Bill Maher bought into the Catalina lifestyle this winter when he plunked down a million dollars for a condo just outside the island’s city of Avalon. The unit is modest, but the beaches of the seaside idyll that is the island’s only sizable community are right at hand.
Avalon is well named. In Arthurian mythos, it is the place where a gravely wounded King Arthur is restored—or where he dies. Anyone who’s spent a few days on Santa Catalina Island will probably assume the former. Sir Malory, who penned the lengthy 15th C. compendium of Arthurian Legend Le Morte D’Arthur, assumed the latter, but we can safely assume he’d never been to Santa Catalina Island.
Which is indeed restorative, and will presumably provide Maher respite from the fevered worlds of showbiz and politics.
As for Maher’s new digs, what we have is a unit in a 1991-built complex building that riffs on Mediterranean style and overlooks the Pacific. Nothing special, but two bedrooms, a couple of baths, and all the Rivera-esque climate and relaxation you could desire. The outstanding space? The terrace, natch.
