped on how the burglar got into the house and what specifically was stolen. Jason was out of town, and cops are waiting for him to return to ID the missing items.

As we've reported ... celeb burglaries in L.A. have been on the rise this year, and it looks like Jason's joined the club.

Jay-Z and Beyonce are officially balling on both coasts -- they've gobbled up another 8-figure property, and this one's in the Hamptons.

Jay and Bey plunked down a cool $26 million for the 7 bedroom, 7.5 bathroom pad in luxurious East Hampton, NY. The crib's no joke -- the 12,000 square ft. pad sits on 2 acres of land with scenic water views of the Georgica Pond.

It's got everything hip hop royalty wants -- bathrooms sculpted with Italian marble, an infinity edge pool and an 1,800 square ft. guest cottage. The kitchen features an 18th century carved stone fireplace. Trulia first reported the purchase.

O.J. Simpson's salivating over getting back into the swing of things after prison ... and yes, that includes golf. LOTS of golf.

O.J.'s lawyer, Malcolm LaVergne, tells TMZ ... Juice, for starters, has narrowed down around 5 potential residences of where he might live in Florida following his prison release. He'll have to submit a parole plan on exactly where he'll live, so he's still mulling it over.

As for who owns the homes ... not his 2 kids. LaVergne says there's no rift between O.J. and his children, but he doesn't want to impose and draw unwanted attention to them. So the people who own the homes, LaVergne says, are "wealthy and supportive friends."

One pad might be out the window because LaVergne tells us it got hit hard by Hurricane Irma.

Once settled, we're told O.J. plans to get back into shape so he can golf as often as he wants. As LaVergne put it, the man loves to golf but wants to lay low. Good luck with that.

The home featured on "The Real World: Key West" proved it can stand up to a hurricane, because it only suffered minor damages against Irma's 130 mph winds ... TMZ has learned.

Homeowner Andrew Lippi says he's lucky because the only damage was a broken window in the guest cottage, and a flooded room caused by a clogged drain. We're told the power on Stock Island -- where the house sits -- just came back on Friday ... almost a week after the storm hit.

It's actually the second major hurricane it has withstood. The house was also hit by Hurricane Wilma in 2005 while the series was filming. Lippi says everyone was forced to evacuate, but the damage was minimal.

Lippi tells us he rode out Irma inside the famous house -- which is up for rent on Homeaway -- and the wind gusts sounded like the roar of a 747. He sent us a pic of the pad post-Irma, and it miraculously looks pretty much the same.

Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber have plunked down millions of dollars -- which for them is a drop in the bucket -- for an amazing pad in 90210 ... and they bought it from a famous singer/songwriter.

We've learned the deal closed Tuesday, in the super exclusive Trousdale area. The house was listed for $12.75 mil, and they got it for just under 12 mil.

Trousdale is known for 1 story contemporary, and this one does not disappoint. The backyard is great ... ditto the pool. Cindy and Rande are known for entertaining outdoors, so it hits the spot.

They're selling their Malibu pad for $60 million, so the Bev Hills house isn't exactly chump change, but they won't be hurting. BTW Rande and George Clooney just sold Casamigos for $1 billion.

Cindy and Rande bought the house from OneRepublic singer Ryan Tedder. He also writes songs for Madonna, U2, Beyonce, Adele, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, Zedd, One Direction, Kelly Clarkson, Demi Lovato, Jennifer Lopez, and on and on.

We reached out to celeb realtor Kurt Rappaport, who repped Cindy and Rande, but he didn't call back.

The Hemingway Home cats are making it out better than some humans post-Hurricane Irma because there's enough food to feed all 55 of them for the next 4 weeks.

We spoke with a Hemingway Home employee who told us the place picked up 300 lbs of cat food before Irma hit. Normally the kitties go through about 80 lbs a week, so there's plenty of grub to get them through the next month.

Key West, where the famed home sits, suffered less damage than some of the other Keys and Caribbean islands, but there's still no electricity, cell service or Internet. They finally got access to running water on Tuesday, but only for 2 hours and it had to be boiled.

We're told several employees who evacuated plan to pick up more food for the cats on their way back, so the house stays fully supplied. As for the human caretakers, they're stocked on food too so no one's going hungry.

Richard Branson's private Caribbean island was virtually decimated by Hurricane Irma ... and TMZ has learned there were some animal casualties.

TMZ obtained these photos, which vividly show the power of the storm on Necker Island. The main house was all but destroyed and some of the surrounding structures are gone.

As we reported, Branson and his crew weathered the storm from a basement and they all survived.

Branson had an awesome menagerie of exotic animals on the property and we're told a number of them didn't make it through the hurricane ... but many did. We're told 250 flamingos are going strong, as are 60 lemurs.

