'Baywatch' Jacket, KITT Car, Other Hasselhoff Memorabilia Featured In 'Legends' Auction
BEVERLY HILLS (CBSLA.com) — "The Hoff" will take his place among a pantheon of Hollywood icon memorabilia set to go on the auction block Friday.
KNX 1070's Margaret Carrero reports the "Hollywood Legends" auction at Julien's Auctions in Beverly Hills could fetch up to $3 million for this year's offerings.
Items like Marilyn Monroe's Mexican tapestry from her Brentwood home, Bruce Lee's Game of Death shoes, and a signed SAM member card belonging to Harry Houdini will be featured in the auction, along with a Charlie Chaplin self-portrait and a cape worn by John Barrymore in "Romeo & Juliet", according to Dareen Julien, president and CEO of Julien's Auctions.
But perhaps the auction's most popular offerings will be those items from the career of actor, singer, and producer David Hasselhoff: the star of TV's "Baywatch" and "Knight Rider" was, according to Julien, acknowledged in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most watched television star of all time.
Possibly the most coveted item in the Hasselhoff collection is the actor's personal KITT car, which was given to Hasselhoff by fans of the 1980s TV series. The 1986 Pontiac Firebird has a souped-up V8 engine with carburetor, brand new tires and paint, Lamborghini-style doors, air bags, and full "KITT" customization.
Some fans were disappointed to learn Hasselhoff reportedly backed down from a decision to auction off a 14-foot-long lifelike model of himself, complete with trademark red swimming trunks and tufts of simulated back hair.
Still, Julien expects other items like the actor's German BRAVO Award, his personal Harley Davidson motorcycle, and Baywatch lifeguard jacket will be enough to draw the hardcore Hasselhoff faithful, including "no question a big crowd from Germany."
Various artifacts from the legendary Chasen's restaurant - which opened in 1936 and regularly served Hollywood Golden Age luminaries like Frank Sinatra, Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart - will also be up for bidding, including Chasen's dining chairs, arm chairs, wall sconces, serving items, Chasen's Yamaha piano and even its doors and window shutters.
With ongoing volatility in the stock market, Julien said more people are investing money in film and television memorabilia.
"You get the avid fan that just can't live without an item bidding against somebody that's a museum or an investor, so it really helps the prices skyrocket," Julien said.
Anywhere between 3,000 to 10,000 people were expected to participate in the auction, which runs through Saturday, according to Julien.
Fans can submit bids in real time through Julien's Auctions Online at JuliensLive.com.