Recently, the first of three auctions featuring the collection of Debbie Reynolds took place. Reynolds had amassed the largest collection ever of Hollywood costumes and props, much from it's Silent Era and Golden Age. Her intent was to provide everyone with an opportunity to snag a piece of memorabilia from their favorite films. Too bad for us poor folk, the majority proved to be out of reach, bringing in prices no one could have realized.
Reynolds recalls, "It was inspired by shock." She couldn't believe MGM was just going to sell off it's costumes and props. In the Auction catalog intro she wrote, "My passion for collecting began in earnest when the studios broke up their inventories. In 1970 MGM announced it was going to auction off everything except their real estate. I was still under contract at MGM and knew this inventory well. These were the clothes that the studio wouldn’t even lend us to wear to events or parties...After the auction, preserving as many of these costumes as possible became my obsession."
She formed the non-profit Hollywood Motion Picture Museum in 1972 and her collection grew with subsequent 20th Century Fox and Paramount studio sales. Fortunately, she was good friends with the President of Fox and was able to purchase many items prior to the auction including twelve gowns worn by Marilyn Monroe. One was the famous subway dress from The Seven Year Itch which brought in $4.6 million dollars (Reynolds paid $200).
She continued to buy through the years and one of her most recent purchases was Audrey Hepburn's My Fair Lady race day gown for $100,000 (sold for $3.7 million - talk about an investment!). Other pieces came the good old-fashioned way; begging. Harpo Marx gave her his top hat ($45,000) and when a costume worn in Cleopatra by Richard Burton came up for sale, Reynolds actually called Elizabeth Taylor for the money. She explained she already had Taylor's Cleopatra costume and wanted to reunite them. "I really need it because I have you," Reynolds told her, "So she sent me the money for the costume." Incidentally, Richard Burton's tunic cape sold for $85,000 and Taylor's headdress brought in $100,000.On another humorous note, she desperately tried to get the Princess Leia costume worn by her daughter, Carrie Fisher, in Star Wars. Reynolds said, "I asked George Lucas, but he has it in storage and he is not going to give up his Princess Leia costume, even to Princess Leia."
In 1993, she opened the Debbie Reynolds Hollywood Hotel & Casino Resort in Las Vegas which included her Museum. A financial failure, it filed for bankruptcy in 1997 and was auctioned off to the World Wrestling Federation for only $10 million, less than what was owed to creditors. Reynolds placed her collection into storage where it's been until now.
An opportunity arose when she found 20,000 square feet in a development complex in central Hollywood. In 2001, the city gave her $50,000 for the Museum. Troubled financially, in 2004 a new location was chosen in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, near Dollywood. Much of the construction was completed when the project's real estate developers claimed bankruptcy leaving Reynolds holding the bag. The Museum filed for bankruptcy protection in June 2009 forcing Reynolds to liquidate.
And so we come to June 18, 2011. What a night for Reynolds! Auction estimates were exceeded by leaps and bounds. The Arabian test pair of the Ruby Slippers from the The Wizard of Oz sold for $510,000 and Judy Garland's Dorothy test dress sold for $910,000. Combined, their estimates were only $230,000. Marilyn Monroe's red sequined dress and feather headdress from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes fetched $1.2 million and her costumes from There's No Business Like Show Business and River of No Return together reached $1,010,000.
Other notable sales included $110,000 for Charlie Chaplin's bowler hat, $550,000 for Julie Andrew's Sound Of Music jumper dress, $140,000 for her guitar and $320,000 for Charlton Heston's tunic and cape from Ben-Hur. Grace Kelly's chiffon evening gown from The Swan earned $110,000 and her coral knit dress from To Catch a Thief soared to $450,000. Other heavy hitters were Taylor, Ingrid Bergman and Barbra Streisand, whose gold velvet gown from Hello Dolly fetched $100,000. By the way, the prices quoted here don't include a buyer's premium of 24% plus state taxes - ouch!
Reynolds herself was a real trooper at the auction. I can't imagine how she felt watching treasure after treasure going under the gavel, knowing her dream was at it's end. She joked at the opening, "I've been collecting for 45 years but I'm only 40". When bidding for Greta Garbo’s Camille couch slowed to $9,000, Reynolds yelled out “I paid ten!” and it went for $11,000. She even went up to the buyer of Dorothy's dress and shoes and kissed him on the cheek!
Ultimately, the auction earned $22.8 million dollars. Profiles in History, the auction house, will sell off the collection in stages with the next auction slated for December 6. It will feature more costumes worn by Marilyn Monroe as well as props from Gone With The Wind.
Personally, I couldn't be happier for her. Although she didn't succeed with her Museum, she did preserve these magnificent costumes. God only knows what would have happened to them otherwise. Kudos and thanks Debbie!! What saddens me however is the fact that some of the most recognizable costumes in Hollywood history went to Saudi Arabia and Japan. Even the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences declined to send a representative, unbelievable especially with all the money in Tinsel Town. I guess nothing changes huh Debbie?
In closing, her own words from the catalog:
I cherish every piece I’ve collected. I couldn’t bear to see them be lost or forgotten. Each costume embodies the aura of the star who wore it onscreen. Who can think of The Wizard of Oz without seeing Dorothy’s ruby slippers? Or The Seven Year Itch without Marilyn Monroe’s subway dress? I can’t...All these items are as famous as the stars that wore them. There is magic in every thread, button and bow. Many of these wonderful articles capture that special moment in a film where our hearts were deeply touched. For me, the memory of this moment lives forever in each of these pieces. I always dreamed of building a museum...For the past fifty years, I have collected, preserved and loved all these treasures. I’ve had the privilege to be their champion and caretaker. Sadly, my dream didn’t come true. As I turn these precious items over to the auction, my wish is that they will find homes where they will be revered and preserved along with their history. Now everyone has the opportunity to own them. I hope you will love them as I do.
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