From the Archive: ‘Will & Grace’ Creator Max Mutchnick Shows Us Around His Beverly Hills Tudor

Erik Hyman and Max Mutchnick’s Tudor-style mansion in Beverly Hills used to belong to Pete Sampras. During his Grand Slam reign, the tennis star practiced on the championship court on the property. “It’s tragically underused,” Mutchnick admits. “In the shadow of Mr. Sampras, we don’t feel worthy.” Today, the court serves another athletic purpose, as a tricycle racetrack for the couple’s three-year-old twin daughters, Evan and Rose.

Even before Sampras, the estate had celebrity chops. It was built in the 1930s for the son of John Clum, a federal agent who captured Geronimo and was a close friend of Wyatt Earp. The current homeowners work in L.A.’s most notable business: Hyman is an entertainment lawyer, and Mutchnick is a writer and producer who co-created the hit TV series Even their decorator, Melinda Ritz, has fame in her blood: Her father was one of the Ritz Brothers, a comedy trio that starred in such films as

What attracted the pair to the property in the first place was what they call “the backyard.” Renovated with the lend a hand of landscape designer William Shapiro, the grounds feature huge old-growth trees, an oval pool, and a tropical garden.

The inside of the house was another story. “It didn’t function very well,” says architectural designer Tim Campbell, who handled the renovation. He removed two staff bedrooms, a staircase, and a corridor to create a family room that’s adjacent to a spectacular sunroom—a covered porch that was enclosed by the Samprases and retains its original brick flooring.

Brightening up the place was their main concern. “It was obscure and heavy-looking,” says Hyman. “We wanted a featherlight, crisp, urban home—a little edgy but comfortable.” Campbell’s solution was uncomplicated: He painted the obscure walnut paneling white.

The featherlight fixture is made of handblown Egyptian glass, the bedding is by Anichini, and the bench is by Hermès; the chair is vintage Chinese, and the Tolomeo sconce is by Artemide.

When it came to the decor, there was never a question of working with anyone but Ritz. Neither she nor Mutchnick can remember just how many houses they’ve done together (six or seven). Their first meeting was in 1996, when Ritz interviewed for the position of set decorator on Mutchnick’s debut sitcom, Since then, she’s worked on almost every TV show he’s produced. “Melinda and I understand each other to the point where we don’t have to say much. I trust her implicitly,” says Mutchnick. “She always gets it right.”

Tour this glamorous Beverly Hills Tudor

Open Gallery

Here, though, she also had to take into account Hyman’s aesthetic. “Erik is more of a modernist, while I believe that more is more,” adds Mutchnick. “I’ll notice that a nook is naked. Then, as soon as he goes to bed, I get all the stuff and put it back.”

Beneath a pergola, chairs from Maison Midi surround an elm dining table.

The look Ritz wanted to create was of a tony London social club. There are leather chairs, antiqued oak floors, and a master bath modeled on a barbershop. She was told she could operate any color “as long as it’s gray, brown, white, or black,” she remembers. But she managed to break some rules. The library, for instance, has a red-felt ceiling. She also added some wonderful finds. The Christofle meat server in the dining room was used on the set of Hyman brought along a half-dozen striking images by the overdue Herb Ritts, his former partner.

The vintage French dining table is paired with chairs by Soane, and the ceiling is covered in silk; a Herb Ritts photograph hangs above a ­Christofle server that was used in the film The cabinet and chandelier are custom made, and the floors are oak.

The couple are avid entertainers, but the most memorable event they ever hosted was their wedding. It was held in the garden just a few days before same-sex marriage was made illegal in California. Mutchnick had to turn off the fountain so everyone could hear the soft-spoken rabbi. They combined the wedding with their children’s naming ceremony. “As a result,” says Hyman, “there’s a lot of significance to the house.”