It’s Magic

With Magic Castle maestro Milt Larsen and his costume designer wife, Arlene, about to open their Montecito branch of the iconic Hollywood venue on the site of the former eatery, Cafe del Sol, impressive blue-and-gold invitations for charter memberships have been landing in mailboxes around our rarefied enclave.

The Magic Castle Cabaret, as the new enterprise is called, is scheduled to open in February with annual memberships costing $1,250. Five-year Angel memberships are also on offer for $5,000, which pre-pays yearly dues for four years.

“It will be an intimate venue devoted to extraordinary magic by the Magic Castle’s finest practitioners,” says TV writer and producer Milt, who founded the original in 1963. “It will also present live performances starring variety entertainers.

“Everything will take place is an atmosphere of Old World charm where members and their guests will feel as though they’re attending an elegant, one-of-a-kind party.”

Adds Milt, who has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: “Arlene wanted a real estate investment that would allow her to utilize her creative and management talents, while I wanted another artistic challenge.”

I wish the dynamic duo all the best with their new venture.

Ellen is Second to One

Montecito TV talker and serial house flipper Ellen DeGeneres is the second-highest paid TV host in the world with a hefty annual income of $77 million, according to Forbes magazine.

The former Oscars host, 59, who just celebrated her 2,500th Burbank-based show, is only pipped by fellow talker and 67-year-old Oklahoma native Phil McGraw, who raked in $79 million, including his producing credits on the CBS series The Doctors.

Third place was snapped up by Ryan Seacrest, who co-hosts a New York morning show with Kelly Ripa, with $58 million.

He is also hosting the ABC reboot of American Idol, which has Santa Barbara warbler Katy Perry as a judge.

Acerbic judge Judy Sheindlin, 75, comes in fourth with $47 million, while comedian Steve Harvey is at number six with $42.5 million from his eponymous TV talk show and hosting Family Feud.

Combined the 10 highest-paid TV show hosts earned $462.5 million between June 2016 and June of this year before management fees and taxes.