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Folk-rock luminary Jim Croce once famously sang that “you don’t tug on Superman’s cape” and, while that may indeed be true, you certainly could have purchased the Last Son of Krypton’s legendary fire engine red cloak if your dungaree pockets went deep enough.
Some of the most iconic Hollywood chachkies went up on the auction block this past weekend courtesy of the renowned and prestigious Julien’s Auctions as part of their Hollywood: Legends and Explorers two day blowout. Just how expansive and legendary was this particular high-stakes rummage sale? Well, outside of actor Christopher Reeve’s slice of Americana, other saliva dripping inducing memorabilia that fans and students of the Hollywood film scene had a crack at procuring was one of the space suits from maestro Stanley Kubrick’s genre-busting masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey, and an extensive Marilyn Monroe collection which included such goodies as swimsuits, a pair of 1940s era strappy sandals, personal correspondence, evening dresses, jewelry and oodles of original photographs (most sold with the copyright).
“This two-day extravaganza offers a marquee collection of over 900 items from Hollywood entertainment film and television both past and present,” a spokesperson for Julien’s said in a written statement released prior to Friday’s and Saturday’s auction. “The highlight of the auction is one of the most iconic space suits from the Hollywood science fiction masterpiece that captured the imagination of filmgoers unlike any before…Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey…”
The Beverly Hills held auction hauled in some serious cash, realizing $110,000 for the Chris Reeve wire and Zoptic flying and mechanical cape used by the late actor in the first two films in the Superman franchise. The space suit from 2001 saw a final winning bid of $370,000.
Other notable items that were up for auction: A bound collection of Playboy Magazines from 1956-1971, a nice lot of Judy Garland owned memorabilia (datebooks, handwritten notes), a huge lot of Mickey Rooney owned items (his awards for Boy’s Town, film costumes, credit cards), a Sammy Davis, Jr. custom-made suit, Doris Day costumes, movie posters and signed film contracts, an Elizabeth Taylor gifted Harley Davidson motorcycle, a bevy of Mae West custom made dresses, Marlon Brando’s costume from Mutiny On the Bounty, a collection of wristwatches belonging to comedian Jerry Lewis, a Bob Hope gifted cocktail shaker, a pair of George Burns 14K gold cufflinks, a Bruce Lee signed program and Grace Kelly related paper ephemera.
One of the nicer things to see – and unique! – was an authentic Bela Lugosi signed Dracula letter with program. Lugosi, of course, famously played the Transylvanian Count in two Universal films (1931’s Dracula and 1948’s Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein) and personal memorabilia belonging to the late actor is as rare as hen’s teeth.
The auction also reached for the stars in more ways than one: Aside from the Hollywood bric-a-brac was a nice sized collection of historical items that had been used on the legendary Apollo 11 and 17 missions: Two pilot control sticks from Apollo 11’s flight to the moon (one, which had been used by space pioneer Neil Armstrong went for a whopping $370,000 while the one used by the coolest named astronaut ever – Buzz Aldrin – sang a tune for the $256,000 crowd) and a genuine Apollo age spacesuit which had been designed with Neil Armstrong in mind fetched $76, 800.
Want to get the full skinny on all of the nifty items that have hopefully found new and loving homes? Jump on over to the Julien’s Auction site to see what everyone has been raving about!
