This morning Scott Fortner published a substantive update to his article posted on Friday, with very compelling and extensive analysis of the dress(es) worn by Marilyn Monroe in The Seven Year Itch (1955). The questions originally raised by Scott has led to a number of significant revelations about the famous dress, one of which was sold last weekend by Profiles in History in their Debbie Reynolds auction event. [Read more…]
Over the past week, the public have been reacting to the top piece sold at auction in the Debbie Reynolds sale held by Profiles in History last weekend, with the famous “subway dress” attributed to use by Marilyn Monroe in The Seven Year Itch (1955) breaking all records and realizing $4.6 million dollars (amounting to as much as $5,658,000 with fees, depending on method of bidding and payment). Scott Fortner, who publishes articles on his Marilyn Monroe Collection blog and was in attendance at the event, this morning published an article posing some questions about the dress, based on his analysis of images from a variety of sources. [Read more…]
Yesterday, Profiles in History held it’s sale event liquidating the Debbie Reynolds collection, and the hobby and media at large are reeling at the prices realized at auction. Held at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills, the auction featured an incredible assortment of original wardrobe memorabilia from classic Hollywood. Highlights include the famous “subway” dress worn by Marilyn Monroe in The Seven Year Itch, which sold for more than $5.6 million (with fees), “test” ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz fetched $627,3000, Dorthy’s “test dress” sold for $1,119,300, and a bowler hat worn by Charlie Chaplin realized $135,300. [Read more…]
James Comisar, special guest. This is the twelfth ‘Prop Talk’ podcast by the Original Prop Blog. Mr. James Comisar is the curator of the most comprehensive collection of original television artifacts in the world – wardrobe, props, sets, set decoration, vehicles, and more, spanning 60 years of popular culture history. He is a principal expert in this field and specialist in authentication, preservation, investment, restoration, and other important aspects of pop culture memorabilia and ephemera collecting.
A reader directed my attention to an active eBay auction listing in which the the description can lead one to believe that the Donnie Darko “Frank” bunny mask for public sale is the same “one of a kind” mask that was seen in an interview conducted by the Original Prop Blog with actor James Duval at Comic Con International in July 2008. Based on my review of the photos included in the eBay auction listings, this is not the same mask. The auction description states: “The mask was gifted to me by actor James Duval, who played the role of ‘Frank’.” The following sentence states: “Please see the youtube video with James talking about the mask below.” [Read more…]
Friends and Original Prop Blog readers Jen and Bryce wrote to me today in regards to one of the latest episodes of Pawn Stars, which premiered last night. In the episode, “Late Night Chum”, a customer brings in what appears to be a Civil War jacket. Mark, the Administrator from the Clark County Museum, is called on to help authenticate it, and speculates that the stamped letters, “TBS”, might be an inspector’s mark. With an alternate assessment, and based on their experience with classic movie memorabilia, props, and wardrobe, and having found the same mark on studio-used garments, Jen and Bryce believe that it might actually be a mark indicating prior ownership by “The Burbank Studios”. [Read more…]
The second of two Entertainment Memorabilia auctions to be held by Bonhams in the month of June has published its catalog online. This event will be held at their Knightsbridge location in England on June 29th for their “Entertainment Memorabilia” auction (Sale 19036). The first auction will be held in Los Angeles on June 29th. [Read more…]
The Experience Music Project has organized an exhibition called “AVATR: The Exhibition”, which will be held at the Science Fiction Museum in Seattle from June 4th through September 3rd. Per the official site, this was created with Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products and James Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment, and “will feature authentic props and costumes, interactive displays, concept models, and sketches from the blockbuster film”. [Read more…]
