It could become the biggest, and perhaps most glamorous, garage sale ever.
On Friday, Christie’s auction house in Beverly Hills will display a trove of Marilyn Monroe’s treasured possessions that will go on the block later this year.
The items include the fabled gown Monroe wore when she sang “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy. The flesh-colored, skin-tight dress is adorned with 6,000 glittering rhinestones.
Early estimates have it selling for $1 million. But Christie’s officials are conservatively saying that the Jean Louis-designed gown will go for “high six figures.”
The dress, which will be on display from Aug. 20 through Aug. 24, is part of a collection of Monroe memorabilia that includes a bulky Mexican cardigan worn by the actress during her final photo session with George Barris in 1962. Christie’s estimates it will fetch more than $20,000.
A diamond wedding band given to the actress by Joe DiMaggio is expected to go for $30,000 to $50,000, even though one stone is missing. And her baby grand piano could be a bargain for between $6,000 and $8,000.
Then there’s the gold-plated Magnavox TV set from her home in Brentwood, where she died in 1962 from a drug overdose. Christie’s estimates the winning bidder will pay between $1,000 and $1,500 for the 13-channel, black-and-white antique.
After a tour of London and Paris, the entire lot goes on the block at Christie’s offices in New York on Oct. 27 and 28. It will include 20 pairs of spiked-heel Ferragamo pumps, a pair of broken eye glasses, several other evening gowns, two cookbooks, a set of pots and her dog’s license.
Christie’s isn’t estimating what the final take will be. But for the sake of comparison, the sale of 79 of Princess Di’s gowns two years ago raised more than $5.7 million. Jackie Kennedy Onassis’ belongings went for $37 million.
…
“The Blair Witch Project” could earn as much as $100 million at the box office, making the $50,000 film the biggest box-office smash in the history of independent filmmaking.
Meanwhile, the movie has also become a hot attraction on the underground circuit, with viewing parties popping up all over town.
How did these bootleg copies of the film find their way into the living rooms of Hollywood players? Artisan Entertainment, which is distributing the film, isn’t saying, but insiders reveal the low-budget chiller made the rounds at the annual Aspen film festival and copies were kept and dubbed.
TV news outlets that preview films also had their VCRs rolling.
Larry Fleece, a producer at Paramount TV’s “Entertainment Tonight,” has been named executive producer of “Real TV” Merv Griffin’s Coconut Club at the Beverly Hills Hotel has added a disco night to its swing lineup. Every Friday, “Boogie Nights” rolls. Sounds like polyester will be making a comeback, too
