BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF.- Julien's Auctions and Turner Classic Movies (TCM) held "ICONS AND IDOLS: HOLLYWOOD," on Saturday, December 17th and Sunday, December 18th, their two day year-end blockbuster featuring over 1,300 artifacts from the greatest films of the Golden Age of Hollywood and the biggest and most popular present day contemporary films spanning Sci-Fi, Action and Fantasy classics and beyond, as well as iconic pieces from the collections of Marilyn Monroe, Richard Chamberlain and Jack Lemmon, in front of a live audience at Julien's Auctions in Beverly Hills and online with thousands of bidders and collectors from around the world participating on Julien's Live.
The auction's most highly anticipated moment of the event was the sale of the headlining item, the E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Hero "#1" Mechatronic filming model "actor" that brought the eponymous character to life in Steven Spielberg's 1982 classic E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial which sold for an outstanding $2,560,000. Pre-dating modern CGI technology and effects, the one-of-a-kind cinematographic relic (constructed in 1981) features 85 points of movement and is regarded as an engineering masterpiece, created by "The Father of E.T.," Carlo Rambaldi, the Oscar-winning Italian special effects master, designer and mechatronics expert. Another highlight from the 1982 masterpiece that sold this weekend was the original E.T. maquette model made for Steven Spielberg to approve the E.T. design which sold for $125,000, A Kuwahara BMX bike used by the character "Greg" from the film sold for $115,200, over three times its original estimate of $30,000.
Another exciting moment from the auction was the reappearance of an original "holy staff" from the Cecille B. DeMille classic The Ten Commandments, used by Charlton Heston in his portrayal of Moses, which brought an astonishing $448,000, over twenty times its original estimate of $20,000. Heston used this prop in the iconic parting of the Red Sea scene, a special effects marvel of the era.
Over 175 rare and unique items from the personal archives of Marilyn Monroe hit the auction block on Saturday, including wardrobe, personal care items, receipts, documents and beauty products. Among the many iconic items sold was a black wool dress with spaghetti straps and back zipper worn in several photographs shot by her friend and business partner Milton Greene on January 28, 1955, which brought a staggering $256,000. Another significant piece, a white textured cotton sleeveless sundress worn by Marilyn in the series of photographs taken of her and Arthur Miller in New York City in 1956, sold for an impressive $256,000. A pearl gray silk dress that was personally owned by Marilyn and was a prototype for the dress made for her film Let's Make Love, with a photo-matched stain on the right breast, as evident in a photograph showing Marilyn sitting next to co-star Yves Montand brought $224,000. Marilyn Monroe's Mae West inspired black "cellophane effect" evening gown from her classic film, The Seven Year Itch also sold for $56,250.
An astonishing highlight uncovered in this auction of Marilyn Monroe's personal archives was the discovery of a get-well greeting card from Marilyn Monroe's father, Stanley C. Gifford that sold for $31,250, fifteen times its original estimate of $2,000. The card is the only known communication written by the star's long-lost parent to his famous daughter from their first and only known meeting. Marilyn's other personal handwritten documents sold include her black "record" journal with hand-written personal notes sold for $87,500, four times its original estimate of $20,000 and personal Gucci brown leather address book sold for $64,000.
Some of the most recognizable pop culture relics of the 21st century come from today's biggest film franchises. Props from the Marvel Cinematic Universe sold for numbers as legendary as their heroes including: an original "Mjolnir" hero hammer prop used by "Thor" played by Chris Hemsworth in Thor: The Dark World, shattering the auction podium at $115,200; Chris Evans's Captain America: The First Avenger hero prop "Vibranium" shield that sold for $102,400 as well as his other prop shield in the film which sold for $38,400; Hayley Atwell's shield prop used as her character Captain Carter in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness which sold for $64,000; Don Cheadle's original Iron Patriot helmet used in Iron Man 3 that sold for $51,200; a repulsor glove hero prop worn by Iron Man, played by Robert Downey Jr. in Iron Man 2 that sold for $32,000; and more.
Flying in from the magical and fantasy Harry Potter film series was the hero prop "Nimbus 2000" broom made for "Harry Potter" in the film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban which sold for a stunning $128,000. Other top highlights included Ralph Fiennes' "Lord Voldemort" hero elder wand sold for $76,800; a pair of eye-glasses procured for the film's star Daniel Radcliffe for the film Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone sold for $35,200 and an original Gryffindor wool overcoat and iconic red and yellow Gryffindor scarf worn by Harry Potter in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets sold for $32,000.
"It is always a privilege to put together our annual year end Hollywood auction and this year's was one of our best and most spectacular yet, said Martin Nolan, Executive Director of Julien's Auctions. "This weekend was truly a career defining chapter of our auction house's history with a marquee lineup curated with TCM of over 1,300 Hollywood props, artifacts and memorabilia from the greatest films of all time and most especially this first and once in a lifetime sale of the original film used E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Hero "#1" Mechatronic filming model."
Additional highlights included (winning bids with buyer's premium):
·Pedro Pascal's production-made The Mandalorian helmet ($75,000);
·Bruce Lee's owned and used pair of black nunchakus ($64,000) and Enter the Dragon pen on paper signed drawing ($51,200);
·Robert DeNiro's Raging Bull Everlast boxing gloves and shorts ($44,800);
·Darth Maul's dueling lightsaber from Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace ($44,800);
·A white cotton button-down shirt and grey pleated pants worn by Johnny Depp as the titular role in the fantasy classic, Edward Scissorhands ($28,800);
·Gone with the Wind set of two canisters with behind-the-scenes images ($28,800);
·Katharine Hepburn's deep navy and white wool rope from Adam's Rib ($25,600);
·Betty White's group of six teleplays from The Golden Girls ($10,240);
·Ida Lupino's black silk day dress with multi-color floral pattern worn in They Drive By Night ($19,200);
·A prosthetic arm of Wolverine used in the film X-Men Origins ($12,800)
·An original "Sword of Athena" used by Gal Gadot in the film Batman v Superman - Dawn of Justice ($16,250);
·An original prop cane as used by Jim Carrey as Batman's arch nemesis, The Riddler, in Batman Forever ($12,800);
·Daniel Craig's American Express Centurion Card used in his portrayal of James Bond in Quantum of Solace ($22,400);
Harrison Ford's Webley "WG" army pistol from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ($12,800);
Robert De Niro's Webley MK VI revolver prop from The Godfather: Part II ($16,000);
Lana Turner's ensemble screen-worn in The Bad and The Beautiful ($18,750) and more.