Elvis Lives, Cobain Too, at Rock ‘n’ Roll Auction

In the auction catalog, it simply looked like an empty plastic hair-dye bottle that you might find in any trash bin.

But this was billed as the late Kurt Cobain’s hair color bottle, owned and used by the rock star himself. And it sold for $175 on Saturday at an auction of rock ‘n’ roll memorabilia that drew professional collectors and amateur rock fans in search of old posters, autographs, gold records and more esoteric bric-a-brac.

A set of Elvis Presley’s used bedsheets brought $475. Five pieces of licorice with a Beatles theme went for $300. A black-and-gold bustier worn by Madonna sold for $4,000.

And the audience broke into applause when a white jumpsuit, “personally owned and stage-worn” by Elvis himself, sold for $50,000 to a Los Angeles film producer.

In all, more than 1,150 pieces were to be offered for sale at the two-day “Best of Rock ‘n’ Reel” auction at the Executive Collectibles Gallery. Saturday’s focus was on rock, while Hollywood memorabilia and posters are to be auctioned today.

The event stirred controversy last week when rocker Courtney Love announced she hoped to legally block the sale of items that belonged to Cobain, her late husband and leader of the band Nirvana. Cobain, who wrestled with drug addiction, killed himself in 1994. Love said she was disgusted by the planned sale, which included a discharge slip from a drug rehabilitation center.

The gallery’s attorneys determined the auction was legal, sales manager Jeff McElhaney said Saturday.

“The company sympathizes with her loss,” he said. But he said the gallery had a responsibility to go ahead with the sale.

The Cobain portion of the auction proved uneventful. The rocker’s bill from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for medical procedures on his chest and head--matted with a photograph of Cobain--sold for $425. The man who bought them declined to comment, saying he was buying “for someone who wants to remain anonymous.”

Other Cobain possessions, including a coin collection and a cable bill, were purchased by collector Ron Moore of Boulder, Colo., who said they were intended for a friend who likes Seattle-style grunge rock.

The memorabilia of stars who died tragically seemed especially popular, and bidding was brisk on an autograph and photograph of Jimi Hendrix that sold for $1,300.

And a silk scarf that once belonged to Buddy Holly was snapped up by Costa Mesa resident Bobby Daniels for $325. He called the price astonishingly low for a scarf associated with a musician of Holly’s caliber.

“Something like that, you can’t put a price on it,” said Daniels, who said he may give the scarf to a musician friend. “I could never sell it. I’d give it away,” he said.

Daniels speculated that the items would be drawing much higher prices if the auction were better attended or it were held in a high-rolling venue such as Las Vegas.

About 100 people were in the audience Saturday afternoon, some on phones with long-distance bidders.

Nearly all were men, many in rock-concert T-shirts and ponytails.

No total sales figures were available late Saturday, but a gallery official said the event was the most successful rock auction it has held.

Charlie Casella, representing the Hard Rock Cafe, expected to buy as many as 75 items for display in the rock-theme restaurants. He repeatedly raised his blue bidder’s card, buying up a string of Beatles items.

Some collectors simply shook their heads, saying they couldn’t compete with the Hard Rock Cafe.

“If they want it, they’re going to get it,” said Moore.

The biggest excitement came with the sale of the Elvis jumpsuit to David Stutman of Venice, who said he purchased it on behalf of a friend in San Diego.

Stutman anticipated spending $30,000 to $50,000 himself at the auction, and by mid-afternoon had successfully bid on a potpourri of items--a chair from Presley’s Graceland mansion, a Grateful Dead poster, a Jeff Beck poster.

Some items he would give as gifts, he said, and some he would display at his home or office.

“It’s just to enjoy,” he said.