We're told all of the parrots and toucans also survived. Our Necker Island sources say Branson converted his wine cellar into an animal hospital and shelter for the injured, weak and scared.

Branson shared some photos and video of the wreckage himself Sunday, and it only confirms the damage to his home.

He says he's now mobilizing aid efforts in Puerto Rico.

Mariel Hemingway is pleading for the 72-year-old manager of her grandfather's Key West home to evacuate before Hurricane Irma hits ... just take the cats and get out of Dodge.

The Oscar-nominated actress and granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway tells TMZ ... she thinks it's noble Hemingway Home's manager, Jacqui Sands, plans to stay put to hold down the fort and take care of its kitties -- but it's just not worth it.

Mariel offers Jacqui another option -- pack up the cats and GTFO.

As we reported ... the 1850's home -- where Hemingway wrote "A Farewell to Arms" and "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" -- is almost certainly going to be an Irma casualty, and cops say they won't be able to help Sands if she stays.

Mariel admires the manager's courage ... but fears she might be taking one of Ernest's famous quotes a little too far.

The legendary Ernest Hemingway home appears doomed ... an almost certain casualty of Hurricane Irma ... this according to local law enforcement.

The Key West home -- made of wood and built in the 1850's -- sits about 16 feet above sea level, which is the highest point on the island. Law enforcement tells us they're expecting at least 15 feet of water to flood the area ... so the outcome is bleak.

The Hemingway Home's manager, 72-year-old Jacqui Sands, has already said she's staying put to maintain the home and its 55 or so roaming cats. Jacqui and some staff are boarding up and bunkering down.

If Jacqui or her staff are injured, cops say they'll be left to fend for themselves, because hospitals, ERs, rescue crews and other government assistance will not be available.

A farewell to Hemingway?

Hurricane Irma is poised to wreak havoc in the Miami area, and a bunch of enormous celebrity homes are in the line of extreme danger.

Gloria Estefan, Diddy, and 'Real Housewives of Miami' stars Roy and Lea Black all own homes on star-studded Star Island -- Gloria actually has 2 -- both in Irma's path.

Likewise for nearby Miami Beach, where celebs like Phil Collins, Shakira, Dwyane Wade, and Birdman are in the hurricane's path. Same goes for the Villa Casa Casuarina -- the famed Versace mansion. And there are a slew of other celebs with mega homes in the danger zone.

Irma's expected to hit with a vengeance over the weekend.

Scott Disick's stunning Hidden Hills home is up for rent, if you got $60k a month to spare, but not just anyone is eligible for a walk-thru.

We're told Scott's aware Kardashian fans might want a peek inside the crib so anyone wanting to see the place will go through a strict vetting process.

We're told Scott's hoping to score a long-term lease with the option to buy ... and the home's not cheap.

Scott bought the 7 bed, 6 1/2 bath house for $6 million in 2015 and made a bunch of upgrades before putting it back on the market 6 months later for $8.8 million. It didn't move so the price was dropped to $7.8 million. Tomer Fridman of Compass has the listing.

Arian Foster's Houston home is halfway under water, thanks to Hurricane Harvey.

The ex-Houston Texans running back still has a home in the area -- and his entire street has been hit hard from the storm.

"Neighbors took a video of our crib from across the street," Foster wrote while posting video showing several homes submerged ... while the rain continues to pour.

So far, at least 5 people have died from the storm and thousands of residents have been forced to leave town -- including Foster.

Foster's former teammate, J.J. Watt, has kick-started a campaign to help hurricane relief ... and is hoping to raise $500k for flood victims.

Kendall Jenner's WeHo hood is Rihanna's future hang ... 'cause she just closed on a mansion right near the house KJ fled.

Sources close to the deal tell TMZ ... Rihanna recently purchased the crib above the Sunset Strip for a cool $6.8 million. It's got 6 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms and just over 7,000 square feet of space. There's also a movie theater inside, a fully equipped gym, a fireplace, a billiard room and a guest house ... plus a pool and a huge yard.

It's also gated ... which could come in handy around those parts. As we reported, Kendall recently unloaded her WeHo home after about a year of grief -- which included a stalker encounter and a high dollar theft.

Memphis Grizzlies small forward Chandler Parsons' new Bel-Air crib has a pool, 6 bedrooms, 5.5 baths and an outdoor fire pit but it doesn't look like he'll be getting any practice shots in at home.

Parsons, who's been linked to Hailey Baldwin and Bella Thorne, just dropped $11 million on a beautiful, open air Bel-Air home. He kinda made off with a deal on the place ... the original asking price was $13.3 million.

While it doesn't have a hoop ... he'll still get a workout in just walking around the place ... it's 9,100 square feet! It also has a full service bar which will require a different kind of stamina.