What is something worth? It’s always a wait-and-see answer. A pair of gold wedding bands might have a precious metal content of under $1,000. But, should they be nicely crafted by a skilled jeweler, you can double or triple that to, say, $3,000. If they belonged to someone’s grandfather or grandmother, the sentimental value might take them up to $4,000. Or, if they were simple chain-link rings once exchanged between Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, the dollar amount is $190,500. That’s what those simple rings just sold for in at the latest Julien’s celebrity auction....
We have an admitted fascination with celebrities and most anything connected to them. Maybe it’s because they entertained us. Psychologically, it’s possible that everyone yearns to be associated in some way with a person who is wildly popular if for no other reason than appearing on stage or screen. I suppose we hope owning something of theirs will somehow elevate our status.
Julien’s auction was an intriguing revelation as to what people will pay dearly to own. I wrote about the then-pending sale a few weeks ago. Here are a few more of the final results.
The jacket worn by William Shatner as “Admiral Kirk” in the film, The Wrath of Khan brought $127,000 – enough to buy a new Mercedes. A production-used head of the creature from the film Alien sold for $52,000. The tattered astronaut costume worn by Charlton Heston in Planet of the Apes fetched $13,000. Prop guns from the movie Blade Runner used by Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling sold for $32,500 and $26,000 respectively.
Two very ugly ties worn by Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly in the movie Back To The Future II were expected to fetch $5,000 to $7,000. Bidders shot the final price up to $16,500. The lone purple leather glove worn and signed by Jack Nicholson when he played “The Joker” in Batman went for $10,400 – double the initial estimate.
Eclipsing that, the helmet worn by Robert Downey Jr. in Iron Man brought over $16,000. The skimpy “slave” costume worn by Carrie Fisher when she was the captive of Jabba The Hut in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi went for way over estimate at $38,100. From that same franchise, the “DL-44 Blaster” gun used by Harrison Ford in Star Wars: The Force Awakens went for almost double the estimate at $39,000.
It’s been reported that items and props from the Harry Potter films were not allowed to be taken from the sets by anyone, including the actors. Maybe so. Nevertheless, multiple wands used by Harry, Dumbledore, Hermione, Rupert and Severus conjured prices of $29,250, $22,750, $19,500, $10,400 and $29,250 respectively.
Clothes and costumes were front-and-center. Blouses, shirts and pants from Charlie’s Angels brought modest sums from as low as $50 to several hundred dollars. Bryan Cranston’s jacket from Breaking Bad more than doubled its estimate selling for $6,500. Boots worn by Mel Gibson in The Patriot brought ten times the estimate at $1,950.
A tropical fish shirt owned and worn by John Belushi went for $2,925. That was peanuts compared to the blue costume worn by Will Ferrell as “Buddy” in Elf. It got $7,800.
Taking the prize for premium apparel prices were three gowns owned and worn by Princess Diana. Estimates for each ranged from $60,000 to $400,000. They blew past those. One sold for $508,000. The other two for $571,000 apiece.
The list goes on and on. A random prop dinner plate from the film Titanic estimated to sell for $200 was hammered down for $2,250. The “Wonderboy” bat from The Natural, estimated for $20,000, went for a staggering $39,000. Even a raggedy box of hair pins belonging to Marylin Monroe thought to bring $600 brought $4,550. Marlon Brando’s passport from 1976 sold for $9,100 while Katherine Hepburn’s old passport brought almost $12,000.
One surprise was the photo from the set of the TV show Cheers of Geronimo. It hung in “Coach’s” office and then in the bar. Estimated to bring $10,000 to $20,000 it sold for just $3,575.
Otherwise, everything from over 100 cast-signed posters to a “one-million-dollar” prop gambling chip from the James Bond film Casino Royale (it brought $7,800) commanded top dollar. Even the empty Xanax plastic pill bottle prescribed to Tony Soprano on The Sopranos fetched almost $2,000.
So, what’s something worth? No one knows until one person offers just a bit more than the next guy, and on and on.
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