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Profiles in History was an auction house in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1985 by Joseph Maddalena, who is an auctioneer and dealer of authentic and original collectibles, including Hollywood memorabilia, historical autographs, letters, documents, vintage signed autographs, and manuscripts. Maddalena was the company's president and CEO. It became defunct in January 2021 when Maddalena joined former rival Heritage Auctions. [1]
Profiles in History held Hollywood and historical auctions throughout the year.
In October 2014, Profiles in History held their largest Hollywood memorabilia auction to date. [2] The auction included Ian McKellan's "Gandalf The White" staff from The Lord of the Rings Trilogy , [3] [4] the "Indiana Jones" whip used in the 1981, 1984, and 1989 Indiana Jones movies, [5] and Leonardo DiCaprio's "Jack Dawson" "King of The World" coat from Titanic .
In July 2013, the auction house presented a collection of Lucille Ball memorabilia as part of their second of two Drier Collection auctions. [6]
On June 18, 2011, Profiles in History launched the first of a series of auctions of Debbie Reynolds' collection of Hollywood memorabilia. [7] In June 2011, the auction house garnered $5.52 million for Marilyn Monroe's "Subway" dress from The Seven Year Itch . [8] The dress broke the Guinness world record for the most expensive dress sold at auction. [9] $4.4 million was secured for the Audrey Hepburn "Ascot" dress from My Fair Lady . [10] In December 2011, the Panavision PSR 35mm camera that George Lucas used for principal photography on the first Star Wars film in 1977 was sold at auction for $625,000, a record price for a movie camera. [11]
Eight lots of Albert Einstein material, including an unpublished poem, were sold at Profiles in History's historical auction held in Calabasas, California, in December 2014. The sale also included a total of seven Abraham Lincoln items, including the desk Lincoln used in 1840–42 during his last term in the Illinois State House of Representatives and an autograph letter he wrote on August 17, 1860, to Thurlow Weed; a collection of 27 crime scene and autopsy photos of Bonnie Elizabeth Parker and Clyde Barrow (Bonnie and Clyde); and an autograph letter from Thomas Jefferson written while he was vice president. [12]
After realizing over $6 million [13] in sales for the first "The Property of A Distinguished American Private Collector" auction in December 2012, the company held a second in May 2013, offering notable letters and manuscripts. The second auction garnered national attention for the sale of Marilyn Monroe's undated letter to Lee Strasberg. [14] Additional highlights from the auction included two large photograph albums documenting Mussolini's visit to Hitler in Germany in 1937, a one-page autograph letter in English by Karl Marx, and an 1805 autograph letter by Ludwig van Beethoven to opera singer Friedrich Sebastian Mayer. [15]
Hollywood Treasure premiered on the Syfy channel on October 27, 2010, and featured Profiles in History president and CEO, Joseph Maddalena, and the company's head of acquisitions and consignment, Brian Chanes, among the cast. The weekly reality series, produced by Maddalena, examined the culture of showbiz collectors and pop culture memorabilia. The series ran for two seasons and ended in 2012.
The company is also known for auctions of iconic movie automobiles. In May 2011, Profiles in History sold the working Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car. [24] The rare Delorean from Back to the Future Part III was sold in December 2011, [25] while the Risky Business Porsche 928 prop car was sold in August 2012. [26]
In July 2003, Profiles in History became the Guinness World Record holder for the most expensive Superman costume from the 1955 television series Adventures of Superman , sold at the auction for $129,800. [27]
Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds was an American actress, singer, and businesswoman. Her career spanned almost 70 years. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer with her portrayal of Helen Kane in the 1950 film Three Little Words. Her breakout role was her first leading role, as Kathy Selden in Singin' in the Rain (1952). Her other successes include The Affairs of Dobie Gillis (1953), Susan Slept Here (1954), Bundle of Joy, The Catered Affair, and Tammy and the Bachelor (1957), in which her performance of the song "Tammy" topped the Billboard music charts. In 1959, she starred in The Mating Game and released her first pop music album, titled Debbie.
The ruby slippers are a pair of shoes worn by Dorothy Gale as played by Judy Garland in the 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical film The Wizard of Oz. Because of their iconic stature, they are among the most valuable items of film memorabilia. A number of pairs were made for the film, though the exact number is unknown. Five pairs are known to have survived; one pair was stolen from a museum in 2005 and recovered in 2018.
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). An adaptation of L. Frank Baum's 1900 children's fantasy novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, it was primarily directed by Victor Fleming, who left production to take over the troubled Gone with the Wind. It stars Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Billie Burke and Margaret Hamilton. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, while others made uncredited contributions. The music was composed by Harold Arlen and adapted by Herbert Stothart, with lyrics by Edgar "Yip" Harburg.
Jean Louis was a French-American costume designer. He won an Academy Award for The Solid Gold Cadillac (1956).
