The most amazing collection of historic Hollywood movie costumes ever assembled will never become the core of a museum. Try as she might, Debbie Reynolds has failed at building a museum based on her collection of costumes and treasures spanning the history of Hollywood movies. Due to the bankruptcy of the organization she created to build a Hollywood movie museum, the collection that formed its core is being auctioned in segments. The first of the three auctions was held Saturday June 18 by Profiles in History in a marathon event. These auctions are a boon to collectors, but a tragedy for the film community and fans of classic Hollywood. The loss to Debbie, her passion of many decades, must be devastating.
 Courtesy Profiles in History |
| Elizabeth Taylor's beautiful gown designed by Walter Plunkett for Raintree County. |
The auction on Saturday was attended by Debbie herself, accompanied by daughter Carrie Fisher and son Todd Fisher, as well as her grandchildren. Debbie put her best face on the event, joking with the audience and prodding the bidders, all in the long tradition of "the show must go on." But she choked up in her opening remarks, and indeed it was a melancholy day for Los Angeles and the rest of the country. We will never see the likes of this collection again.
There were no doubt some happy buyers. One Korean gentleman seemed to be bidding on every important costume, and winning many of them. Other items like Judy Garland's screen-tested gingham dress from the Wizard of Oz, and a version of the Ruby Slippers, are rumored to be destined for Saudi Arabia. The audience held its breath and then clapped when the Dorothy dress was hammered down for $920,000. We knew it was going to be a big day when item number 2 in the auction, Rudolph Valentino's matador costume from Blood and Sand went for $200,000.
Profiles in HistoryIt was no surprise that the biggest items in the auction were worn by Marilyn Monroe. What was shocking though was their hammer prices: Marilyn's William Travilla-designed cream rayon "subway" dress from Seven Year Itch, $4.6 million; Marilyn's Travilla-designed red-sequined gown shown above from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, $1.2 million. And there were two more, including the stunning Travilla-designed "Tropical Heat Wave" costume from There's No Business Like Show Business, a mere $500,000. It is shown below. But the second most expensive item in the auction was not a Marilyn Monroe costume but rather Audrey Hepburn's Ascot gown from My Fair Lady. It was hammered down for $3.7 million.
Profiles in History
The auction at the Paley Center was packed, with a small auditorium and a separate hall used for the occasion. There was also a row of phone-bid handlers, two on-line auction handlers ,absentee bids, floor bidders, and an auctioneer that masterfully handled the whole operation. Bidding began just after noon. It didn't finish until after 1:00am. The audience consisted of devoted classic movie fans, the curious, some serious collectors and those representing institutions or having a professional interest. Several long-time costume devotees were there, including noted costume collector Larry McQueen, and costume designer-turned UCLA Copley Center for Costume Design director Deborah Nadoolman Landis.
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| Debbie's collection included a trio of costumes from Singing in the Rain. |
How did this collection come to be and why is it being scattered? Collecting movie memorabilia really began when MGM auctioned off its fabulous collection of props and costumes in 1970. Before then the studios kept their props and costumes so there was no supply and little demand to stoke collecting. This was a sad period for MGM and the other studios due to shrinking revenues. The new owners of MGM decided that there was more money to be had in selling off its assets than in keeping the studio's traditions alive. MGM was Debbie Reynolds' home studio, and she understood the value of the props and costumes as objects in themselves, not just as accessories of movie-making. As Debbie states in a forward to the auction catalog, "I used to spend my spare time in the wardrobe department, watching the most talented people create costumes for the actors. I loved everything that went into the process - the sketches, the fabrics, the construction."
