You can now own a piece of Cher

txaggirl91 · Post by **txaggirl91** » October 4, 2006 12:08 pm

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - We love you Cher. But do we love you enough to spend $800 for your high school yearbook or $700 for a pair of Sonny's brown fur boots or up to $6,000 for one of your many Bob Mackie-designed gowns?

Probably the answer will be a resounding "Yes" because buying celebrity "artifacts" is a current Hollywood rage and there were even bidders recently for a bottle of Marilyn Monroe's nosedrops.

Now Cher, a self-declared pack rat, has decided to unload hundreds of items -- from a print of Herb Ritts' famed poster of her lower back tattoo to big pieces of Gothic style furniture, a Bentley and a Hummer complete with an autographed camouflage helmet -- while she is still alive.

"I have no idea who will buy this stuff and it is kind of strange we are doing the auction because mostly it is done when people are dead," Cher said in a recent interview ahead of the October 3-4 sale at the Beverly Hills Hilton hotel conducted by Sotheby's and Julien's Auctions.

The singer/actress has lived a life celebrating make-overs. She has been a blonde, a brunette, straight-haired and frizzy, with onstage appearances ranging from nearly naked to elaborately gowned.

She's been a TV star, an Oscar-winning film actress, a chart-topping pop singer, and she conducted a farewell tour that never seemed to end.

Now she wants to start over again, at least with home furnishings and other possessions. So she is getting rid of most of the Gothic furniture and paintings that decorated her Malibu mansion for years.

Everything goes from floor lamps to arm chairs to the crucifixes hanging on the wall -- but nothing new goes in until Cher figures out what to do next next.

Auctioneer Darren Julian said Cher is considering redecorating in a Moroccan-Tibetan style, but she insists she is undecided.

The 783 items up for sale are expected to fetch more than $1 million, according to Julien. Part of the proceeds will go to provide better helmets for troops in Iraq.

SIMPLE PHILOSOPHY

Cher said her philosophy is simple: "You don't have to keep everything. I took everything out of storage and you can't believe the stuff we found, paintings from the first house I had with Sonny (the late Sonny Bono, her ex-husband and former singing partner) and all my children's Halloween costumes."

Among them was a Leroy Neiman painting of herself, Sonny and their daughter Chastity done in 1971 in loud acrylic yellows and greens from photos of the happy family, not from a pose. It is expected to fetch between $4,000 and $6,000.

While Cher is not certain how many dresses she is selling, she says she knows what she is keeping -- "I am keeping the dresses that are special to me," she said.

They include the vamp dress she wore when she made the cover of Time Magazine, the dress she wore when she won her best actress Oscar in 1988 for "Moonstruck," and the red, white and blue dress she wore when she was kicked out of the London Hilton in 1965.

Yes, kicked out of the Hilton hotel.

In 1965, when Sonny and Cher were just getting started, they were asked to leave the Hilton because their attire was too hip -- the incident received wide publicity and helped boost sales of the couple's best-known song "I Got You Babe."

"That was an important moment," Cher said.

Among the other items she is keeping are a series of religious paintings that she likes, especially one of Jesus in a caftan.

And oh, yes. She is also keeping a letter of apology sent recently by the Hilton Hotel chain for throwing her out of their London establishment.

LIPH · Post by **LIPH** » October 4, 2006 12:11 pm

Who hasn't had a piece of Cher?

alphabits · Post by **alphabits** » October 4, 2006 12:12 pm

LIPH wrote:Who hasn't had a piece of Cher?

Yeah, but now you have to PAY for it.

My credit card is safe from this extravaganza.

Capt.Flock · Post by **Capt.Flock** » October 4, 2006 12:13 pm

Hmm Why do I see alot of this

CapnK · Post by **CapnK** » October 4, 2006 12:37 pm

Capt.Flock wrote:Hmm Why do I see alot of this

yep, I was thinking the same thing. Can you imagine the fights that will break out?

just kidding people, put down the weapons.

AlbatrossFlyer · Post by **AlbatrossFlyer** » October 4, 2006 1:19 pm

every gay man's dream come true

haititxn · Post by **haititxn** » October 4, 2006 1:25 pm

Hmmm...does she come with Whipped cream or just whipped boyfriends?

fins2theleft · Post by **fins2theleft** » October 4, 2006 1:29 pm

Capt.Flock wrote:Hmm Why do I see alot of this

I LOVE THIS FLOCK!!!!

citcat · Post by **citcat** » October 4, 2006 1:30 pm

AlbatrossFlyer wrote:every gay man's dream come true

That was my first thought !

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Indiana Jolly Mon · Post by **Indiana Jolly Mon** » October 4, 2006 2:11 pm

I was stuck taking my mother in law to a cher concert years ago (my wife made me go with to drive) and i think there were only about 4 straight men there. How do I know, because the flamboyancy was really something to see. Even my gay friends are shocked by some of these people. The wierd thing is that there was no line for beer or the mens bathroom, so I spent the evening going back and forth.
So to say it is every gay man's dream is not derogatory, its very true.

jackiesic · Post by **jackiesic** » October 4, 2006 3:22 pm

Sounds like a fancy yard sale to me

CapnK · Post by **CapnK** » October 4, 2006 3:52 pm

Indiana Jolly Mon wrote:I was stuck taking my mother in law to a cher concert years ago (my wife made me go with to drive) and i think there were only about 4 straight men there. How do I know, because the flamboyancy was really something to see. Even my gay friends are shocked by some of these people. The wierd thing is that there was no line for beer or the mens bathroom, so I spent the evening going back and forth.
So to say it is every gay man's dream is not derogatory, its very true.

but the lineup for white wine was miles long???

ducking for cover now.

LIPH · Post by **LIPH** » October 4, 2006 3:55 pm

If you get a piece of Cher does it come with a certificate of authenticity? You know, to prove it's been steam cleaned with industrial strength cleanser.

TommyBahama · Post by **TommyBahama** » October 4, 2006 5:42 pm

LIPH wrote:Who hasn't had a piece of Cher?

You and I........in her younger days a would of taken a piece of her!!!

ragtopW · Post by **ragtopW** » October 4, 2006 10:03 pm

txaggirl91 · Post by **txaggirl91** » October 5, 2006 11:47 am

UPDATE!!!

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Of the dozens of vintage gowns and flashy costumes Cher put up for auction, a skimpy black number made of fishnet, rhinestone and patches of fabric got the highest bid.

The Bob Mackie-designed outfit, which came with a black leather jacket, sold for $60,000 — about twice the asking price, said Darren Julien, president of Julien Auction. His firm helped administer the two-day auction, which brought in a total of $3.5 million, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel with Sotheby's.

Cher put up 700 items and said she was amazed by what people were willing to spend for them.

"She couldn't believe it," Julien said. The 60-year-old singer and actress was traveling abroad and has not learned the final tally, he added.

Cher announced in July that she wanted to sell some of her clothing, furniture and other items so that she can redecorate her Malibu home. A percentage of the auction's proceeds were to benefit several charitable foundations.

A black 2005 Bentley Continental GT Coupe fetched the highest bid of $204,000, or about $34,000 more than the asking price. A Gothic revival brass bed, circa 1865, sold for $84,000.

Cher's asking that all winning bidders send her pictures of the items in their new homes.

"She jokingly said to me, 'I want to do that to know they're appreciated and cared for, and I can call those people in case I want to buy them back.'"

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On the Net:

http://www.juliensauctions.com

http://www.sothebys.com