Justin Timberlake's half-eaten French toast? A used dog food can culled from Paris Hilton's garbage? Back in the day relics of revered saints sparked a buying frenzy among devoted worshipers. In today's crazed tabloid culture, however, owning any piece of celebrity -- no matter how ridiculous -- makes eager collectors weak at the knees and auction houses a whole lot of dough.
Strange but true, tasteless celebrity trash is money in the bank, particularly in today's booming online auction business. After a radio station appearance, an enterprising fan pulled Timberlake's discarded breakfast from the garbage. They later sold it on eBay for US$1,025.
Another resourceful celebrity scavenger scored with Hilton's organic dog food can. It fetched $US305 on eBay. If that weren't ridiculous enough, two envelopes sent to Hilton in jail scored US$510 and a used Coke can pulled in US$51.
Yes, trash is treasure to cunning celebrity sellers. After seeing Anna Nicole Smith throw memorabilia out as trash, a quick-thinking neighbour swooped in and snapped up two diaries the deceased celeb wrote in during 1992 and 1994.
In April of 2007, just weeks after a German businessman paid US$500,000 at auction for the journals, an unnamed buyer picked up the items for an undisclosed price on eBay. His goal: to resell the items in Dallas, Texas, Smith's native state, and spin even more cash out of the tragic woman's belongings.
Legitimizing these so-called "finds" is the key, says Levi Morgan of the international auction house Bonham's.
"We had one woman try to auction Elvis' hair a while ago. Her grandfather had cut Elvis' hair and had photos of him in his barbershop from the 1970s. Even with other documentation and press pieces attributed to the item, the real professionals in this business were still skeptical. You have to be to sure what's being sold at auction is legitimate."
All you need is love
Even celebrities themselves will battle it out in a bidding war to own a piece once held dear by a personal idol.
At a Christie's sale in May of 2006, Mariah Carey dropped US$662,500 to score a piano that once belonged to screen icon Marilyn Monroe. A lifelong fan, Carey, reportedly, has peppered her apartment with pictures of Hollywood's ultimate blonde bombshell.
Carey told the press at the time of the purchase, "I could have bought the 'Happy Birthday, Mr. President' dress or whatever, but that would have represented Marilyn Monroe's stardom. The piano belonged to her mother and was a piece of her childhood."
In October of 2000 George Michael paid US$2.1 million for the upright Steinway piano that Beatle John Lennon used to compose the classic "Imagine." The singer snapped up the Steinway, according to Michael's spokeswoman, "Because the piano was a part of music history and he wanted it to remain in Britain."
During a baseball memorabilia auction at Sotheby's in 1999, a spectacular battle erupted between two "absent" bidders over Mickey Mantle's 1960 Game-Used Glove -- one of the finest Mantle gloves in existence. Within seconds of that mitt hitting the auction block the price passed the US$50,000 mark. When the auctioneer's gavel grounded to a halt at US$239,000, actor Billy Crystal triumphantly emerged from the window of a sky-box above the salesroom floor, brandishing a bidding paddle and asking, "Can I jump from here?"
Getting personal with the past
Perhaps it's a comfort to celebs to own a part of the past of a personal idol? Or maybe it's just showcasing their own status that drives them to collect? Whatever the reasons, stars often look to Hollywood's past to rake in a good auction haul.
Love for television's golden era inspired Nick at Nite's TV Land to pay US$63,000 for the kitchen that once belonged on the set of "The Honeymooners."
It prompted Mattel Inc. to pay US$150,000 in 1999 at a Christie's auction house for a dress worn to the Academy Awards by Elizabeth Taylor.
It even sparked an intense phone bidding war in June of 1999 when David O. Selznick's Oscar for Best Picture of 1939 for "Gone With the Wind" was auctioned at Sotheby's. In the end it was Michael Jackson that walked away with the most coveted award from Hollywood's Golden Era. Fulfilling a longtime desire to own the statue, Jacko paid US$1.5 million to make this legendary memorabilia his own.
Unloading old memories
It was sweet revenge that prompted actress Ellen Barkin to put up a sizeable cache of jewelry for auction at Christie's in October of 2006. After being unceremoniously dumped by her billionaire husband Ronald Perelman earlier that year, Barkin - who claimed she was treated like an accessory by her Revlon heir husband - turned an unprecedented multimillion-dollar profit for the diamonds.
Barkin happily plopped her wedding ring, rubies, sapphires and pearls onto the auction block. Expected to earn US$15 million, this smiling celeb walked away with US$20 million, which Barkin added to her US$20 million divorce settlement to start her own production company.
Whatever the reasons, celebrities and those that that adore them -- that diehards that have dished out anywhere from US$312,800 for Marlin Brando's personal, note-covered script of the 1972 film "The Godfather" to a used toothbrush that buffed Paris Hilton's pearly whites - keep today's chic auction houses busy.
In the end, capturing a little bit of elusive fame isn't difficult. All you need is love - and a whole lot of money.
Celebrity for sale
Jumping for Jesus
A smudge of driveway sealant resembling the face of Jesus Christ fetched more than US$1,500 on eBay in August of 2007. The Forest, Virginia family that found it on their garage floor received hundreds of messages from around the world about the Christ in concrete. It sold after one week on eBay.
Icon envy
Devotion to Audrey Hepburn drove one undisclosed bidder to pay US$800,000 for her "Breakfast at Tiffany's" black cocktail dress in December of 2006. It even prompted one collector to gladly pay US$5,000 in July of 2003 for a pair of boxer shorts that once graced the bottom of President John F. Kennedy.
Nabbing McQueen's hot wheels
In August of 2007 a Ferrari sports car once owned and raced by actor Steve McQueen sold for $2.3 million -- twice its originally estimated auction value -- at a Christie's auction in Monterey, California. McQueen's 1963 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso was one of only 350 cars of this type. According to Christopher Sanger, head of Christie's car sales for the America's, if the car had not been owned by McQueen it would probably have been worth $600,000 to $800,000.
Colbert casts one for charity
In September of 2007, funny man Stephen Colbert auctioned a cast worn on his left wrist for US$17,200 on eBay. Singed by Katie Couric, Brian Williams, Bill O'Reilly, Tim Russert and other celebs, the proceeds went to the Yellow Ribbon Fund, a charity that assists injured service members and their families.
Green goddess
Fergie, lead singer of the Black Eyed Peas, sold her gas-guzzling 2005 Hummer on eBay in September of 2007. Selling for US$64,1999.91, Fergie directed the proceeds to Global Green USA to help promote climate change.
Sink one for Garcia
A passion for Jerry Garcia inspired one loyal fan to pay US$16,100 in August of 2007 to own a kitchen sink belonging to the late Grateful Dead guitarist. Garcia's toilet fetched US$2,500 at a similar auction last year.
Getting Hitched
In June of 2007 a passport belonging to famed director Alfred Hitchcock was snapped up at auction for US$19,2000. At the same sale a beach umbrella used by Marilyn Monroe in a famous 1949 shoot by Andre de Dienes sold for US$42,000. Elvis Presley's gun also commanded US$28,000, while one of the King's used prescription bottles fetched US$2,640.
Diamond boy
In August of 2007 a diamond-encrusted platinum skull by artist Damien Hirst sold to an investment group for US$100 million. Cast from a 35-year-old 18th-century European man, Hirst coated the skull with 8,601 diamonds, including a large pink one in the centre of its forehead worth US$8 million. While many critics dismissed it as tasteless, others saw Hirst's "diamond boy" as the ultimate reflection of today's celebrity-obsessed culture.
