Tuesday August 25, 2009
A piece of Michael
By KEE HUA CHEE
A small collection of the King of Pop’s possessions are up for sale.
Suit and tie: A custom red vinyl costume shirt with velcro closures and bodysuit style bottom with a sewn-on black tie. These pieces were worn together during Michael Jackson’s performance of Dangerous at the April 24, 2002, A Night At The Apollo Democratic National Fundraiser. Estimate: US$3,000 to US$5,000. AFTER a false start, fans who had been hoping to own a piece of Michael Jackson memorabilia will finally have the opportunity at an auction at the Hard Rock Cafe New York on Nov 21.
The 10 lots up for bid belong to Jackson’s close friends and relatives instead of his estate, which means the owners can do whatever they like with the goods. With Jackson’s death and interest in him at an all-time high, not surprisingly they are happy to offload such personal possessions for a pretty profit.
In April, while Jackson was still alive, he sued to stop an auction of more than 2,000 items from his Neverland ranch.
Auctioneer to the stars Darren Julien, who had also planned the previous sale, is adamant the auction will proceed without a hitch this time.
“We returned all the items belonging to Michael Jackson to him last April. These new 10 items were consigned to us by people who received them from Michael. When it is a friend or consignor of Michael’s who gives us permission to give out their information, we include it in the description. We are very thorough as to the authenticity of anything we sell. We MUST know where the item came from and have a photograph of Michael with the item if available. If we cannot prove that it is 100% authentic, we don’t bring it in. Many of the items that we have or which are coming in are from various Jackson family members,” says Julien in an e-mail.
Left-handed glove: Michael Jackson’s glove from his 1983 performance of Billie Jean at the Motown 25 TV special. This is a left-handed glove. Estimate: US$40,000 to US$60,000. Some items are also from close friends who have known Jackson for years and even decades. Take the most important and valuable item to be sold: the celebrated white crystal glove from his historic Motown 25 television special performance in 1983. This piece is particularly important and expensive (estimated at US$40,000 to US$60,000 / RM142,000 to RM212,000) as he wore it when he performed the moonwalk for the first time.
It is being offered for auction by Walter “Clyde” Orange, who has personally endorsed and confirmed the glove’s authenticity with an accompanying letter: “I, Walter ‘Clyde’ Orange, a founding member of The Commodores, knew Michael Jackson and his family from the first time The Commodores toured with the Jackson 5 as their opening act in the summer of 1971. We played 40 US concerts with them, travelling coast to coast with the Jackson family and on subsequent tours.
“At that time and in the years to follow, Michael and I had a long running joke whenever we saw one another. In his humble way, he would refuse to give me his autograph, saying I was more famous than he was. He never did give me his autograph!
“Years later in 1983, we both performed at Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever tribute show. He stole the show that night during his performance of Billie Jean, in what has now become the famous night he debuted the moonwalk and changed the face of music and dance, catapulting him to superstardom.
“After the performance, Michael came up behind me and put both hands over my eyes and said, ‘Guess who?’ I knew who it was because I felt the one glove on his left hand and no glove on the other. When I once again asked him for his autograph, Michael gave me the glove he wore that night instead, still refusing to give me his autograph! He was always a real prankster, even as a little boy, so I asked him if he was serious about giving me the glove, and he assured me he was. Remember, it was not yet a trademark for him.
Bad mouse: Pen on paper (43cm x 35cm) artwork dated 1998 and signed by Michael Jackson. Here Mickey Mouse is drawn in a Bad era Michael Jackson. Jackson is known to have loved Mickey Mouse and for his fascination with Walt Disney. Estimate: US$2,000 to US$3,000. “Whenever I saw him after that, I teased that I would return the glove in exchange for his autograph, but he always refused, and then jokingly asked for my autograph. I have always taken very good care of this glove since that historic night at Motown 25 and Michael and his family will always have a special place in my heart.”
Other MJ memorabilia include Michael Jackson’s Platinum Award for Bad (estimated at US$700 to US$900 / RM2,500 to RM3,200) and the Bad World Tour jacket (US$8,000 to US$10,000 / RM28,300 to RM35,400) which were given to recording industry executive Tony Martell to be auctioned in 1989 to benefit the TJ Martell Foundation for Leukemia, Cancer and AIDS Research.
His Apollo Theatre jacket (US$3,000 to US$5,000 / RM10,600 to RM17,700) was given as an engagement present to his backstage colleague in 2002 together with the matching white shirt with forearm brace (US$1,000 to US$1,500 / RM3,540 to RM5,300).
His fedora hat is owned by ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley Jackson with an original letter she signed dated Dec 5, 1995: “This letter accompanies the hat purchased at the 1995 Celebrity Golf Tournament held in La Quinta, California. This is an authentic Michael Jackson hat, the hat Michael wore at the 1995 MTV Music Awards.”
The new owner will also get three backstage “talent” passes to the 1995 Video Music Awards on metal lanyards, each with the initials “MJ”.
Other consignors prefer to keep their identity a secret but the auction is expected to heat up and fetch astounding prices as this is the first official sales of MJ memorabilia. Billed as the “Music Icons” auction, it will also feature items that once belonged to other late greats like Elvis Presley, Kurt Kobain, Jimi Hendrix and John Lennon.
Related Story:
The big glove-in
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