William Travilla, known professionally as Travilla, was an American costume designer for theatre, film, and television. He is perhaps best known for designing costumes for Marilyn Monroe in eight of her films, as well as two of the most iconic dresses in cinematic history.
Film memorabilia are objects considered of value because of their connection to the cinema. These include costumes, props, advertising posters, and scripts, among other things. Fans have always coveted memorabilia, but in recent years, what was once a hobby has mushroomed into big business, with millions of dollars changing hands in auctions held by such top firms as Christie's and Sotheby's. In addition, many popular films have their collectible items sold via independent, online movie memorabilia stores, web auctions, and at film studio charity events.
Shot Marilyns is a series of silkscreen paintings produced in 1964 by Andy Warhol, each canvas measuring 40 inches square, and each a portrait of Marilyn Monroe.
Karl Slover was a Slovakian-born American actor best known as one of the Munchkins in The Wizard of Oz (1939). Only three other adult Munchkin performers remained alive at the time of Slover's death.
Alexander Autographs is an auctioneer of Nazi memorabilia, historic militaria, autographs, manuscripts, relics, and other collectibles. Based in Chesapeake City, Maryland, the auction house first opened to bidders in 1993. Patrons can attend auctions in the traditional floor style in the company's Maryland offices, or they can bid via a phone proxy, or use the internet to bid in real-time.
Julien's Auctions is a privately held auction house based in Beverly Hills, California founded in 2003 by Darren Julien and co-owned with Martin Nolan. They specialize in auctions of film memorabilia, music memorabilia, sports memorabilia, Fashion and street and contemporary art. Julien's Auctions has received attention for their auctions of various high-profile items. They have handled collections and estates from entertainers such as Marilyn Monroe, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Banksy, Cher, Bob Mackie, Michael Jackson, Tompkins and Bush, Slash, Ronnie Wood, Bill Wyman, Frank Zappa, Greta Garbo, Nirvana, Hugh Hefner, Sharon Tate, Pele, Elvis Presley, Burt Reynolds, Johnny Cash, Neil Young, Sylvester Stallone, Frank Sinatra, Whitney Houston, Prince, Madonna, Olivia Newton-John, Bette Midler, Mae West, Barbra Streisand, Jane Fonda, Aretha Franklin, Janet Jackson, Amy Winehouse, Elizabeth Taylor, Doris Day, Betty White, Don McLean and Fleetwood Mac. The auction house's first placement was in 2009 for the sale of one of Michael Jackson's bejeweled white gloves which sold for $420,000.
Georgie Stoll was a musical director, conductor, Academy Award-winning composer, and jazz violinist, associated with the Golden Age of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals and performers from the 1940s to 1960s. He was also later credited as George E. Stoll.
Kent Phillip Warner was a costume designer, best known for finding and acquiring the ruby slippers from the film The Wizard of Oz.
Marilyn Monroe wore a white dress in the 1955 film The Seven Year Itch, directed by Billy Wilder. It was created by costume designer William Travilla and worn in the movie's best-known scene. The image of it and her above a windy subway grating has been described as one of the most iconic images of the 20th century.
Marilyn Monroe wore a shocking pink dress in the 1953 film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, directed by Howard Hawks. The dress was created by costume designer William "Billy" Travilla and was used in one of the most famous scenes of the film, which subsequently became the subject of numerous imitations, significantly from Madonna in the music video for her 1985 song "Material Girl".
Todd Emmanuel Fisher is an American director, cinematographer, producer and actor of television films and documentaries. Fisher is the son of singer Eddie Fisher and actress Debbie Reynolds and brother of actress Carrie Fisher.
The Cowardly Lion is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. He is depicted as an African lion, but like all animals in Oz, he can speak.
Tracey Bell is a Canadian comedian, impersonator, and impressionist. She is the creator of the one-woman show, "8 Divas in 44 Minutes" and known for her live impersonations of celebrities like Cher, Marilyn Monroe, Madonna, Liza Minnelli, Tina Turner, Janis Joplin, Celine Dion, and Dolly Parton.
RR Auction is an auction house established in 1976 by Bob Eaton. The company headquarters is in Boston with a production office based in Amherst, New Hampshire. The company is known for its monthly auctions of historical documents, manuscripts, autographs, artifacts, sports collectibles, spaceflight memorabilia, presidential items and more. The auction house has developed a worldwide client base and publishes monthly catalogs in print and online via issuu.
In the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, American entertainer Judy Garland wears a blue-and-white dress in her seminal role as Dorothy Gale for all of her appearances throughout the film. Also nicknamed the "Dorothy dress" after the character, it was designed for the film by MGM costume designer Adrian, who based it on L. Frank Baum's description of Dorothy's dress in his children's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900). Several copies of the dress were made for Garland to wear during production, which were styled to make her appear younger and thinner on camera. The complete outfit consists of a checked blue-and-white gingham pinafore worn over a cream-colored blouse. It is often paired with ruby slippers, another famous clothing item from the film.