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| Lana Turner's robe from Diane, designed by Walter Plunkett. |
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| Norma Shearer's gown from Marie Antoinette, designed by Adrian. |
And so Debbie attended the MGM auction every day of its nearly three weeks duration. And she bought and she bought: Adrian-designed gowns for Norma Shearer from Marie- Antoinette and Romeo and Juliet; an early version of Judy Garland's Dorothy pinafore from The Wizard of Oz; Greta Garbo's velvet gown from Anna Karenina; her own Walter Plunkett designed "Good Morning" flapper dress from Singing in the Rain; Elizabeth Taylor' riding outfit from National Velvet; Leslie Caron's peacock-feathered dance dress from An American in Paris, and dozens more. Over time, Debbie bought from the other studios as well while forming her collection.
Debbie was a discriminating collector and a far-sighted one. It was easy enough to select the wardrobe from award winning pictures, but Debbie selected several costumes from the same film to give a better representation of the movie. And she went after set props too to enhance the picture. When there were obvious duos, like the costumes from both Romeo and Juliet, she bought both of them. Two bold green-striped "Fit As a Fiddle" costumes worn by Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor were also bought as a pair. Alas, these were not primary considerations for the new buyers, as many pairs were broken up. Debbie Reynolds also showed her important connoisseurship by acquiring the costumes that were not just beautiful, but the ones that became truly significant in defining the leading film character in the role portrayed. So here at auction was the Mildred Pierce coffee-shop waitress uniform worn by Joan Crawford, the rose and white-striped dress worn by Shirley Jones in the memorable "If I Loved You" scene with Gordon MacRae from Carousel, Elizabeth Taylor's jockey uniform from National Velvet, Leslie Caron's school-girl outfit from Gigi, Grace Kelly's rose-colored skirt and white-embroidered sleeveless top from To Catch a Thief, Betty Hutton's rose-embroidered cowgirl outfit from Annie Get Your Gun, Basil Rathbone's caped overcoat from Sherlock Holmes, and on and on. Are we not losing national treasures here?
Here is the Edith Head designed Grace Kelly ensemble from To Catch a Thief. $450,000.
Profiles in History
Leslie Caron. $65,000
Profiles in History
Profiles in HistoryShown above and below are costumes designed by Mary Wills for The Virgin Queen. Above is the one worn by Joan Collins and the one below by Bette Davis playing Queen Elizabeth. Other costumes from the same film were also auctioned off Saturday.
Profiles in HistoryAnother fabulous Elizabethan costume designed by Walter Plunkett and worn by Katharine Hepburn in RKO's Mary of Scotland is shown below. It is now destined for overseas, along with the Mildred Pierce outfit, Ingrid Bergman's gown from Gaslight, and many, many others.
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| This Katharine Hepburn costume sold for $35,000. |
Photo courtesy Profiles in History
Yes, Debbie had much foresight. Unfortunately, the same can not be said of several of the institutions in Los Angeles, not to mention the studios themselves. It seems that the movie capitol has always been ambivalent about the worth of its movie heritage. Despite the dedication of a handful of curators and archivists over the decades, the administrators have never stepped up to the plate in truly valuing movie history. The large donors have apparently been absent as well. Fine art is a better investment. Or is it?
Debbie Reynolds may have finally seen realized in real dollar values what she knew her collection was worth intrinsically. Then again she may have woken up in the morning and realized the treasure that just left her hands. For the rest of us there may be a positive outcome; the streams of classic Hollywood costumes gushing forth may spur more interest in the subject. And now that the horse is out of the barn, perhaps something will be done about it.
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26 comments:
Thank you for the effort, Debbie.
Thank you Christian for this brilliantly written article.
Thanks Suz for the nice comment. You would have loved to take some of those wonderful Edith Head costumes home. The Grace Kelly outfit was a knock-out and one of my favorites.
My heart is breaking. One of my earliest memories is of watching Hello Dolly on TV with my grandparents--the moment she appears at the top of the red staircase in that amazing gold dress is seared on my brain as the first time I noticed clothes in film. It started a lifelong love of costume and clothing history, and I am angry that Hollywood didn't see fit to even attempt to house this collection. Thank you so much for posting--I've added you to my Reader and look forward to getting to know your blog.
