Dec 19, 2006 11:56 am US/Central
Minn. Man Sells Original Cowardly Lion Costume
Minneapolis (AP) ―
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The costume, worn by Bert Lahr (far left) in the 1939 film classic, was made of real lion pelts sewn together. (File)
CBS
It took some courage to put it up for sale, but the owner of the original Cowardly Lion costume from "The Wizard of Oz" was rewarded when it went for $826,000 at a Beverly Hill auction.
"That's the highest price ever for a costume, as far as I know, by a lot," said Bill Mack, a Twin Cities artist who owned the suit since 1985. "I'm going through seller's remorse now. But it's a big number, so it's good."
The costume, worn by Bert Lahr in the 1939 film classic, was made of real lion pelts sewn together. It had been lost for decades before it was discovered in a California barn and sold at a memorabilia auction in 1970.
A chiropractor bought it then for $2,400. Since then it only changed hands once, when Mack bought it. He said he doesn't remember exactly how much he paid.
"It was several thousand dollars, instead of several hundred thousand," he said. "It was a collectors' market then."
Mack said he doesn't know who shelled out for the costume at last week's auction, which also featured Jerry Lewis' costume from "The Nutty Professor," Elvis Presley's wedding ring from his 1967 marriage to Priscilla, James Dean's switchblade from the knife fight in "Rebel Without a Cause," and a Stetson cowboy hat that James Arness wore on TV's "Gunsmoke."
Mack said the nearly 70-year-old costume had deteriorated by the time he bought it. He restored it and mounted it in the Cowardly Lion's familiar, "Put 'em up, put 'em up" pose. He also sculpted Lahr's face for the headpiece.
Mack is known as an artist for his work in relief, or hanging sculpture, and has artwork in both the NBA and NFL halls of fame. His relief of murdered Tejano singer Selena marks her grave.
Mack still owns a significant "Oz" collectible -- the black hat worn by the Wicked Witch of the West in the scene where she melts. Whoever bought the lion costume won't be able to assemble a Yellow Brick Road reunion -- the Scarecrow costume is in the Smithsonian, while the Tin Man costume was destroyed.
Mack has another sale coming up. He bought the original Hollywood sign and carted the tall white letters back to his studio in Bloomington, where he has been transforming each letter into a piece of artwork. He plans to auction them off in Las Vegas.
(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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