bluesky
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Morbid but true: The more tragic a celebrity’s death, the more his or her stuff will be worth after death. Just look atMichael Jackson. The King of Pop was only 50 when he died in 2009 as he was gearing up for a massive comeback tour. And while lawyers are still arguing over who caused Jackson’s death, fans and collectors have been bidding up the value of Jackson’s stuff. In June, the red and black jacket that Jackson wore in his “Thriller” video sold for $1.8 million.That was the most expensive sale in an auction of music memorabilia that brought in a total of $3.6 billion. Also sold that day were Frank Sinatra’s Jaguar ($23,750), Elvis Presley’s original “TCB” necklace ($17,920) and one of Jimi Hendrix’s wah-wah pedals ($11,250).
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Photos: The 15 Top-Earning Dead Celebrities9 imagesPhotos: Near Misses
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Photos: Dead Celebrities-In Memoriam</aside>
The sale didn’t take place at Sotheby’s or Christie’s but at Julien’s Auctions, a seven-year-old auction house in Beverly Hills that has developed a reputation as the auction house to the stars.Darren Julien got his start auctioning off cars and memorabilia in Indiana in the ’90s. He eventually moved to Los Angeles to work for Sotheby’s but the company decided to discontinue its collectibles department to focus on more highbrow auctions. Christie’s also mostly backed away from the business, leaving Julien with a golden opportunity.His first celebrity affair was in 2004, when he auctioned a collection of Barbra Streisand’s gowns and furniture to benefit the star’s charity. Julien quickly gained a reputation among Hollywood celebrities.Julien, 42, says that in the last three years, business has exploded. Much of the growth is due to his expansion into Asia. Julien’s is the only American auction house that has permission from the Chinese government to conduct auctions on the mainland as opposed to in Hong Kong.“There’s so much money is Asia right now,” says Julien. “They love Western pop culture. Collectors are spending money on these items as investments. They’re putting Elvis in the same category as fine art.”For good reason. A black cocktail dress worn by Marilyn Monroe that Christie’s sold in 1999 for $21,000 recently sold at a Julien’s auction for $400,000. Julien believes that because of the growing Asian market, the value of celebrity memorabilia is just going to keep going up. Last year Julien’s Auctions sold $20 million worth of stuff. The company takes a 15% to 20% commission and pays for the cost of exhibiting, marketing and running the auctions.In order to get the best price for any item it helps to have a good story. For example Julien thought an armadillo lamp Cher was selling would be an auction loser until he heard that Kiss front man Gene Simmons bought it for the pop star when they were dating. The lamp sold for $6,000.The best stories tend to be about items from stars who have died. A big part of that is because those stars will no longer be signing autographs, wearing gowns or collecting gold records. Suddenly each item, no matter how kitsch, takes on special meaning.Julien believes that lots of stories will help make an upcoming auction of Elizabeth Taylor’s jewels and art a massive success. The auction is expected to bring in $30 million.
But unlike most recent celebrity auctions, this one won’t take place at Julien’s. Christie’s will be overseeing the auction on Dec. 16. The auction house had a longstanding with Taylor when she was alive.
“Few celebrities have had a life like she had,” says Julien. “It’s going to be one for the record books.”
http://www.forbes.com/sites/dorothypomerantz/2011/10/25/auction-house-to-the-dead-stars/2/
But unlike most recent celebrity auctions, this one won’t take place at Julien’s. Christie’s will be overseeing the auction on Dec. 16. The auction house had a longstanding with Taylor when she was alive.
“Few celebrities have had a life like she had,” says Julien. “It’s going to be one for the record books.”
http://www.forbes.com/sites/dorothypomerantz/2011/10/25/auction-house-to-the-dead-stars/2/