NEW YORK, NY.- Bonhams and Turner Classic Movies announced the addition of a selection of movie memorabilia from the estate of noted film critic Gene Siskel to the auction, TCM Presents…There’s No Place Like Hollywood, to be held on November 24 at Bonhams New York. Siskel was a longtime film critic for The Chicago Tribune and developed a large fan following of movie lovers. He later partnered with acclaimed film critic, Roger Ebert, to create their eponymous television show, Siskel & Ebert, where they gave opinions on and rated new releases.
Among the highlights of the collection is a selection of items from Spike Lee’s seminal film Do The Right Thing, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. Lee gifted these items to Siskel shortly after the film’s release in 1989, in recognition of the critic’s early support of his work. A star lot is the Promax Super Jumbo Boombox (est. $3,000-5,000), which was carried by actor Bill Nunn in his role as Radio Raheem. The boombox, decorated with Public Enemy stickers, which continually blasting the band’s song “Fight the Power” in the movie, is a central visual motif of the film as well as a catalyst for its tragic climax. Lee inscribed and signed the back of the boombox, “To Gene, Radio Raheem Lives / ‘Fight the Power’ / Love, Spike.”
Also included in the auction is the Sal’s Famous Pizzaria uniform shirt worn by Spike Lee in his role as the protagonist “Mookie” (est. $1,000-1,500) and the baseball bat owned by Sal, played by Danny Aiello (est. $1,000-1,500). Accompanying these lots is a copy of Five for Five, a book about Lee’s films, inscribed by the director, “To / Gene / 'Thumbs / Up to Ya' / love / Spike Stein" (est. $300-500) and a poster for Do The Right Thing, inscribed "To Gene, / I deeply appreciate / all the Hype [smiley face] / Fight the Power / Peace, / Spike Lee" (est. $300-500). The collection of items related to Do The Right Thing is being offered on behalf of a private collector who was gifted the props by Siskel before his passing.
Other lots on offer from the Estate of Gene Siskel include a 39-page transcript of Siskel’s 1972 interview with one of the most influential directors in the history of cinema, Stanley Kubrick. Kubrick annotated this transcript and sent it back to Siskel with a handwritten letter (est. $3,000-5,000). In the interview, Kubrick discusses politics, law enforcement, security, science, filmmaking, the film industry, violence, censorship and his films 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and A Clockwork Orange (1971), providing a valuable insight into his worldview.
Additional directors represented in the collection include Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola. A screenplay of Scorsese’s classic film Mean Streets ($1,000-1,500) was purchased at auction by Siskel, who named it as one of his favorite films. An early draft bearing the movie’s original title, The Season of the Witch, the script is accompanied by 3-page handwritten letter from Scorsese, who donated it to a charity auction. Coppola is represented by an audience questionnaire that was distributed at the first public screening of Apocalypse Now (est. $300-500) in Los Angeles on May 11, 1979; and a copy of the script for The Godfather Part III (est. $300-500).
Pieces from the Estate of Gene Siskel join more than 30 previously announced pieces from Casablanca (1942), such as the iconic piano at which Dooley Wilson sang "As Time Goes By"; the exterior doors from Rick's Café Américain, the nightclub where much of the movie's action takes place; passports, transit papers and other documents created for the film; a final draft screenplay; photos signed by cast members; production memos; an original Casablanca pressbook; and more.
Other items previously announced for the auction include a test dress and pinafore designed for Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz (1939); an Adrian-designed test cape for The Wizard of Oz's flying monkeys; one of Jane Russell's costumes from the Howard Hughes-produced The Outlaw (1943); a costume worn by Rita Hayworth while singing "Amado Mio" in Gilda (1946); costumes worn by Barbra Streisand in the films On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970), The Way We Were (1973) and Yentl (1983); a full-length portrait of silent screen star Rudolph Valentino as the Black Falcon, painted by Federico Armando Beltrán Massés in 1925; and a copy of the Touch of Evil (1958) screenplay owned by producer Albert Zugsmith, and Aragorn's sword and Saruman's staff from The Lord of the Rings trilogy, from the collection of Sir Christopher Lee. Information about the "There's No Place Like Hollywood" auction is available online at www.bonhams.com/tcm.
The auction will be held at Bonhams in New York on Monday, Nov. 24, with preview exhibitions in New York (Nov. 20-24) and at Bonhams' Los Angeles saleroom (Nov. 6-9). As one of the leading authorities on classic film, TCM is curating this year's auction, highlighting the fascinating stories behind the memorabilia and providing the cultural and historical context for each remarkable treasure. In conjunction with the event, TCM will also contribute a portion of the auction proceeds to The Film Foundation, an organization dedicated to protecting and preserving motion picture history.
Last November, TCM and Bonhams teamed up to hold their first auction together, the highly successful What Dreams Are Made Of: A Century of Movie Magic at Auction, as Curated by Turner Classic Movies. The auction included such items as the 1940 Buick Phaeton featured in the dramatic final scene of Casablanca and a Maltese Falcon statuette used in John Huston's classic film, which set a new milestone for a movie prop by drawing a record-setting bid of over $4 million.
Earlier this year, Bonhams returned for the third time as an official partner of the TCM Classic Film Festival. As part of its sponsorship each year, Bonhams hosts a valuation session for select festival passholders on the final day of TCM's annual star-studded gathering. In addition to its complimentary appraisals at the TCM Classic Film Festival, Bonhams hosts an early preview of highlights from upcoming auctions, including rare collectibles associated with festival programming.
