FILM memorabilia, artwork and jewellery are among the “affordable” items belonging to the late Hollywood star Doris Day which are set to go under the hammer.
Day was one of the top box-office draws of the 1950s and 60s owing to her girl-next-door image and distinctively sweet voice.
She is best remembered for starring opposite Rock Hudson in romantic comedies including 1959’s Pillow Talk, as well as for her sitcom The Doris Day Show. The Ohio-born actress died in May last year at the age of 97. Beverly Hills-based Julien’s Auctions is now overseeing a sale of property from her estate, with all of the proceeds going towards her eponymous animal foundation, to which she dedicated most of her later life.
More than 800 lots are going under the hammer.
Items include Day’s classic 1930 Ford convertible seen in the opening credits of her Best Friends television show (£8000-£16,000) and a red lacquer Young Chang upright piano (£1600-£3200) given to Day by her son, music producer Terry Melcher.
Martin Nolan, the executive director of Julien’s Auction, said the sale is unique because of the relatively low guide prices of the items.
He said: “The nice thing about Doris’s auction is everything is really affordable. She wasn’t an elitist when it came to what she collected. It didn’t have to be big names or big artists.
“If she saw a piece of art she loved she got it and she hung it on her wall and lived with it and loved it and enjoyed it. It didn’t have to be Monets and Picassos.”
Other items from Day’s home in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, up for sale include a vintage slag glass floor lamp (£320-£480), a brass embossed elephant jardiniere given to the actress by Hudson (£800-£1,600) and a square painted yellow tole vase, a gift from Sir Paul McCartney, with a guide price of £160-£320.
Day, whose other film roles include Calamity Jane and The Man Who Knew Too Much, was famously devoted to animals.
Julien’s Auctions is one of the world’s biggest auction houses and has handled the sales of items belonging to Michael Jackson, Marilyn Monroe and Amy Winehouse.
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