UPDATED: The three-acre-plus compound had been listed for $49 million and includes a 9,200-square-foot main house. 
 
 In one of the largest Los Angeles-area real estate deals of the year, American Idol host Ryan Seacrest is buying talk show host Ellen DeGeneres' Beverly Hills compound, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. The deal for the property, which had been on the market for $49 million, is expected to close this week, according to a source with knowledge of the transaction. 
 
 A source close to the deal said the sale price is in the $40 million range, though another well-placed source pegged the price tag at $37 million. The price will become public once the transaction is recorded with the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. 
 
 The nine-bedroom property includes a 9,200-square-foot modern residence, two guesthouses and a separate three-bedroom house. It is located on a private street in north Beverly Hills. 
 
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 The houses and guest houses are situated on more than three acres, and the grounds include a swimming pool and large pond. DeGeneres assembled the compound during the past five years or so by combining four separate properties. 
 
 The one-story main house previously was owned by Will & Grace co-creator Max Mutchnick, who sold it to DeGeneres in 2007 for $29 million. Prior to Mutchnick, the main residence was owned by film and TV composer Jerry Herman. It was designed by noted architects Buff & Hensman for actor Laurence Harvey (The Manchurian Candidate, Room at the Top). 
 
 DeGeneres, host of the syndicated talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show, put the compound on the market in May 2011 for $60 million but later reduced the asking price. A source said she fielded multiple offers on the property. 
 
 This spring, Seacrest put his gated Hollywood Hills compound on the market for $11.985 million; he had previously listed it for sale in 2010 for $14.95 million. 
 
 Both Seacrest and DeGeneres are being represented by Kurt Rappaport of Beverly Hills-based residential real estate brokerage Westside Estate Agency. 
 
 TMZ first reported the deal. 
 
 Email: Daniel.Miller@THR.com 
 
 Twitter: @DanielNMiller 

 Michael Rozman/Warner Bros. 
 
 Ellen DeGeneres sure has something to dance about: She's receiving the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall! 
 
 The award recognizes individuals who've had an impact on American society much like Samuel Clemens, otherwise known as Mark Twain. 
 
 "The Kennedy Center is happy to recognize Elle DeGeneres' unique contributions to the world of comedy," Kennedy Center chairman David M. Rubenstein said Tuesday in a statement. "Through her television programs, stand-up appearances, movies and even commercials, her special brand of humor has allowed us to find hilarity in the mundane and has kept us laughing for years." 
 
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 After learning she will receive the Mark Twain Prize, DeGeneres, 54, quipped: "It's such an honor to receive the Mark Twain Prize. To get the same award that has been given to people like Bill Cosby, Tina Fey and Will Ferrell, it really makes me wonder…why didn't I get this sooner?" 
 
 The prize will be awarded at the Kennedy Center on Oct. 22. 
 
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– Ellen DeGeneres is following in the footsteps of Bill Cosby and Tina Fey: She's this year's recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, E! Online reports. DeGeneres' "special brand of humor has allowed us to find hilarity in the mundane and has kept us laughing for years," said the chairman of the Kennedy Center, where she'll accept the prize on Oct. 22. DeGeneres calls it "an honor. To get the same award that has been given to people like Bill Cosby, Tina Fey and Will Ferrell, it really makes me wonder…why didn't I get this sooner?" In other DeGeneres news, Ryan Seacrest is buying her Beverly Hills mansion for a staggering $49 million, notes the Hollywood Reporter.