House has links to 'Charlie Wilson' film

A Houston mansion originally owned by a socialite who figures prominently in the film "Charlie Wilson's War" has gone on the market for $3.5 million.

Joanne King Herring, the politically active Texan who had the house built, is ! played by Julia Roberts in the film, which opened last week. It tells how Ms. Herring and U.S. Rep. Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks) helped persuade the U.S. to arm resistance fighters in Afghanistan in the 1980s.

In 1954, Ms. Herring built the four-bedroom, 5,500-square-foot house on nearly 4.5 acres in a French baroque style, according to the real-estate firm that has the listing, Martha Turner Properties. There's a large ballroom with wood paneling decorated with gilded bronze cherubs, violins and lyres.

The property includes a pool and a lawn overlooking a ravine near the Buffalo Bayou. It's in Rivercrest, a community west of downtown Houston.

Ms. Herring and her first husband, Robert King, hosted Princess Grace and Prince Rainier of Monaco in 1968, among many others, the listing brokerage says. She later divorced, married Robert Herring and moved closer to downtown Houston. Martha Turner's Susan Boss has the listing.

The sellers, Cesar Rodriguez and h! is wife, Magdalena, bought the home about seven years ago.