A lightsaber prop with Luke Skywalker’s severed hand from The Empire Strikes Back is expected to sell for seven figures at an upcoming auction of valuables from movies, music and other corners of pop culture.
Hats from The Wizard Of Oz and Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory, hoverboards from Back To The Future II, rugs from The Big Lebowski and a pair of Rocky’s boxing boots are also included at the Hollywood & Entertainment Signature Auction presented by Heritage Auctions from July 13-17.
A major Beatles artefact will also be up for sale: John Lennon’s handwritten lyrics for If I Fell, written on the back of a Valentine card while he was in New York for the Fab Four’s first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. The bidding for it will open at 500,000 dollars (£372,000).
The lightsaber prop, used onscreen by actor Mark Hamill in the climactic Cloud City fight in the 1980 Star Wars sequel – where Darth Vader declares: “I am your father” – includes a severed hand effects rig. It has never been up for auction before, and bidding opens at one million dollars (£744,000).
Bidding starts at 100,000 dollars (£74,000) for a Wicked Witch of the West hat worn by actor Margaret Hamilton in 1939’s The Wizard Of Oz, and at 50,000 dollars (£37,000) for the brown top hat worn by Gene Wilder as the title character in 1971’s Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory.
The auction will also include a pair of boxing boots worn by Sylvester Stallone in Rocky III. Stallone wears the showy boots featuring tassels and a Nike swoosh in the opening montage of the 1982 film. Bids will begin at 100,000 dollars (£74,000).
Also up for sale are the two rugs that are essential to the plot of The Big Lebowski, including the rug belonging to Jeff Bridges’ the Dude that is soiled at the beginning of the 1998 comedy film that “really tied the room together”, and the other that he takes from his wealthy namesake.
Bidding on these items opens at 15,000 dollars apiece (£11,000).
Joe Maddalena, executive vice president of Heritage Auctions, said: “This auction represents the full spectrum of entertainment history, from Hollywood’s Golden Age to modern blockbuster cinema and the most influential moments in popular music.”
Other items up for auction including a Paul Newman hockey jersey from Slap Shot, a necklace worn by the title character in The Bride Of Frankenstein and the inflatable Otto the Autopilot from Airplane!
