Elvis Fever : Fans of the King Flock to See Memorabilia Being Sold at Auction
Merchant seaman Elvis Presley McLure gaped at the blue “Good Luck” stage suit, circa 1972, Hawaii. Celeb Dick Clark, his beeper-bedecked, note-taking assistant in tow, seemed impressed by the .357 Magnum, Model 66 Smith & Wesson revolver with customized 14-karat gold TCB logo. Fatburger counterman Tony Barbieri was struck by the tree limb from Graceland, which, according to an auction catalogue, “mysteriously” fell to the ground during the King’s 1977 funeral. “It’s like the Elvis truck stop, the Elvis yard sale,” Barbieri said. “I mean a tree limb? They’re really scrounging.”
May 4, 1994. For some Los Angeles residents, it will be remembered as the one-week anniversary of Richard Nixon’s funeral. For others, the day before Cinco de Mayo. But for the steady stream that flowed into the Butterfield & Butterfield auction house on Sunset Boulevard, it will go down in history as opening day of the public display of more than 600 Elvis-related treasures and trinkets that will be auctioned in Las Vegas next month.
The sale of personal Elvis memorabilia collected over the years by Elvis Presley Museum owner Jimmy Velvet is certainly not the first of its type. With the larger-than-life entertainer handing out possessions ranging from cars to combs to carbines to his friends, family and minions, previous Southland auctions have included Elvis makeup cases, watches, pistols, Panteras, police ID cards and love letters. Indeed, two years ago, one Los Angeles TV memorabilia collector said he was offered plaque scraped from the King’s teeth (circa the skinny years) by a Beverly Hills dentist.
Nevertheless, the June 18 and 19 auction is being billed as the granddaddy of them all (at least to date). Officials of the international auction house, long known for selling art treasures but having branched out in recent years to celebrity items including Sammy Davis Jr.’s medallions and Liberace’s candelabra, say the Elvis collection is worth $2 million and $4 million.
“It’s an American phenomenon, it goes along with the Kennedy thing,” said Ben Latting, a retired Hollywood bookseller who stopped in out of curiosity after having breakfast down the street. “It’s part of American culture, shall we say.
“If people line up to see the ‘Weeping Women of Picasso,’ there’ll be lines for this,” said Latting, an opera buff, as he stood next to Elvis’ signed 1973 American Express card (estimated value $5,000 to $8,000). “This they’ll never see again.”
Some die-hard Elvis fans played hooky from work to make the 10 a.m. opening day kickoff.
“I had to be here this morning,” said 59-year-old Ventura grandmother Mary Cage, who skipped work at her family’s swimming pool business. “Elvis had a great talent and he exuded sex as far as I’m concerned.
“I just love the Mercedes-Benz limo. I have to think of him taking hold of the car handle and opening it and getting into it.”
Others on hand included direct mail merchandisers in search of dollars and comedians in search of material.
“If they opened a Church of Elvis, people would go, believe me,” said Tom Daniel, 42, president of a firm that hawks Elvis videotapes and audiotapes on TV infomercials.
Daniel said he had come to check for items worth buying for resale. “It’s always a bull market for Elvis, wherever you go, they’re selling Elvis items.”
Indeed, many in the crowd seemed prepared to part with a hunka, hunka burning cash when the auction is held after the five-day Los Angeles display and additional previews in San Francisco, New York and London.
“I’m nostalgic and was moved by the boat named after his mother, his bedroom set and his credenza. I may bid on that,” said Mike Mintz, a Palos Verdes cemetery lot salesman.
Peter and Janice Spitzer of Woodland Hills contemplated backstage passes and scarves. “Something in our ballpark,” said Peter, who carried their 3-year-old granddaughter, Brittany, in his arms.
Except for the strains of “(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear” and “Love Me Tender” in the background, the display rooms exuded the air of a courtly museum as Elvis fans leisurely contemplated the King’s leather-bound family Bible (Lot No. 288, est. $2,000/$3,000), birth record (Lot. No. 158, est. $50,000/$80,000) and patriotic red, white and blue karate outfit (Lot No. 311, $2,000/$2,500).
“I love it, especially the jukebox,” said Elvis Presley McLure, who legally changed his name seven years ago and sported a tattoo of the thin Elvis on his forearm.
One of the few viewers in a hurry was Clark, who refused to comment on Elvis, the auction or anything else.
“We’ve got to get to a plane very quickly,” Clark’s aide said as the pair scurried between display cases crammed with guns and nautical neo-style personalized sunglasses.
Yet for all those who came to gawk at the collectibles, others came to bury them.
“A lot of people in Los Angeles are interested in kitsch,” said house painter Jerry Goldbaum, 29. “Our parents’ generation collected Louis Quatorze stuff. For whatever reason, the self-reverential baby boomer generation is into collecting stuff they barely remember.”
Goldbaum, wearing a leather jacket and a Boston Bruins hockey cap, accompanied Barbieri, whom he had met at the Sammy Davis Jr. auction.
“I’ll be back for the Kurt Cobain one too,” Barbieri said. “I’m looking for something in flannel.”