Juliens Auctions – Hollywood Legends & Explorers

2001: A Space Odyssey Space Suit with Iconic Helmet Lands on the Auction Block after Two Decades!

Los Angeles, California – (June 29th, 2020) – This summer, Julien’s Auctions, reaches for the stars and rockets into space with HOLLYWOOD: LEGENDS & EXPLORERS, the world-record breaking auction house’s blockbuster Hollywood and space exploration memorabilia event to take place on Friday, July 17th & Saturday, July 18th, 2020 at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills and live online at juliensauctions.com. This two-day extravaganza offers a marquee collection of over 900 items from Hollywood entertainment film lore to cult classics to next and now iconography from television’s past and present golden ages. A special category to this year’s edition is an exclusive collection of some of the most significant and historical Space artifacts and treasures.

The highlight of the auction is one of the most iconic space suits from the Hollywood science fiction masterpiece that captured the imagination of filmgoers unlike any before: Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. The suit (photo right) features a helmet that was repainted throughout production for many scenes, and is believed to have been worn by the film’s star, Keir Dullea, as mission pilot and scientist Dr. David Bowman, as one layer of paint is the iconic green, only worn in the film by Dullea in the most memorable scene in the film. The backstory of the suit is one of great discovery, importance and value in Hollywood history and in the collector’s world as items from the film’s production rarely come to auction. Legend has it that most of the production props and wardrobe were destroyed after the film’s production wrapped thus, screen-used props and costumes from the film are among the rarest and most elusive to acquire by high end collectors and museums and institutions alike.

The near complete spacesuit, also worn by different actors in many scenes throughout the film, comes with the MGM shipping crate, boots and helmet. The helmet features four distinct layers of paint (a base of color of one or more layers of white, then green, then yellow, and lastly in its present color of white), indicating that it was used in different scenes by multiple actors and representing a number of characters. Most notably, the helmet’s base green layer of paint seen in chips, cracks, and green overspray that this is the green helmet worn by Dullea in one of the most famous science fiction scenes of all time, when his character Dr. Bowman reenters the antechamber of the Discovery ship leading to the “brain room” and logic center to “kill” HAL.

The film was nominated for four Academy Awards and won for visual effects, due to its use of pioneering cinematic techniques as well as its accurate depiction of space flight. 2001: A Space Odyssey is widely regarded as one of the most influential and culturally significant films of all time and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1991. This spacesuit, which has been in controlled storage for the past two decades since it was first purchased at auction in 1999, has an estimate of $200,000 to $300,000.

One of Hollywood’s most beloved 1980s pop culture artifacts, the KITT Knight Rider 1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, will rev up the auction block (photo above). The vehicle created by Universal Studios and used in tours and appearances promoting the popular Knight Rider (MCA TV, 1982-1987) television series starring David Hasselhoff as Michael Knight was also used in David Hasselhoff’s “Night Rocker” concert tour in Austria in 1987 and later exhibited on display at the Siegfried Marcus Automobile Museum in Stockerau, Austria through 2005. This splendid piece of both Hollywood and David Hasselhoff music history spanning three decades and two continents comes with great provenance including the hood of the KITT and a certificate of authenticity signed by David Hasselhoff himself. The car’s pre-sale estimate is $100,000 to $200,000.

An original cape worn by Christopher Reeve (photo left) in his iconic role as the Man of Steel in the Superman (Warner Bros., 1978) film franchise, Superman I, II and most likely III as well, takes flight again to the auction block. The bright red cape with its iconic yellow “S” symbol shield stitched on the back, was used for both the filming of Reeve wearing the cape while studio blue screen traveling matte wire flying and studio ZOPTIC front projection flying (estimate: $20,000 to $40,000).

Other coming attractions include:

• Geena Davis’ costume of her iconic black T-shirt with skull graphic, Wrangler jean jacket and Guess jeans worn in her Oscar nominated role as Thelma in Thelma & Louise (estimate: $2,000-$4,000)

• a static non-firing rifle and rifle with bayonet used by gorilla soldiers in 1970’s Beneath the Planet of the Apes (estimate each: $500-$1,200)

• a yellow and green protective hazmat suit worn by Bryan Cranston as Walter White in “Breaking Bad” (each estimate: $1,000-$2,000) (photo left) as well as his co-star Aaron Paul’s red protective hazmat suit worn in his role as Jesse Pinkman (estimate: $500-$700)

• a set of billy clubs used with holster as Daredevil’s iconic weapon worn by Charlie Cox in Netflix’s “Daredevil” (estimate: $4,000-$6,000) and the first iteration of the VFX Daredevil cowl worn by Cox (estimate: $6,000-$8,000)

• props and items from Wentworth Miller used in his portrayal of Michael Scofield on the cult series “Prison Break” including his Acqua brand wristwatch, one of few in existence and a key prop and plot point in the series (estimate: $800-$1,200), his personal chairback used in the series run and Golden Globe nominee tray for Best Actor among other items;

• Whoopi Goldberg’s burgundy silk six-piece costume ensemble (pants, tunic, overcoat, sleeves, and hat) worn in her role as the character Guinan on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” series (estimate: $3,000-$5,000)

• Borg and Worf character presentation drawings of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” series and a “Star Trek” Mad Magazine original art work by Mort Drucker (estimate: $3,000-$5,000);

• a set of two, black and white photographs of Marilyn Monroe wearing her cherry dress with Clark Gable on the set of The Misfits (estimate: $2,000-$3,000);

• a fur collar coat worn by Billy Bob Thornton as Lorne Malvo in the television series “Fargo” (estimate: $800-$1,200);

• a prison uniform worn by Taylor Schilling as Piper Chapman in the series “Orange is the New Black” (estimate: $1,000-$2,000)

• a Sparco brand race suit worn by Paul Newman in the 2000 Rolex 24 where Newman became the oldest person to drive in a sanctioned event, for which he was inducted into the Guinness Book of World Records (estimate: $6,000-$8,000) and more.

Source: Press Release