Mainstream Media: Online, Newspapers

June 25, 2016 By Jason DeBord

Temporary Restraining Order Stops Heritage Auctions’ Sale of Whitney Houston’s Emmy Award

U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson issued a temporary restraining ordering blocking Heritage Auctions from selling Whitney Houston’s 1986 Emmy Award for “Saving All My Love for You” at auction. Their “Entertainment & Music Memorabilia Signature Auction – Beverly Hills” took place on June 24th and 25th. In spite of the piece being pulled from auction and returned to the Houston family, the remaining lots of her personal property and memorabilia brought in approximately half a million dollars. The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences had filed a lawsuit against Heritage Auctions to stop the sale of the Statue, which they contend is a loan to recipients and their families, not a gift that can be offered for sale to the highest bidder. [Read more…]

June 23, 2016 By Jason DeBord

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Attempts To Stop Sale of Whitney Houston’s Emmy Award by Heritage Auctions

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has filed a lawsuit against Heritage Auctions as well as a consignor in their current auction, Whitney Houston’s estate, in an effort to block the sale of her 1986 Emmy Award for “Saving All My Love for You”, which she performed at the Grammy’s. Heritage is fighting the efforts to pull the award from their auction. [Read more…]

February 4, 2016 By Jason DeBord

Deckard’s Original Hero PKD Blaster from “Blade Runner” Featured on Adam Savage’s “TESTED”

Adam Savage has published a video via TESTED with his hands on look at Deckard’s PKD Blaster from Blade Runner. The iconic pistol used by Harrison Ford in the Ridley Scott film is now part of the collection of a good friend of mine, Dan Lanigan. As part of this feature, you also get a glimpse of his incredible collection. I kept waiting for Steve Carell to jump into the scene and exclaim, “that’s what she said”, but (spoiler) it never happens. Profiles in History sold this at auction in 2009, and I did a feature with photos of how it was delivered to production at the time leading up to the auction event… [Read more…]

August 30, 2015 By Jason DeBord

Multi-Million Dollar eBay Sports Fraud Scheme with Thousands of Victims Uncovered; Four Plead Guilty

Local mainstream media outlets in Youngstown, Ohio are reporting on “what investigators say is the biggest case of domestic fraud in the history of the online auction site eBay“. Of course, sports memorabilia is the fraud that was targeted, not entertainment memorabilia… the story by WFMJ states that the “alleged enterprise involving phony autographs on sports memorabilia… cheated 25,000 people out of more than $2-million dollars”. Hopefully, someday, law enforcement will investigate the long term eBay dealers that have been selling common antiques like plates and telephones and ashtrays attributed to classic television shows and movies (which, like the fake sports memorabilia with forged autographs, include worthless COAs from companies with the worst reputations in this art market). [Read more…]

August 25, 2015 By Jason DeBord

Bill Mastro of Mastro Auctions Sentenced to 20 Months in Prison for Shill Bidding & Fraud

The New York Daily News continues to take the lead in the mainstream media on the story about “disgraced sports memorabilia pioneer” Bill Mastro, Founder and CEO of Mastro Auctions, which shut down in 2009 during the FBI investigation. In the ongoing saga, he plead guilty to shill bidding and mail fraud and admitted to trimming/altering a high value trading card to increase it’s value. U.S. District Judge Ronald A. Guzman sentenced Mastro to 20 months in prison; NY Daily News reports the judge was “troubled by the fact that Mastro had destroyed bidding records after learning the FBI had launched an investigation into fraud…“. [Read more…]

August 25, 2015 By Jason DeBord

$1 Million Dollar Reward for Dorothy’s Stolen Ruby Slippers from Wizard of Oz

It was 10 years ago this month that one of the surviving pairs of ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz were stolen from The Judy Garland Museum. The mainstream media has reported that an anonymous benefactor has offered up a $1 million dollar reward for information leading to the recovery of maybe the most iconic piece of Hollywood memorabilia ever created, though Newsweek questions whether this person or persons exist after the cancellation of an interview. [Read more…]

August 25, 2015 By Jason DeBord

20th Century Props Reopens in Los Angeles, 5 Years After Shutting Down

As reported at the time, long time prop rental business 20th Century Props shut down and liquidated its inventory back in 2009 and 2010. Well, here we are in 2015 and the Los Angeles Times and others have reported that Harvey Schwartz has rebounded along with the film industry this year, and has relaunched his business. [Read more…]

July 6, 2015 By Jason DeBord

Forbes on Comisar: “…Inside The World’s Greatest Collection Of TV Memorabilia”

James Comisar is perhaps one of the most interesting figures in the film and television collecting art market, and sort of serves as its ambassador into the world of serious journalists. It seems with each high end glossy mainstream media outlet provides a different look and take into the eclectic world of iconic artifacts from the complete history of television. [Read more…]

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