Debbie Reynolds’ Memorabilia Auction A Resounding Success

In 1970, movie legend Debbie Reynolds began to collect the costumes that defined Hollywood. She went to the MGM auction and bought everything she could. She held one of the biggest personal movie memorabilia collections in the world.

The world record for a dress being sold was $1.4 million, and that was one of Marilyn Monroe’s dresses in 1999.

On Saturday night, the most famous dress in history, Marilyn’s white dress from the film “The Seven Year Itch,” sold for $4.6 million. Reynolds said she bought the dress for only $200.

The Wizard of Oz, Ruby slippers from the film “The Wizard of Oz,” sold for $510,000, and the Dorothy Dress worn by Judy Garland sold for $910,000.

At the auction, there was an additional 20 percent buyers’ 1 premium, tax and fees added onto all items. Which brought totals, such as Monroe’s dress, to more than $5 million.

Reynolds was asked how she felt about auctioning off all her prized possessions.

“I’m a fan of all of these great stars and I wanted to save their moment for a museum for the future. I did not reach that goal and that makes me sad, but these things will be shared with people that love the stars as much as I do,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds’ personal chef and friend (who wanted to remain anonymous) spoke to our station Sunday and said, “Watching how much time and dedication went into this event was so inspirational and a once in a lifetime opportunity. And, I continue to have a tremendous amount of respect for Ms. Reynolds.”

If you would like to see more items that were auctioned off you can go to our mentioned links.