‘Brokeback’ shirts for sale on EBay

If you can’t get to “Brokeback Mountain” on your own, you can still come away with more than a lousy T-shirt as a souvenir. A local children’s charity was given the shirts worn by actors Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal early in the Academy Award-nominated film and is auctioning them on EBay.

By midday Monday, bidding was already at $17,000 for the two garments, which have quickly achieved a weepy symbolic status among the film’s many fans. The auction ends Feb. 20.

“We’re overwhelmed by the bidding,” said Maria Schmidt, executive director of Variety -- The Children’s Charity of Southern California. “This is already way over what any of us thought the shirts would bring.”

The charity periodically auctions off Hollywood memorabilia. Until now, its biggest windfall came from putting the VW Beetle from “Herbie: Fully Loaded” on the block, which raised $24,000.

Initial bidding for the western wear, which appears again at the end of the film as a symbol of love and loss, has been strong.

“They are so iconic,” said Dennis White, 48, of Seattle, who bid $17,000 for the garments. “They are like the ruby slippers.”

The charity obtained the shirts from a board member with close connections to Focus Features, the film’s distributor, Schmidt said.

Not everything on Variety’s EBay website is so expensive: a pair of motocross pants worn by Vin Diesel while filming “XXX” were available for less than $60 at press time.

The local chapter is one of Variety’s 49 international chapters in 13 countries dedicated to aiding children in need. The charity, which is not connected to the entertainment trade publication of the same name, has raised more than $1 billion since its founding in 1927. Locally, Variety has contributed to institutions including Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, Mattel Children’s Hospital at UCLA and various boys and girls clubs.

To participate or watch the bidding, visit www.ebay.com/varietyskids.