Hollywood: No Laughing Matter

- by Bruce E. McKinney

Lot 3009. 4000 scripts. Est. $200-$300

If you missed you comfortable to see 'culture' and 'Hollywood' in the same sentence and LIKE to read lot 2488 is '10,000+ issues of Film and Hollywood Culture Magazines.' You will never have to buy Hollywood Confidential again at the grocery store check-out. YOU will be the inside source.

For 'students of' as opposed to 'collectors of' Hollywood lot 2491 is your gateway to researching tinsel town. It includes more than 150 general film and TV reference books.

Do you own a barn and feel a hankering to fill it? Lot 2492 will go a long way. It's 140,000 photographs of various stars. Lot 2493 will get you another 500,000 photographs. Lot 2494 will add 60,000 more. And then there is lot 2495. It's 160 cartons [estimated to contain 200,000+] of photographs. If you remember liking your school pictures and trading them with friends here is a chance to go global as a free lance agent. "I'll trade you one Marilyn Monroe for your signed Morely Schaffer and throw in a Captain Kirk." Your world may never be the same.

There are also posters. A typical lot includes about a thousand of them. A small lot includes 300 and a large lot 5,000. There are many such lots and something for every taste. Lot 2774 is a thousand+ adult film posters. Decorators, collectors and eBay resellers will all be buyers of posters, most of which are for wholesome entertainment.

For one and done collectors of James Bond lot 2775 will both begin and end your collecting. Hundreds of posters as well as ancillary material movie material is included.

For older folks lot 2776 is a complete archive of Lucille Ball material. To understand what's included in the lot think of every conceivable item and then multiply by two. You'll be close.

For thirty somethings lot 2777 is a Star Wars archive. I'll give you a hint. You'll never need to buy wallpaper again.

I started this story at lot 2331 so you must be wondering if the lot numbering begins there. The answer is no. It begins at 1. The first two thirds of the sale are photographs of some very famous people. The subjects, sizes and number of photographs vary from a single image to more than 10,000 in a single lot. Here is a random list of the famous, not-so-famous, and the once famous and now forgotton. This is .001 of the list. The number of images is almost beyond calculation.

Joan Bennett

Wallace Beery

Tullulah Bankhead

Clara Bow

Charles Boyer