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Black Friday Blog -- Cool Things You Can Purchase
Since we all hate dealing with the Black Friday shopping, I thought I’d start this blog off with a Black Friday deal you might be interested in. I heard about this a few weeks ago, and thought it would be lame. When I discovered it was kind of cool, I thought I’d give you the heads up. I had read that Barnes & Nobles bookstores would bring out autographed copies of various books, as one of many incentives to get people into their stores this weekend. The picture in the paper showed a Hilary Clinton signed book, and I know that when she did a book signing in La Jolla, California, people got there at 3 a.m. (and many were turned away).
I ended up buying a handful of books, all autographed (and at the regular price). I got a Stanley Tucci cook book, a Drew Barrymore book of photos, an autobiography of Alan C******, and one I’m really looking forward to reading – the Martin Short autobiography. All the Barrymore books had a signature that was merely a heart, and the letter “B.” All the others were written out nicely, although I did go through all the Tucci books to find the most legible signature to purchase.
Some of the other books they had I didn’t care about. They included James Ellroy, Clive Clusser, and a few other authors that are names. It might be something you’ll want to check out if there’s a Barnes & Nobles near you.
I was out of town for Thanksgiving when I heard that a woolly mammoth skeleton sold for $300,000. I immediately thought two things. First, the great ‘60s song by Sam the Sham and the Pharoes – Woolly Bully. The second thing I thought is…I’ve got to tell this story to my girlfriend. She was in the other room and I told her the price. She said, “Wow, that’s a steal.”
I laughed, thinking she was making a joke. She came into the room and said, “No, seriously. I saw that story on the news and the thing is over 11 feet high and 18 feet long, and weighs tons. I wouldn’t have thought the price was so cheap except what you told me sold for $3 million the other day.”
It had completely slipped my mind.
You see, the mammoth bones are over 10,000 years old. The thing that sold for $3 mil was only 75 years old. It was the original lion costume from “The Wizard of Oz.” It was worn by Bert Lehr, and it came with a sculpted facial likeness of him. Another collector owned it, and he wants to use the money he makes on the sale to…get this…buy the tin mans costume.
Okay, I was joshing there. He wants to use it to open an exhibit to display his large collection of collectables, which includes items from the TV shows “Lost” and “I Love Lucy.”
From Bert Lehr to Burt Reynolds. He’s going to be auctioning off items at The Palms hotel in Las Vegas on December 11th and 12th. That includes the red leather jacket he wore in “Smokey and the Bandit II” (who knows what happened to what he wore in the first picture), and two Golden Globes he won. An item I’d like to buy and burn – the cowboy boots he wore when he was oiled down in that bizarre scene in the horrible movie “Striptease.” Now, if they have something from “Boogie Nights,” I’ll be all over that. One of the best movies ever. I also wouldn’t mind a football from “The Longest Yard,” but there’s no word on all the pieces of memorabilia yet. I’d probably pass on any items from “Deliverance.” I still have nightmares about that flick.
Bank of America is currently trying to foreclose on his Florida home, saying he owes over a million dollars on three loans.
In the catalogue Reynolds states, “I’ve collected so many things that I truly adore but at this stage in my life I find it very difficult to manage them all. The fact of the matter is that it truly is the time to downsize and for these items that I have loved over the years to find new homes where they can be cared for and appreciated.”
Reynolds, a former college football player, also has some sports related lots in the auction. Signed items by Wayne Gretsky, Jack Nicklaus, and Muhammad Ali, as well as paintings and drawings by Henry Fonda and James Cagney. There are a few gifts from Elizabeth Taylor and Jimmy Stewart, as well as firearms and law enforcement badges. The weirdest item – one of his old American Express cards. Don’t leave the auction without it!
On a side note, when I was a teenager, I found out his address in Florida. I sent him a letter asking for an autographed picture. He sent back a signed photo two weeks later. According to Loni Anderson’s autobiography, he wasn’t the best husband; but to autograph collectors, he was always a class act.
