November 26, 1942…’Casablanca’ Debuts…Piano Auctioned Monday

Just as Allied Expeditionary Forces were landing in North Africa, ‘Casablanca’ debuted in New York, the same city where a huge movie memorabilia auction was held Monday at Bonham’s. The “Play It Again Sam” piano sold for over $3 million. At the same auction, the Cowardly Lion costume from 1939’s ‘The Wizard of Oz’ fetched over $3 million also.

According to the Associated Press, the costume was authenticated to be the one that Bert Lahr wore in the film; a back-up costume fetched almost $1 million in recent years. The costume’s previous owner, Los Angeles Museum of Television founder James Comisar, said that the costume was made out of real lion skins, and was extensively analyzed to conclude that this costume was indeed the one that was worn on-screen.

The costume had been found and rescued from an old MGM building by a junk dealer cleaning out the deserted lot in the 1970s. Among the treasures on the block…Spock’s ears, an Indiana Jones whip, Hans Solo’s blaster from ‘Star Wars’, Mork’s space suit, James Dean’s switchblade from ‘Rebel Without A Cause’, Dorothy’s blue dress from Oz, Dick Van Dyke’s multicolored jacket from ‘Mary Poppins’ and more.

Source