Back-Handed Compliment

Reading the L.A. Times "Hot Property" column two Sundays ago (admit it, you do too), I noticed this item:

James Denton, who plays the mysterious plumber Mike Delfino and the romantic interest of actress Teri Hatcher's character on the ABC series "Desperate Housewives," has purchased a Glendale home for just under $800,000.

The remodeled Spanish-style home, built in the 1930s, has three bedrooms and two bathrooms in about 1,800 square feet. The house also has an office and a spa.

I was struck by the fact that an actor on the hottest show in TV bought a house for under $1 million -- and in Glendale, no less. Although not the recepient of as many jokes as nearby Burbank, it's true, Glendale doesn't generally excite the Hollywood masses.

L.A. Times columnist Steve Lopez was struck by the same Hot Property item, and wrote last week about meeting up with Denton -- to demand an explanation.

Lopez was also intrigued by Denton's decision to keep it simple (although, I must point out now, $800,000 ain't cheap). But he also couldn't resist needling Denton for moving to Glendale:

I know $800,000 is nothing to sneeze at. But Denton was just picked by People magazine as one of the sexiest men alive, or sexiest new star or some such thing, and TV Guide had him on the cover in a lusty embrace with Hatcher.

I'm not saying you don't occasionally see sexy people moving and grooving under the bright lights of Glendale, but it's not the glitziest burg in greater Los Angeles. Real plumbers buy houses for just under $800,000 in Glendale.

Actors like Denton, who get steady work and end up in magazines and on "Oprah," don't settle for Glendale. They buy $2.3-million bungalows in the Hollywood Hills, and six months later they move to a $3.8-million Malibu condo...

You're picked as one of the sexiest men alive, but you've got two problems.

One, you're married.

Two, you're moving to Glendale.

"I love Glendale," said (Denton's wife) Erin, a former actress who said she keeps Mr. Hot Pants from getting too big a head. Erin became a personal trainer when she discovered Hollywood wasn't looking for smarts, talent and a master's in fine arts from NYU. Better your resume include a two-minute guest spot on "Seinfeld."

C'mon, Lopez! You're not helping. If castmembers of top-rated shows want to add a little glamour to our town (and, ergo, juice property values), that's fine by me.