This was a fabulous article, Christian. I was at the MGM auction, just buying trivial doodads, back in 1970, and had a sense of the tragedy that was underway. One of Vivian Leigh's gowns from GWTW was on display in a glass booth, ready to be auctioned off. I did not know of Debbie Reynolds's attempts at keeping the collection together. You are right in saying we have lost some great national treasures this time around. Would love to see a picture of that white, pearl-draped gown Ingrid Bergman wore in "Gaslight," in one of your future articles. It is my favorite of all film costumes.
Oh Christian,
I really don't know how to feel about it! I feel numb after watching those iconic items that are such a huge part of cinematic history go across the auction block...wondering if we will ever get the chance to see any of them on public display.
It's like being shown a Shelby mustang than I've always dreamed about having only to find out you not only can't drive it but it's being sold to a nemesis.
I knew Debbie's collection was vast but I had no idea there were over 30,000 items that will be sold at 3-4 separate auctions.
It's heartbreaking that the museum she wanted never came to fruition but hopefully the new owners of all of these items will care for them the way she did.
If money was the issue why not reach out to those in the industry for backing or better yet sell Monroe's subway dress and a catalog with the collection which would have sold very well...that would have raised a lot towards a museum.
Oh well, it is what it is. Thanks for the nice post and the details on who the buyers were. (I feared they would be parceled out to buyers outside of the U.S.)
Ha! You'll get a kick out of this, the word I have to put in for verification before posting this comment is DRESS! How fitting.
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Debbie Reynold's vast film memorabilia being auctioned off and scattered is so heartbreaking. I have a great love for film and fashion history and to see these beautiful costumes and priceless pieces of history go to collectors is devestating. I am a Museum Studies major and I am like Indiana Jones I think these pieces should belong in a museum. The more Old Hollywood goes to collectors the more I fear our film culture will disappear and newer generations will never know of the actors and actresses who began and trailed the way for Hollywood and its stars. This is just one of the reasons why living in America makes me nuts we do not value the arts at all and if we did Debbie Reynolds would have had her museum long ago. Was reall breaks my heart is seeing her part with her Singin in the Rain collection. This is a great write up Christian excellent job and fantastic pictures.
Thanks for your comments Page. It was mixed emotions on overdrive - exhilaration about seeing these treaures assembled and valued so highly monetarily but then realizing that they will likely never be assembled again and many will be travelling to far away places - each with their own destiny.
Welcome Heidi. The emotional attachment to these movies and their physical representation in costumes is what makes this story so sad. I suppose they will all be treasured in their way but not with the type of public access we would have hoped for. And of course the careful grouping by movie that Debbie managed is now gone.
Thank you Shelley for sharing your experience at the MGM auction. That was an historic event. I would like to do a second post on the Debbie auction so I will try to include the Gaslight gown.
Thank you MovieFreak. We should appreciate some of the work of the early collectors since this kind of movie memorabilia was not appraciated and could have ended up in the trash. But collectors have traditionally donated their collections to museums that have the ability to preserve the items. The tragedy is that in Hollywood, and in Los Angeles of all places, there is yet to be any significant museum that considers these items as art or artifacts worthy of collecting.
Christian - A wonderful piece and so well illustrated. I didn't realize Debbie Reynolds had put together her collection as meticulously as she apparently did and it's beyond sad to watch such painstaking work be dismantled and scattered to the four winds.
I'm amazed that no museum or industry-related organization or individual or group of individuals saw fit to step in and preserve this amazing collection.
Yes, I agree Lady Eve. It seems that Hollywood movie-themed museums are somehow always destined for failure. There have been several efforts over the decades without ever materializing. In this case it brings all those failures to light. A museum or museum collection like Debbie's is very expensive to develop and maintain. Still, this case is so unique, and is now part of our history and legacy of unrealized dreams.
Did an entry the other day on this, focusing on the gown Carole Lombard wore in "No Man Of Her Own" (it's a Lombard-related site, mind you):
http://carole-and-co.livejournal.com/419604.html
Wonderful article Christian!
