CELEBRITY COLLECTORS and Their Private Collections
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Universal Coin & Bullion, Ltd.TM February / March 2008 Supplement INVESTORS PROFIT ADVISORY SPOTLIGHTING OUR NEWEST COLLECTING OPPORTUNITIES CELEBRITY COLLECTORS and Their Private Collections We live in a time where there is a widespread you share a common interest. It probably comes as no fascination with fame and celebrity. To some, this surprise to anyone to know that Dick Clark, the “world’s enchantment with the personal lives of famous people oldest teenager,” has a vast collection of music borders on the obsessive. In the tabloid media, we are daily memorabilia, a large portion of which serves as treated to a litany of personal celebrity details that, more decorations for his American Bandstand Grille restaurant often than not, are scandalous in nature. Other times, when chain. Clark’s restaurants aren’t the only chain to use celebrities are doing promotional tours for their latest entertainment memorabilia collections as a lure to entice project, we usually get the canned publicity presentations customers. Worldwide chains like Hard Rock Café and intended to sell the product. Every once in a while, we catch Planet Hollywood are some of the biggest collectors of all, a personal glimpse of a celebrity that allows us to see them as they constantly search for items to adorn their theme simply as regular people, with human interests to which restaurants. These kinds of businesses, which serve as anyone of us can relate. specialized museums, give the larger public opportunities to see a wide range of collectible items they might One of the ways we can share common ground with the otherwise never get to experience. celebrities we enjoy is through the hobby of collecting. Nowadays, virtually anything is of collectible interest to Still, despite the public nature of these shared someone. Of course there are the obvious items likes sports collections, collecting is still largely a very private and or entertainment memorabilia, antique books, cars, art or personal pursuit, which speaks volumes about individuals, coins. But, these are merely the tip of the proverbial oftentimes in very unexpected ways. For example, did you iceberg. In the past decade or so, know that award-winning actor collecting in general has exploded. Nicholas Cage has been an avid Today, collecting Beanie Babies or Hot collector of comic books since he was a Wheels cars is considered as serious a kid? He even took his stage name from pursuit as collecting Picasso or Tiffany. Hero For Hire comic book character, All of these and more have found their Luke Cage. A short while ago, Cage way into the private collections of parted with some of his favorite comic many of today’s top celebrities. book collectibles at auction selling 141 lots for a total of $1.68 million. In addition to his vast comic book TakingTAKING Their Collections THEIR Public collection, Cage is also an avid Collections Public collector of European sports cars. It is endlessly intriguing to Speaking of cars (and discover what types of things different motorcycles), Tonight Show host Jay people collect. It is even more Leno has one of the most extensive fascinating to find out what celebrities Academy Award winning actor, Nicolas Cage private car collections going and is collect, especially if you find out that has been a long-time collector of rare and widely known as an authority on the vintage comic books and European sports cars. Hulk TV star Lou Ferrigno shares a collecting interest with Patty Duke? Would you believe Beanie Babies? Strange, but true. Even stranger, swashbuckling movie star Johnny Depp collects rare insects and “Dollywood” entrepreneur Dolly Parton collects rare butterflies. Insects and butterflies? Some Singer-Actress, Dolly Parton Collectors consider the E-Type Jaguar XKE a work of art as it combined people will collect anything. collects rare butterflies. elegance and vintage racing technologies in a sophisticated design. Several years ago, when Angelina Jolie was having subject of cars. His collection includes, among many public relations issues in the wake of her divorce from Billy others, a Lamborghini Miura, a Jaguar XKE, a Shelby Bob Thornton, it became public knowledge that she had an Mustang GT 350, Bugattis and Dusenbergs. In a Robb extensive collection of antique knives. The initial media Report article Leno stated, “Car collecting is something I spin fed the growing perception that Jolie was weird enjoy doing.” With over 100 cars and counting in his beyond belief. After all, she was the same woman who wore collection, which is housed in a converted airplane hangar, a vial of Billy Bob’s blood around her neck. The collection it seems Jay may be understating his passion just a touch. of antique knives fueled the fires of her weirdness. COLLECTIBLE CELEBRITIES andand Some Some Collection Collection Surprises Surprises Some celebrities themselves have even become quite collectible with entire industries growing up around the perpetuation of their legend. For example, is there any celebrity more popular and collectible today than Elvis Presley? More than thirty years after his death, his estate still generates more dollars year after year than when he was alive from a vast array of items bearing his likeness. And how about Marilyn Monroe? One would be hard-pressed to identify a more iconic image than Marilyn and the world is still enamored with her more than forty years after her untimely passing. Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Bob Marley, James Dean, Academy Award winner, Angelina Jolie former President John F. has been collecting antique knives since Kennedy and even Albert she was a teenager. Einstein; all of these and more, whose lives and However, after Angelina began an earnest public relations images continue to campaign to repair her damaged reputation, she revealed to fascinate collectors all Barbara Walters on ABC’s 20/20 that her fascination with over the world many years knives began as a young girl after attending a Renaissance after their lives ended. It fair. Seems her interest in knives was symbolic of her deeper continues to surprise us interest in the history of older cultures. In the Walters The Elvis Presley estate continues to how deep and wide is the interview, she stressed that her collection was kept under earn millions each year from passion for collecting. collectible items bearing his image. lock and key so that her young son could not get to them. So, maybe she’s not so crazy after all. But, we wonder if Brad It is not a big stretch of knows where she keeps the key. the imagination to know that rock guitar god Eric Clapton is a big collector of, well, guitars. Or, that famed movie critic Leonard Maltin has an extensive collection of movie memorabilia. But would you have guessed that Incredible CELEBRITIES WHO COLLECT Going all the way back to the first half of the 20th century, famed American composer Jerome Kern built one C INS of the finest private coin collections of that time. Kern, who In this day and age of reality TV shows, if Dancing penned hundreds of hit songs including such standards as With the Stars can be a big hit, why not Coin Collecting “Ol’ Man River” and “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” among With the Stars? We wonder if we can get a meeting with a others, also had a keen eye for “hit” coins. Among the many TV executive to pitch the idea. Perhaps not. But, it is a fact treasures in his collection were an ultra-high-relief 1907 that many famous people have gone public with their Saint Gaudens Double Eagle and a gem proof 1842 small- fascination and love for collecting coins. The list includes date Liberty Seated quarter. Five years after his death, actors, actresses, singers, athletes and many other famous Texas coin dealer B. Max Mehl sold Kern’s celebrities who at one time or another were household collection at a glittering auction in 1950. names across America and even around the world. The list of celebrity coin collectors is long and varied. Take Buddy Ebsen, for example. Best remembered Many became so enamored of the hobby’s excitement, today as Jed Clampett from The Beverly Hillbillies, Ebsen they persevered to become confirmed numismatists. From had a long and successful career on stage and the entertainment world alone, the list includes screen. He famously lost the role of the Tin many famous figures past and present, Man in The Wizard of Oz because of an including the legendary Italian tenor Enrico illness he developed caused by a reaction to Caruso, “Stardust” songwriter Hoagy aluminum dust in his makeup. Still, Carmichael, academy award-winning Buddy Ebsen went on to great success as actress Nicole Kidman, emmy-winning one of America’s best loved actors, and actor John Larroquette, actress-director subsequently became an avid and Penny Marshall and famed talk-show especially knowledgeable coin collector. host Bruce Williams. Ebsen was fond of United States gold coins in particular and accumulated a Williams hosts a widely syndicated complete gold type set, a set of the radio talk show covering financial Panama-Pacific commemorative coins in lifestyle issues. His radio program is so Famed actor, Buddy Ebsen avidly collected their original copper frame and a gem coins including the historic Panama-Pacific popular, he is second only to Rush proof 1879 coiled hair Stella, among Exposition gold commemoratives, like the Limbaugh in terms of audience. In 2002, other notable coins. In 1987, Ebsen sold one pictured above. Talkers magazine selected him as the #6 his collection at a major public auction Greatest Radio and Talk Show Host of and then, perhaps to show he wasn’t abandoning the hobby, All-Time.