Views: 693
Tags: Bert Lehr, Burt Reynolds, I Love Lucy, Lost, Sam the Sham, Wizard of Oz, Woolly Mammoth
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Comment by Josh Board on December 1, 2014 at 8:49am
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ebay folks might be selling the Clinton books for that, but nobody will be buying them. She did a number of book signings, and anybody that understands autographs, realizes her name will NOT increase in value over the years if she doesn't become President. She was a first lady, and for a brief time, she did something in Obama's administration, didn't she? hahahahahha. So, sure...maybe a few people will be silly enough to pay $80 for a signed book by her, but they'll be surprised in 10 or 20 years, when it would be tough to sell for $25.
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Comment by Null on December 1, 2014 at 8:58am
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I just called my local Barnes&Nobles and they did not ever have any Jeters. If you here anything about the Steiner ones for <$50 post it in the "Great Sports Autograph Deals" thread for sure!
Also, I wouldn't pay $1 for a Hillary Clinton autograph lol.
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Comment by Gen Marengère on December 1, 2014 at 9:04am
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josh, i know this is completely off-topic, but i just finished martin short's book and i LOVED it. i finally bit the bullet and bought a signed copy from chapters. i hope you'll like it too! :)
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Gen -- not off topic at all! In fact, I often wish the Autograph site would have more "off topic" things of this nature, instead of us constantly looking at photos people are selling on eBay, and being asked "Is this real?" So much more fun and interesting for all of us to discuss the actors we love to watch, laugh at, and enjoy -- and why we would want autographs from them at all.
Every time Martin Short is on a talk show, I'm laughing hysterically. He is an amazing talent. In fact, in the new Paul Thomas Anderson movie, he plays a shady, drug dealing dentist -- and he steals the movie from Joaquin Phoenix (no hard task). I'll be looking forward to reading the book, but...I'm always careful with autographed books. I don't want to get it all messed up and ruined !!!!
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i wholeheartedly agree, josh. i find this community really great and it would be amazing to have an off-topic room, because i love talking about actors, singers, books, TV, movies, etc...
i'll be honest with you, the reason i got his book initially is because i saw him on ellen and he mentioned stories about robin williams. i'm a huge fan of robin's, as some people have ascertained because i was looking to purchase an autograph. i made my share of "is this real?" posts! lol
but, as is the mark of a good book, i found myself getting more and more into it and the robin stories were just kind of bonuses.
the best part is that the book "sounds" like him. like... i can almost hear him reading it in my head, you know? it made me cry (he talks about his wife a lot, and her loss) and it made me laugh a LOT. luckily, i got the book for my kindle, so the autographed copy will be left alone. i agree with you, i definitely do not want to mess it up! :)
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Comment by David S on December 1, 2014 at 12:05pm
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yeah I think very few B&N got them. I will definitely post it on the Deals thread - I posted the Mariano book there.
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on a side note, when i was in high school, i was lucky enough to be in a scene of a movie with Martin Short, circa early 1990s. It was for a BBC movie, nothing big. It was filmed in NYC. He had a cameo for a grand opening of a building and they invited my high school band to play at it! I think the movie went straight to video, but was a great experience nonetheless and he was a very cool guy.
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Comment by Ian Baldock on December 1, 2014 at 2:58pm
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I always enjoy reading the blogs and off topics are refreshing. Im weary of the all Mantle all the time posts. I always thought he was overrated because he was a N.Y. Yankee.
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Two things. First, Gen...no need for there to be a section on here where we go "off topic." Just do it in said thread. We can go in any direction the blog/story takes us.
Ian, I'm tired of Mickey Mantle, but no...I don't think he's overrated.
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Triple crown winner, good ball player but he wouldn't make my top ten. While Im not a fan of Hillary I think 70 and under wouldn't be too bad, and a real steal if she reached the presidency. The way things have swung this last election its more doubtful, but anything is possible. George W was a pretty tough sig but this new book has made him reasonable.
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