BURBANK, CA — Lots from virtually every era of Hollywood come to market at Studio Auctions Friday, September 20 in its Bombshells to Blasters, Part 1 live sale. The catalog is now open for bidding at LiveAuctioneers. Studio also has an online-only sale scheduled for Sunday, September 22. That catalog can be viewed here.
The live sale is blessed with 14 items connected to or owned by Marlon Brando (1924-2004). Items range from his office Rolodex to his ‘little black book,’ but the best story comes from Brando’s personal tuxedo, which appeared on screen in the 1972 classic The Godfather. The actor refused to be fitted for a tuxedo, and instead opted to use his own, a creation of Brooks Van Horn & Son and his tailor Sy Devore. After shooting his scenes, the film’s costumer mistakenly sent the outfit back to the costume house, much to the horror of Brando’s assistant Alice Marchak, who retrieved it and returned it to the actor’s home wardrobe. While at the costume house, the company affixed their Brooks Costumes label, which remains to this day. The lot comes with a lifelike Brando posable effigy for maximum display impact. It carries an estimate of $60,000-$80,000.
The sale’s top-estimated lot is the magic wand belonging to Glinda the Good Witch from MGM’s legendary 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. Numerous wands were made for the movie; this one did not appear on screen, but instead was used in a promotional photo of actress Billie Burke (1884-1970) taken by celebrated Hollywood photographer Clarence Sinclair Bull. Accompanied by a report of authenticity from esteemed Hollywood historian Marc Wanamaker, the wand is estimated at $75,000-$100,000.
The sale’s final highlight is a Michael J. Fox-owned and -doodled screen-used Sports Almanac 1950-2000 prop from Universal’s 1989 film Back to the Future II. Fox’s Marty McFly character purchases it it from an antique store, but it falls into the hands of his nemesis Biff Tannen (Thomas F. Wildson), who uses the almanac to disrupt the space-time continuum and create an alternate 1985. Accompanied by a letter of authenticity from a 20th Century Fox publicist, the book is estimated at $20,000-$25,000.
