DALLAS, TX.- The Y-wing that took on the Death Star in 1977’s Star Wars took off again Friday at Heritage Auctions, selling for $1.55 million to lead Heritage’s $5.9 million Hollywood/Entertainment Signature® Auction.
Modelmaker Colin Cantwell’s so-called “TIE Killer,” given its moniker because of the TIE fighter painted on its nose, was one of only two hero models made for George Lucas’ space opera. It’s most famous for leading the first trench run on the Death Star before Darth Vader destroyed it. But the 27.5-inch miniature endured to star in the July 25-26 event, opening live bidding at $300,000 and surviving a bidding war to close at $1.55 million.
The Y-wing is now the third-most valuable Star Wars screen-used prop sold at auction, behind only the X-wing Heritage sold for $3.1 million in October and the R2-D2 that Heritage’s Executive Vice President Joe Maddalena sold for $2.76 million in 2017.
A beloved Star Wars costume provoked yet another tussle among collectors: the Frank Frazetta-inspired, Nilo Rodis-Jamero-designed, Richard Miller-sculpted, production-made resin-and-urethane “Slave Leia” bikini costume from Return of the Jedi, which opened live bidding at $34,000. Bidding extended several minutes as collectors vied for Carrie Fisher’s iconic outfit, which eventually realized $175,000.
The near-sell-out July 25-26 Hollywood/Entertainment Signature® Auction realized $5,905,986 thanks to the nearly 2,300 bidders who participated worldwide. It also conjured a new record for a single wand from the Harry Potter movie series, which sold for nearly $94,000.
“I’ve said it repeatedly: Collectors’ desire to own a piece of Hollywood history remains intense and insatiable, and we take great pride and pleasure in sharing these indelible moments,” says Maddalena. “This auction proved that the summer blockbuster is alive and well at Heritage.”
There were countless stars in this auction — including Star Trek, led by Robert Peak’s original poster art for Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, in which the crew of the USS Enterprise returns to the 20th century to find a humpback whale. The painting opened live bidding at $37,000, but collectors drove the final price to $106,250, making it the second-most valuable Peak poster painting sold at Heritage behind only an Apocalypse Now original.
Original poster art proved a hot commodity throughout the auction: One of John Alvin’s most memorable images is the artwork for the Blade Runner poster, featuring Harrison Ford’s cop Rick Deckard, Sean Young’s replicant Rachael and the dystopian, dizzying Los Angeles of 2019, which was as much a character in the film as any actor. Alvin’s original conceptual art for the Blade Runner poster, which was used as the cover of Criterion Collection’s laserdisc release in 1989, made its much-anticipated, long-awaited auction debut in this event, selling for $100,000.
Mike Vaughan’s original artwork for the Australian release of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom realized $30,000, while Charles Moll’s original art for The Sting’s poster and numerous book adaptations sold for $25,000.
But the most valuable work of original art sold in the auction was Scrooge McDuck creator Carl Barks’ original oil painting of Scrooge and his grand-nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie: Rich Finds at Inventory Time, a 1994 commission infused with Barks’ incredible paint handling and compositional brilliance. The painting realized $312,500 during the first day of the two-day event.
The irascible comics artist Robert Crumb also scored a six-figure hit during this auction with his four-page story for Premiere Magazine in 1991 that began as a visit to the Academy Awards and ended as a sojourn into the dark heart of Tinseltown. Crumb’s charming, churlish work sold for $137,500.
Speaking of the Oscars, this event featured some stunning statuettes, including Celeste Holm’s Academy Award as 1947’s Best Supporting Actress. Holm was “the knowing voice of tolerance” (per The New York Times) in Gentleman’s Agreement, Elia Kazan’s searing indictment of antisemitism starring Gregory Peck. As the paper noted upon her death in 2012, Holm was cast as “a witty, worldly fashion editor who saw through hypocrisy,” and was awarded the statute for her unforgettable turn. Her Oscar realized $93,750.
Numerous offerings from Hollywood’s Golden Age shone throughout the auction, among them the cherry dress worn by Marilyn Monroe’s stand-in during the filming of 1961’s The Misfits, which sold for $57,500. There were also numerous costume sketches by the legendary Edith Head, with one — Grace Kelly’s pink picnic dress from Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief — realizing $55,000 to top the extraordinary lot.
Heritage was extraordinarily proud to offer the collected bound scripts of director and producer Stanley Kramer, Hollywood’s so-called “moral compass” during the 1950s and ’60s. Eight of his leatherbound screenplays hit five figures, among them: It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World ($37,500), Judgment at Nuremberg ($30,000) and High Noon ($22,500).
But New Hollywood was not to be denied during this auction: There was magic in the air moments before the auction closed, as Harry Potter’s first signature wand from 2001’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone approached the auction block. When bidding ended, it realized $93,750 — the same amount for which Heritage sold a rare hardback first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone during Thursday’s Historical Platinum Signature® Auction
On the very weekend Deadpool & Wolverine stormed the box office, one Marvel-ous offering (among many in this event) hammered its way into the top 10 offerings: Thor’s weighted hero Mjölnir used by Chris Hemsworth throughout 2013’s Thor: The Dark World, which realized $81,250.
This auction also proved there’s a lot of power left in those Power Rangers, as Jason David Frank’s White Ranger hero costume from Season 2 of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers realized $45,000. Stay tuned, as there will be more where that came from when Heritage partners with Hasbro to offer hundreds of props and costumes from the franchise in November.
