LOS ANGELES, CA.- Captain Kangaroos Bunny Rabbit and Mr. Moose puppets, the only other pair outside the Smithsonian, obtained directly from Bob Keeshan in the 1990s, will be auctioned September 26th, at the same auction house where Captain Kangaroos "Dancing Bear" costume sold for $207,019 in May.
The Nate D. Sanders Auction House expects these puppets to sell for around the same amount.
Original Captain Kangaroo's Bunny Rabbit & Mr. Moose Puppets Obtained Directly from Bob Keeshan
Also, being auctioned:
1. The largest collection of Al Capp Lil Abner comic art held privately over 500 items
2. The Three Stooges Moe Howards items from his estate including his handwritten Stooges development notes, his movie studio ID and his watches
3. Leonardo DiCaprios signature costume from Titanic
4. An American flag carried on the first lunar mission, Apollo 11, signed by Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins
5. Academy Award awarded to Joseph Schildkraut for Best Supporting Actor in ''The Life of Emile Zola''
7. . Basketball Hall of Fame ring awarded to Chet The Jet Walker upon his September 2012 induction
8. Jaime Ortiz-Patino's silver-gilt 1997 Ryder Cup golf trophy
"This auction has the very best in movie memorabilia, television memorabilia, space memorabilia and sports memorabilia and most will sell in the tens of or hundreds of thousands of dollars, Nate D. Sanders said.
Regarding Captain Kangaroo, the three main characters of the program were Mr. Moose, Bunny Rabbit and Dancing Bear, each created and played by puppeteer Cosmo Allegretti, who sadly passed away in August at the age of 86.
As a kind of yin and yang in personality, Bunny Rabbit was a more shy trickster who stole carrots from the Captain's coat, while Mr. Moose made loud jokes in a high-pitch voice and chucked ping pong balls at the Captain regularly.
Each puppet is custom-made and both impeccably cared for over the past 25 years in a climate and humidity-controlled facility.
Initial bidding closes at 5pm PST on September 26th.