For Immediate Release
THE DIVINE “MISS M” ANNOUNCES RARE SALE OF
PERSONAL PROPERTY HIGHLIGHTING HER 40-YEAR CAREER
JULIEN’S AUCTIONS BEVERLY HILLS PRESENTS A ONE-TIME OFFERING OF SPECTACULAR COSTUMES, JEWELRY, ART AND PERSONAL PROPERTY OF BETTE MIDLER TO BE AUCTIONED FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE NEW YORK RESTORATION PROJECT
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2011 ”“ SESSIONS BEGIN AT 10AM PST
Beverly Hills, California – October 18, 2011 – Julien’s Auctions, the world’s premier entertainment and celebrity estate auction house will auction an extraordinary collection of personal property from the legendary entertainer Bette Midler on Saturday November 12th.
Midler is one of the few performers who are instantly known by their first name, and is regarded by all as “The Divine Miss M.” Since her debut album in 1972, she has sold over 30 million records worldwide. Her Oscar-nominated role in “The Rose” established her as a premier actress in motion pictures, and she has conquered the worlds of Broadway, television and the concert stage in a career that spans over 40 years.
Her awards include Grammys, Emmys, Tonys, Golden Globes, a People’s Choice Award, Oscar nominations, and record-breaking box office sales for her concert tours. She has played The Palace, The London Palladium, Carnegie Hall, The Met, and arenas and theaters all over the world. She has written two best sellers. Most recently she completed a sold-out, two-year run in Las Vegas in “The Showgirl Must Go On”, and received an Emmy nomination in 2011 for the HBO film of the same name.
The auction will feature some of Ms. Midler’s most iconic and instantly recognizable looks, including her famous mermaid costume, stage costumes designed by Bob Mackie, designer dresses from Valentino, vintage Emilio Pucci, costumes featured on record covers and promotional materials, costumes from her films, outrageous headdresses, spectacular stage sets, sketches, gold records, art, jewelry, and items from her personal collection.
Highlights include:
Bette Midler Performance Costume By Bob Mackie (Est. $2000 – $3000). Created by Bob Mackie for Midler, worn during the Bette! Devine Madness tour. Midler opened the show in this ensemble signing “Big Noise from Winnetka.”
Bette Midler Album Cover Dress (Est. $2000 – $3000). Featured on the back cover of the 1972 debut album The Divine Miss M, and subsequently on the front cover of the 1976 album Songs For The New Depression.
Bette Midler Album Cover Dress By Bob De Mora (Est. $1000 – $1500). This dress was worn by Midler on the cover of the 1998 album Bathhouse Betty. Dress has since been utilized in a video shoot, photo shoots, and live performances.
Bette Midler Performance Jumpsuit (Est. $500 – $700). Worn by Midler during performances of the 1979 ”“ 1980 Bette! Divine Madness tour.
Bette Midler Vegas Showgirl Costume (Est. $2000 – $3000). Worn by Midler during performances of the 2008 ”“ 2010 show at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace Las Vegas, The Showgirl Must Go On.
Bette Midler’s Delores De Lago Costume (Est. $1000 – $1500). Worn by Midler during performances of the 2008 ”“ 2010 show at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace Las Vegas, The Showgirl Must Go On.
Bette Midler Academy Award Gown By Valentino (Est. $1000 – $1500). Designed by Valentino and worn by Midler to the 64th annual Academy Awards in 1992. Midler was nominated for Best Actress for her portrayal of Dixie Leonard in For The Boys.
There is no doubt in the minds of her millions of fans worldwide that Midler reigns as the self-proclaimed “Queen of Trash,” which actually foreshadowed her second passion”“ one she says is the most important work of her life. She is the founder of New York Restoration Project (NYRP), a non-profit organization she created in 1995 when she and her family moved back to New York City and found many of its parks, community gardens and open spaces reduced by abandonment and neglect to a state of complete disrepair. A force of nature herself, she immediately mobilized friends and community leaders and began the now 16-year old greening organization that will benefit significantly from the auction sales.
The Exhibition of The Collection of Bette Midler presented by Julien’s Auctions, Beverly Hills is designed by Rush Jenkins and Klaus Baer, of WRJ Design Associates, who have designed exhibits for The Collection of Michael Jackson, The Estate of Johnny Cash, The Collection of Cher, The Collection of Barbra Streisand and more recently The Estate of Tony Curtis. The Exhibition of The Collection of Bette Midler is free to the public and is open from 10 am ”“ 5 pm on Monday ”“ Saturday from October 31, 2011 ”“ November 11, 2011.
Registering to Bid
Registration is required to bid in this live auction and can be done either in person at the exhibitions and auction or by visiting our Registration page before the sale or by calling (310) 836-1818.
Placing Bids
There are four ways to bid in this sale:
Bid through Julien’s Auctions Online Live in Real Time at JuliensLive.com.
Place bids in the room by attending the auction.
Bid over the telephone through an auction house representative, who sits in the room and conveys the bid to the auctioneer.
