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LOS ANGELES: Fine art, jewelry and Hollywood memorabilia owned by Tony Curtis — including the yachtsman jacket he wore in Some Like It Hot — brought in over US$1 million (RM3.1 million) on the auction block last Saturday, Sept 17, more than twice the presale estimates.
Curtis, who enjoyed a 60-year career in show business before his death in 2010 at age 85, appeared in more than 100 films and received an Oscar nomination for the 1958 drama The Defiant Ones. He was an art lover and painter as well.
The estate items on sale at Julien's Auctions in Beverly Hills featured property Curtis acquired throughout his life, from the time he served in the US Navy during World War II to the 2000s. The presale estimate on the collection was US$500,000.
Highlights included the Andy Warhol Some Like It Hot shoe lithograph, signed by Warhol to Curtis around 1955, which sold for US$53,125; the Some Like It Hot yachtsman jacket, which sold for US$46,875; and a signed Marc Chagall coloured lithograph, which raised US$23,125.
Collectibles on offer also included earthenware vases by Pablo Picasso, which fetched US$20,625, and a sterling silver cigarette case from the John Kennedy/Lyndon Johnson inauguration, which sold for US$6,875.
Curtis' Hollywood Walk of Fame plaque brought in US$10,000.
Among Curtis' most memorable movies were the Billy Wilder comedy Some Like It Hot, co-starring Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe. His credits include Spartacus, The Boston Strangler and The Defiant Ones, in which he played a white prison escapee who is chained to a black man, portrayed by Sidney Poitier.
While his Hollywood career was glamourous, Curtis' personal life was racked by turmoil and change. He was married five times. His first and most famous wife was actress Janet Leigh.
A portion of the proceeds from the auction will benefit Shiloh Horse Rescue, a charitable organisation founded by Curtis and his wife Jill, that rescues and rehabilitates abused, neglected and slaughter-bound horses. — Reuters
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