Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie sell Malibu house to Ellen De Generes

In one of the more talked-about transactions in town, actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have sold their Malibu beach house to daytime host and comedian Ellen De Generes for $12 million.

The 4,088-square-foot house, built in 1962, features walls of glass, dark bamboo flooring, three fireplaces, four bedrooms and four bathrooms. The ocean-view home sits on 1.26 bluff-top acres with a tennis court, a lap pool and beach access.

Pitt, 48, starred last year in the Oscar-nominated "Moneyball" and "The Tree of Life." He will star in the upcoming "Cogan's Trade" and "World War Z."

Jolie, 36, won an Oscar for her supporting role in "Girl, Interrupted" (1999) and was nominated as best actress for "Changeling" (2008). She is the writer and director of the Bosnian war film "In the Land of Blood and Honey" (2011).

DeGeneres, 53, has hosted the talk show bearing her first name since 2003. She listed her Beverly Hills compound for ! sale las t year at $49 million and recently reduced the asking price on her 26-acre equestrian property in Thousand Oaks to $14.9 million.

Ellen Francisco of Coldwell Banker's Malibu West office listed the Malibu property for sale in August at $13.75 million, and it was withdrawn from the Multiple Listing Service last month. High-profile houses are sometimes withdrawn before a deal closes so the activity will not be reported in the MLS.

It had his seal of approval

The desert retreat of former President Gerald Ford and Betty Ford has come on the market in Rancho Mirage at $1.699 million.

Set in the Thunderbird Country Club, the 6,316-square-foot mid-century home was built in 1979 and designed by architect Welton Becket. Among his works are L.A.'s Capitol Records Building, Pomona City Hall and Glendale City Hall.

The main residence includes a staff waiting room, five bedrooms and 61/2 bathrooms. The Fords' furnishings, excluding family portraits, are also available for purchase.

The house sits on 1.37 acres with a swimming pool; a guesthouse described as a "Secret Service guard shack" is being sold separately for $509,000.

President Ford died in 2006 at 93. Betty Ford died last year, also at 93.

Nelda Linsk of HK Lane Real Estate and Lindell Campbell of Warwick Properties Group are the listing agents.

Sequel for sale in Beverly Hills

DreamWorks Animation Chief Executive Jeffrey Katzenberg has listed a mansion in Beverly Hills at $9.4 million.

The contemporary Mediterranean, built in 1985, occupies a half-acre lot with a guesthouse, a swimming pool and a cabana. The 9,200-square-foot house features a two-story foyer, a library with a wet bar, a theater with a wet bar, a gym and four en suite bedrooms for a total of five bedrooms and six bathrooms.

DreamWorks' "Kung Fu Panda 2" and "Puss in Boots" are nominated for Oscars.

Producer Katzenberg, 61, owns another Beverly Hills estate that he bought in 2009 for $35 million.

Myra Nourmand of Nourmand & Associates in Beverly Hills is the listing agent, according to the MLS.

Executive home seeks a new CEO