Julien's Auctions is an auction house in Los Angeles, California. The auction house deals with the sale of personal possessions owned by celebrities, including Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson. Julien's often sell obscure items, such as William Shatner's kidney stone, for thousands of dollars. The auctions attract hundreds of visitors, and many of their proceeds are donated to charity. The company's President and CEO is Darren Julien, a graduate of Reppert School of Auctioneering.[1]
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Singer Cher held an auction in October 2006. The auction was administered by Julien's and featured the singer's costumes, jewelry, art, furniture, cars and personal memorabilia.[2] Cher's Bentley sold for $204,000, with the total sales of the auction reaching $3.5 million.[3] The auction had 3,500 approved bidders, with customers buying on the phone, online and in person. Auctioneer Darren Julien said of the singer, "Basically Cher gave us the contents of her home. For someone to do something like this, still be alive and not need the money is pretty remarkable. Cher is a trendsetter".[4] Prior to the auction Cher said, "I am beginning a new chapter in my career and have decided to rewrite my personal environment, my home. I'm thrilled that the sale of many of these beloved objects will benefit such worthwhile organisations and charities".[2] The four-day pre-sale exhibition at the Beverly Hilton attracted hundreds of collectors and fans wearing Cher concert T-shirts. Many celebrities viewed the auction, including Jacqueline Bisset, Charlene Tilton and shoe designer Manolo Blahnik. Blahnik had created some of Cher's boots and heels that were among the items being auctioned. A portion of the proceeds went to the Cher Charitable Foundation.[4]
Julien's held a benefit auction in 2007 for Music Rising, a charity which aims to replace musical equipment lost or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. The auction featured 196 rock-related items, including a saxophone signed by Bill Clinton, a guitar that belonged to Jimi Hendrix and an Elvis Presley recording contract. U2's The Edge, co-founder of the charity, donated his guitar to the cause. The Edge stated, "I wanted to give something really significant that would really mean a lot for me to give. It deserved something that I would miss".[5] The guitar was expected to fetch between $60,000 and $80,000. The guitarist's bandmates also donated items to the auction. Adam Clayton provided a bass guitar, Larry Mullen gave a pair of tom-tom drums and Bono donated a pair of Emporio Armani sunglasses.[5]
In April 2008, The Edge announced another benefit auction, Icons of Music II, for May of the same year. The proceeds went to Music Rising, who aided the victims of Hurricane Rita, as well as Hurricane Katrina. Louisianan musician Aaron Neville, who had lost everything in the storms of Katrina, performed at the auction. The Edge donated many of his personal items to the auction, as did his fellow band members. Possessions of Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison, Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash.[6]
In 2005 and 2006, Julien's auctioned several items owned by Michael Jackson. The items included his signature white glove and white socks. They sold for $35,000 and $15,000 respectively.[7] In late 2008, the auction house announced that they would be selling over 2,000 personal items of Jackson's. Many of the items are from the singer's Neverland Ranch, including the property's wrought iron gates. The auction is scheduled for April 2009 and was said to be organised by Jackson himself. Darren Julien stated, "We have been working closely with him for five months and he is in complete control of this".[7] A percentage of the profits is to be donated to MusiCares, a charity for musicians in need.[8] Catalogues for the auction were priced at $100, with signed editions priced at $500.[7] A preview of the items attracted more than 25,000 visitors to Co Kildare.[9]
Jackson's company, MJJ Productions, filed a suit against Julien's in March 2009. They claimed that the auction house had failed to provide Jackson with a list detailing the items for sale.[10] They also alleged that Julien's broke its contract with the singer by not allowing him to view photographs of the items and choose the ones he wanted to withhold from the sale.[11] MJJ Productions stated that the items were "priceless and irreplaceable", and that Julien's attempts to sell them were "malicious, fraudulent, extreme, outrageous and without any legal justification whatsoever".[12] The auction house asserted that they would press on with the auction despite the legal action.[10] Darren Julien queried, "If it is true and he is stating that there are items he does not want sold, why would he have ever given us the items in the first place?". He added, "Everything has been aboveboard".[12][11] Eventually the auction was cancelled, per an agreement between the two parties. Juliens's said they spent $2 million preparing the auction. Instead, the items will be but on public display for just over a week, before returning to Jackson.[13]
In 2011 Julian's sold the jacket worn by Jackson in his 1983 'Michael Jackson's Thriller' music video, for $1.8 million. This sale broke the record for highest sale for the auction house and most valuable piece of Michael Jackson memorabilia.[14]
Julien's sold over 200 personal possessions of Marilyn Monroe in 2005. Items included her divorce papers to Joe DiMaggio, personal phone directory and an original watercolor painting Monroe made and inscribed to President John F. Kennedy for his birthday. The phone directory contained the numbers of Frank Sinatra, Henry Fonda, Jane Russell and former husband and Arthur Miller. Hundreds of Monroe fans showed up for the sale, which also featured Monroe's her fishnet stockings, suspender belts, a dog licence and a note from her beauty salon with instructions on how to dye her hair. Julien's stated, "This is the first time that most of these items will be seen by the public including a dizzying array of clothing from all the designers she cherished".[15][16] The items fetched over $1 million at auction.[16]
In January 2006, Julien's handled the sale of William Shatner's kidney stone. The kidney stone sold for $25,000 to GoldenPalace.com.[17][18] Golden Palace Chief Executive Officer Richard Rowe said in a statement, "This is a bold new addition to our fleet". The money from the sale of the stone went to Habitat for Humanity, which builds houses for the needy. Darren Julien joked, "This would be the first Habitat for Humanity house built out of stone".[17][18]
In a 2006 interactive auction, Julien's sold the derby hat of James Bond villain Oddjob for $33,600 to a Bond collector from Ft. Lauderdale. The auction also featured the sale of belt worn by Elvis Presley for $66,000, six times its estimation. Other items included interview tapes of John Lennon and a red evening gown worn by Dustin Hoffman.[19]
Julien's held an entertainment sale in 2007. The sale included a pill bottle prescribed to Elvis Presley which was estimated to be worth between $2,000 to $4,000. The bottle's seller, George Klien, stated, "About 10 years ago I sold some old memorabilia in order to buy my house in Cordova. I guess now they're coming back up for resale. I had no idea they were going to auction until somebody called me this morning". He added, "I think what this auction says is that Elvis' popularity is sustaining itself. It's amazing what people are putting up for bid these days".[20]