Enter Absentee bids. Absentee bid forms are printed in the back of each catalogue, and are also available by calling Julien’s Auctions at (310) 836-1818 or online at our Register to Bid page.
About Julien’s Auctions
With expertise specializing in entertainment memorabilia, Julien’s Auctions has quickly established itself as the premier auction house in high profile celebrity and entertainment auctions. Julien’s Auctions presents exciting, professionally managed and extremely successful auctions with full color high quality auction catalogues unlike any other auction company. Previous auctions include the collections of Cher, U2, Barbara Streisand, the estate of Marilyn Monroe and many more. Official website is www.juliensauctions.com.
Press Contact:
Caroline Galloway
440-591-3807
cngalloway@aol.com or cgalloway@juliensauctions.com
For auction highlight photographs at 300 dpi (and above) or the auction catalog cover artwork, please email requests to:
info@juliensauctions.com or cngalloway@aol.com
Register To Bid: Click Here
Buy The Catalogue: Click Here
I wonder why she’s selling all this stuff? I mean, is this just spring cleaning or does she need the money? I wish I could afford to buy anything. 🙁
Definitely Spring cleaning…..she’s talked about cleaning out her closets for years…..plus anything for NYRP! No worries!
I’m happy that all this will help NYRP but I tend to feel a little sad seeing all those memorable costumes being sold! I know you can’ t take them with you and sooner or later they’ll fall apart(they are clothes after all) but it just leaves me a little sad.
I completely agree with you but I just wanted to emphasize to people that it wasn’t because she was going broke. It’s more like the ending of an era….there will be no other like her…..don’t make me cry James, dammit! lol
The catalog, priced nicely at $50 is absolutely amazing. Not only does it chronicle her career from the Baths through today–the costumes, dresses and jewelry are beautifully photographed, with quite a few pics of Bette in-between. For those of us who can’t really afford to bid (much), the catalog is a must-have for all Betteheads. At almost 200 pages it’s an incredible retrospective that will certainly provide a fun trip down memory lane!
I hope Bette makes a ton of money on this for auction for NYRP. Every item for sale is a show-stopper!
You are so correct….I ordered mine right away….I wasn’t going to miss out on that!
awww Mr. D don’t cry! All it is an end of an era your so right! She’s got plenty more spunk left in her! She’s not done yet!(nor will she for a long time!)
I know james…..just hypersensitive lately…..need to learn to toughen up!
It sounds like a good thing to me…:-)))) She’s just letting go and that is wonderful. She kept the freaking dress for over 40 years, for Christ’s skake! LOL!
Well, you know how it goes…to start something anew we need to let go or even deconstruct some others. Maybe she’s up for something completely new…pole dancing sounds good to me…LOL!
I’m at work and flipping through the pages of the catalog…left my credit card at home (for security reasons, i.e, not buy anthing! LOL). Hope the catalog will be available by the time I get there…anyways, I read what she wrote…It seems those weeks at home resting did make her rethink priorities. 🙂 That’s why she is the only freaking celebrity I love…
Btw, don’t forget she is probably loaded with $$$ for life after that Vegas gig, guys. LOL!
I’m still flipping through…HOLY SHIT! ALL the dresses:-P
OMG! did you see the credits for some of the photos in the catalog???? 😛
No worries! I ordered my Auction catalog today too!
Hi Chris-
What did you read that made you think of her reorganizing her priorities? I would be interested in seeing that. Also i ordered my catalogue too!!
Bette’s been reorganizing her priorities since the birth of Sophie and it’s been no secret to me that she has wantef tp unload all her costumes since Kiss My Brass….she told me….we all change….but I really hate this….but it’s just the natural progression of things….she’ll still outshine them all…
I too feel this is an end of an era & am very very sad. I felt in a way TSMGO was a farewell but this seems to make it official. Bette will always be around and hopefully working, but the era of The Divine Miss M on stage I feel is over. I was not going to order the catalog but after viewing it online and seeing The Magic Lady Dress & Overcoat (and my heart breaking) I ordered it. That segment of Divine Madness, Rainbow Sleeves & You Can’t Always Get What You Want/I Shall Be Released has always been magic for me.Â
I remember the first time I heard the LP The Divine Miss M & the magic door that it opened for me and it’s been a wonderful trip. Whatever Bette does, I will be there listening and watching & Thanking her for the Joy she has given.
Ron, I’ll be there right behind you…..
oh it’s all so amazing i can’t believe she’s selling some of these things! it makes me sad too, mostly to know that these precious items will be in some random person’s house, and when they die their kids will sell theses amazing things at a garage sale for $20. ugh it makes me sick! there should be a bette musuem or something.
Yuk….I didn’t think think that far ahead…..you’re probably right Marissa! 🙁
I just ordered my catalogue too! I think it’s a great piece of history even if I never own any of the costumes. It’ll also give me a chance to really look at the costumes themselves if I should ever get the creative bug to create my own! Lord knows I ain’t 5’1″….
Now that’s a positive outlook!
Oops! I didn’t see that the money was going to NYRP. Well that makes sense. Maybe that will help them get those million trees planted more quickly!