Debbie Reynolds Film Memorabilia Auction Breaks All Records

The auction broke all existing records for a memorabilia auction with approximately $22.8 million dollars in sales not including buyers premium of 20%. A $4.6 Million record price was achieved for The white billowing dress worn by Marilyn Monroe in the Seven Year Itch  - $3.7 million for the Audrey Hepburn Ascot dress - $910,000 for Judy Garland 'Dorothy' dress worn in Wizard of Oz - $60,000 for an Elizabeth Taylor National Velvet outfit $110,000 for Charlie Chaplin's "Little Tramp" bowler hat - $550,000 for Julie Andrew's Do Re Mi Dress from The Sound of Music - Julie's SOM guitar realized $140,000

Miss Reynolds  stated;"My lifetime dream has been to assemble and preserve the history of the Hollywood film industry. Hollywood has been an enormous part of my life as I know it has been for countless fans all over the world.  This collection represents a lifetime of collecting Hollywood artifacts and this is a rare opportunity to own a piece of Hollywood History for those who love the movies as much as I do.  For the first time in nearly five decades, these iconic pieces will be made available to the public through a series of auctions presented by Profiles in History beginning in June 2011."
The Debbie Reynolds Collection is deemed to be the most significant collection of Hollywood costumes and props since the liquidation of the MGM and FOX studios in the 1970’s. Profiles in History plans to sell this massive collection through a series of auctions starting with part one in June 2011 and part two in December 2011. This entire collection contains over 3,500 costumes, 20,000 original photographs, several thousand original movie posters, original costume sketches and hundreds of key props from film history.
“I heard the news that MGM was going to sell their inventory of costumes and props,” says Reynolds on how she started collecting, “I went everyday for weeks and focused on purchasing the costumes and props of Academy Award winning films. It soon turned into an obsession. Until now!  I've concluded that my dream of having a museum cannot be fulfilled, so I have decided to share my fabulous collection with other collectors.”
Part one of this auction will have approximately 700 of Debbie’s very best and most historic costumes and props including the most famous costume in screen history with an estimated value of 1 to 2 million dollars, Marilyn Monroe's ‘subway’ dress from The Seven-Year Itch.

This important auction includes items from films, Gone With the Wind (MGM, 1939) the famous green-velvet “drapery” dress hat with bird adornment, worn by Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’ Hara. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (20th Century-Fox, 1953) $4.6 m the highest price ever for a piece of film memorabillia. Marilyn Monroe costume worn as Lorelei Lee: signature red sequin dress from “Just Two Little Girls from Little Rock” opening musical number, designed by Travilla. The Sound of Music (20th Century-Fox, 1965) Julie Andrews brown jumper and blouse with original guitar, from “Do-Re-Mi”.
Charlie Chaplin “Tramp character” signature bowler hat Charlie Chaplin's "Little Tramp" bowler hat brought in $110,000.The Wizard of Oz (MGM, 1939) Judy Garland’s  “Dorothy” original blue and white gingham test dress with puff-sleeved white blouse from the first two weeks of filming, designed by Adrian, plus the matching fabled ruby slippers in the “Arabian test” pattern. My Fair Lady (Warner Bros., 1964) $3.7 m for Audrey Hepburn “Eliza Doolittle” signature ivory ribbon embroidery lace Ascot dress and hat designed by Cecil Beaton; Hepburn’s single most recognizable and remarkable outfit from any of her films.Singin’ in the Rain (MGM, 1952) Gene Kelly herringbone wool 3-piece suit by Walter Plunkett from the  “I’m Singin’ in the Rain” iconic musical number. The National Velvet outfit worn by Elizabeth Taylor has now sold for $60,000 plus premium. Read More