It was an amazing sale and I sat and watched every minute of it..all 12 hours! :)
I sincerely hope these treasures have gone to good homes.
Keep up the amazing work!
http://vintagefilmpropsandcostumes.blogspot.com/
Yes, what an historic sale. You are indeed dedicated costumecollector to sit through the entire auction. We will see where the costumes and props end up. I hope they will get the best of care.
Christian, how badly did Debbie need money -- I mean that much money? I don't know the story behind her need to sell, and Heaven knows I understand hard times, but I think this is more than just a shame. Hollywood's classic era is uniquely American, in my eyes, just as much of a national treasure as the monuments in Washington D.C., of which I understand many have also been leased and sold to foreign countries, although not physically moved. Could enough money have been raised in an American-only auction to raise the money needed, even if the total was not as large?
It isn't my intention to criticize Debbie, really -- it was her private collection to do with as she saw fit. As much as it is great to have people all over the world appreciate America's treasures, we just seem too willing to scatter them for bigger money and lose them forever. I don't know, I just couldn't help but think of that.
And Saudi Arabia!? Those people hate us and have always harshly condemned the whole idea of Hollywood. That stings more than anything.
ClassicBecky - I believe there was no other option for Debbie. Most ot the items in the auction were part of the bankruptcy prodeedings of the organization Debbie had set up in order to build a museum. There were two failed attempts by Debbie to start a Hollywood themed museum, each one resulting in a pile of debt. The shame is that neither sufficient money was raised nor did an existing intitution or organization step forward to take over her project. Such an effort at the right time could probably have kept this collection intact and in this country.
Thanks for posting what may be the most comprehensive overview of Debbie Reynolds' collection efforts. I have been seeking such an article since I read about the big auction and failed to find one until I stumbled upon your blog. This situation reminded me of Maria Riva's claim that that she offered her mother Marlene Dietrich's estate as a donation to American film museums (at the beginning of this video), and when no one showed interest, Riva reportedly sold it to the city of Berlin for $5 million, which subsequently made the Filmmuseum Berlin its caretaker. The contradiction between donation and sale makes me suspicious that Riva acted solely as an altruist, and I harbor similar suspicions about Debbie. Certainly, I wouldn't blame either woman for making money (or, in Debbie's case, attempting to recuperate money) from a Hollywood collection. If it's their property, they have every right to sell it.
On another note related to this blog entry, the contradiction between donation and sale also reminds me that the distinction between culture and commodity can be blurred, which is why I wouldn't consider these auction items national treasures. Debbie's former possessions have made a cultural impact in films, but they are also the products of profit-driven movie studios, which do not uphold all the criteria of non-profit institutions such as museums. For LACMA or another local museum to accept Hollywood memorabilia, the following criteria would have to be met: first, the memorabilia would have to promote the museum's mission; second, the memorabilia would have to be affordable; third, the museum would require the staff and space to properly preserve the memorabilia; fourth, these staff and this space would have to be affordable.
When movie studios such as MGM housed old costumes, they had to deal with the second, third, and fourth criteria, but because they are businesses, they had no obligation to accept the most important criterion, the first one. If a business needs money to stay afloat, it will sell its assets; museums could never ethically follow such a model (although some have, e.g. the Hermitage Museum when its hometown was called Leningrad). Certainly, the memorabilia from Debbie's collection would meet the mission of LACMA and even MOCA, but I don't know whether any museums in the United States let alone in L.A. have the money, staff, and space to properly preserve items such as costumes—and such an extensive collection as Debbie's was. Only the FIDM Museum comes to mind as a local option, but I can only say with certainty that they have the staff to care for what Debbie sold. As for financial means and space—I don't know. They thrive on donations—dress and textile as well as financial—which suggests that unless someone donates a multimillion-dollar Monroe gown or donates millions so they can purchase a Monroe gown, they can't afford to play with the big spenders at auctions.
