Skip to content
Phantom

Celebrities donate personal memorabilia to Apr 28 benefit auction

Sheila Gibson Stoodley
Sheila Gibson Stoodley
Key prop from the opening of ‘The Phantom of the Opera,’ which will be offered in the Doyle New York April 28 auction
Key prop from the opening of ‘The Phantom of the Opera,’ which will be offered in the Doyle New York April 28 auction. A portion of proceeds will benefit The Actors Fund.

NEW YORK (AP) – Bruce Springsteen, Hugh Jackman, Sir Elton John, Bette Midler, Christine Baranski, Steve Martin and Tina Fey have all raided their closets to offer up personal items for an April 28 charity online auction, with one prize being a key prop from the worldwide smash musical The Phantom of the Opera. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

Doyle Auctioneers & Appraisers has unveiled the slate of stage and screen items for its live auction event on April 28, which includes a Wolverine jacket from Jackman’s closet, glasses from Sir Elton, and boots, jeans and a T-shirt from Springsteen. A portion of proceeds from every item sold will benefit The Actors Fund.

Leather jacket worn on screen by Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’
Leather jacket worn on screen by Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past.’ A portion of proceeds will benefit The Actors Fund.

The highlight package includes a Phantom prop: A music box in the shape of a barrel organ with the figure of a monkey playing the cymbals attached. It is used in the prologue to set up the musical. The rare prop is from the London West End production, and the auction lot also includes admission for two whenever Phantom reopens on Broadway.

“We are delighted to offer this extremely rare artifact for auction, supporting The Actors Fund, and I look forward to greeting the winning bidder at our first performance of Phantom of the Opera back on Broadway,” composer Andrew Lloyd Webber said.

Other items up for bids include Bob Mackie dresses from Carol Burnett, a Dolce & Gabbana dress worn by Glenn Close at the opening night of Sunset Boulevard in 2017, a black sequin gown worn by Midler, a banjo signed by Martin and three gowns that Baranski wore for appearances at the Golden Globes, Emmys and Kennedy Center Honors.

Celeste Holm’s 1947 Golden Globe for best supporting performance for her role in ‘Gentleman’s Agreement’
Celeste Holm’s 1947 Golden Globe for best supporting performance for her role in ‘Gentleman’s Agreement.’ A portion of proceeds will benefit The Actors Fund.

More treasures include Celeste Holm’s Golden Globe awarded in 1947 for Gentlemen’s Agreement, signed books from Julie Andrews, the dress worn by Fey to the 2013 Emmy Awards where she won for writing 30 Rock, and the leather suit Alan Cumming wore to the Tony Awards when he won the best actor in a musical trophy in 1998 for Cabaret.

More one-of-a-kind items are an Oscar de la Renta gown worn by Renee Fleming when she sang at the Diamond Jubilee Concert for Queen Elizabeth II in 2012, a limited edition copy of the Downton Abbey film screenplay, and some leather jackets from the TV show The Good Wife.

__________________

By MARK KENNEDY, AP Entertainment Writer

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This information may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.