LOS ANGELES, CA.- Julien’s Auctions and Turner Classic Movies opened Day One of their four-day summer blockbuster event Hollywood Legends: Danger, Disaster and Disco in a spectacular white glove evening sale held Wednesday, June 12th that exceeded expectations tallying $1 million, three times the original sale estimate. The sale was held live at a VIP reception at NYA Studios in Los Angeles and online with hundreds of bidders and collectors from around the world vying for the inaugural evening’s sale of 32 screen gems from the biggest films of the Golden Age of Hollywood to the most popular modern day contemporary blockbusters spanning Sci-Fi, Action and Fantasy classics and beyond.

The top selling item of the evening came from the one and only Marilyn Monroe whose legendary star wattage continues to shine at Julien’s and TCM’s record-breaking sales of her most glamorous and important items at auction. A Ceil Chapman black jersey three-quarter evening dress worn by Monroe when she and Joe DiMaggio attended an event hosted by Bob Hope on December 16, 1953 to honor two-star general William F. Dean sold for $254,000, eight times its estimate of $30,000.

Re-submerged from the collection of “master of disaster” Irwin Allen was an original hero large-scale filming miniature of the USOS Seaview submarine from Allen’s 1961 science fiction film classic Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and his television series spawned from the film. The silver/gray large-scale model composed of fiberglass designed as a sea creature similar to a manta ray with sloping lines and gills sold for $222,250, five and a half times its estimate of $40,000. Another iconic prop from Irwin Allen’s pioneering science fiction series from the 1960s Lost in Space– a "Jupiter 2" stunt spaceship– lifted off to $65,000. In 2023, Julien’s and TCM sold another iconic piece from Allen’s Lost In Space–one of the most famous and legendary robots of all time–Model B-9 "The Robot" for $455,000 as well as Guy Williams "Professor John Robinson" spacesuit for $35,750.

One of the most exciting moments of the evening was the appearance of Hollywood’s greatest ancient artifact prop: an original Ark of the Covenant prototype used for the making of Raiders of the Lost Ark. The ark used for the film’s lighting and pyrotechnic testing from Peter Stoltz, the Industrial Light & Magic Visual Effects artist sold for $101,600, well over its original estimate of $50,000. It was previously presented on Antiques Roadshow by the owner's grandson to expert James Supp who identified this as being the closest a collector could get to owning an Ark of the Covenant since the hero prop used in the final version of the film is held by Lucasfilm Archives.

Other highlights included (with winning bids):

• 1981 Kuwahara BMX “Elliot” bike custom made for the production of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial production and film advertisement ($52,000) and Universal Studios Japan "E.T. Adventure" animatronic ($22,750)

• Michael J. Fox "Marty McFly" Back to the Future Part II resizing jacket prop ($32,500)

• The Wizard of Oz Emerald City townsman jacket ($29,250)

• Farrah Fawcett "Holly 13" Logan's Run mini-dress ensemble ($29,250, twenty-nine times its estimate of $1,000)

• Yentl 1983 Best Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Golden Globe award ($22,750, five and a half times its estimate of $4,000)

• Benedict Cumberbatch "Dr. Stephen Strange" Doctor Strange stunt necklace prop ($13,000)

• Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker red Sith Trooper helmet ($22,750)

• Robert John Burke "Officer Alex Murphy/RoboCop" RoboCop ensemble ($16,250)

• Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem "Xenomorph" stunt ensemble ($16,250)