Personally, I would love to see every museum, library, and archive object (Hollywood memorabilia, fine art, cuneiform, what have you) digitized in a high-quality three-dimensional form to maximize their accessibility so that people who might never even have a chance to visit an institution could view and research its holdings, but I know the costs of my dreams are currently nowhere near the reality of any institution's budget.
Well, with all the incredibly rich people we have here, it is disgraceful none of them stepped up. My gosh, look how many of US would practically mortgage our houses to help with such a museum! I feel terribly sorry for Debbie -- in such a bankruptcy situation, she was probably forced to take the biggest bidder, no matter who, and had no say over where things went.
I realized that in my questions, I didn't say what a wonderful and fascinating article you have written. Your knowledge of Hollywood fashion is admirable, and I thought it was great. Oh how I would love to have snagged one of Adrian's fantastic gowns from Marie Antoinette!
Thanks ClassicBecky. I would have loved to acquire a few of those Adrians myself. Debbie's auction echoes the even sadder saga of the auction of MGM's props and costumes. I'll do my next post shortly with more photos and commentary about the Debbie auction, and its connection to the MGM sale.
Thanks Joseph for your reasoned comments on my blog post. I will actually have another post continuing my coverage of the Debbie Reynolds auction shortly. I realize all the complexities of a museum acquiring such a collection, even if it was an outright gift. And I certainly don't want to suggest which museums should have tried to acquire it. The LACMA does have a fabulous costume collection. It also had movie costumes and had even held a "Hollywood and History" exhibit of film costume many years ago. I think its "Hollywood" collection has been de-emphasized lately. The MET also held a major Hollywood Costume Exhibit that was a huge success, although it borrowed what it exhibited. And FIDM also has some great holdings, as does FIT. The bottom line however is that the one-of-a-kind Debbie collection is now broken up with large swaths of it going abroad. Was there even any institutional consideration of the collection being worthy prior to the bankruptcy situation?
Christian, if you did suggest that a museum such as LACMA should acquire Debbie's collection, I wouldn't argue. LACMA receives millions of dollars that ultimately come out of taxpayers' pockets, and local taxpayers' opinions regarding LACMA's policies and practices should be considered. I can't answer your question (which may have been rhetorical anyway) as I haven't conducted a thorough literature review, but--before commenting here--I did conduct some searches regarding Debbie's collection and museums in academic databases and was disappointed to find nothing. Now, you have me interested in investigating the topic of cooperative collection development among museums, which could have been a way for Debbie's collection to end up in the care of museums. For example, museum A could acquire some items, while museum B could acquire other items, later coordinating loans or even exchanges for impressive exhibitions. Maybe this could be a way to save other jeopardized collections of Hollywood memorabilia in the future? Maybe it's already been done for Hollywood treasures?
Joseph - Yes the cooperative arrangement would have been a good model - at least for keeping the collection in L.A. Debbie I'm sure would have wanted it all together, but something could probably have been worked out early on in her "museum" efforts.
According to Deborah Landis, LACMA deaccessioned most of the items from its Hollywood & History exhibit. (Museum "costume" collections are actually fashion collections, and IMHO LACMA does a terrible job with its fashion collection--but that's another story.)
Some of the LACMA costumes, according to Landis, wound up at the L.A. Natural History Museum, which is the local museum with a long history of costume collecting. Its history collection has many film costumes, including Charlie Chaplin’s Tramp costume from City Lights, Vivien Leigh’s barbecue dress from Gone With The Wind, Dustin Hoffman’s ragged suit from Little Big Man, and Christina Ricci’s gothic gown from Addams Family, as well as TV costumes. None are currently on display, pending the opening of a new gallery in December 2012. Beth Werling, their collections manager, says they're best known for their costumes from the silent era.
I have an article about the auction here: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-24/hollywood-auction-ends-myth-of-zaftig-marilyn-virginia-postrel.html
Thanks Virginia for the additional information on the museum costume collections - and the great post you wrote on the Debbie auction.
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