Lucille Ball's Polka-dot Dress Is A Big Hit At Auction In Hollywood

Lucille Ball's signature polka-dot dress and props from Indiana Jones and The Temple Of Doom have smashed expectations at a Hollywood auction. The items went under the hammer at a Profiles in History sale last week (30Jul13) and experts were left staggered as bids sailed past the estimate prices.

Ball's Lucy Ricardo dress was expected to sell for between $40,000 and $60,000, but it sold for $168,000, while a lot of sankara stones and a pyrotechnic bag from the Indiana Jones film went under the hammer for $72,000 - $64,000 more than the estimate.

Profiles in History bosses also raked in a fortune at a Hollywood sale over the weekend (28Jul13) when a selection of costumes from classic movie The Sound of Music sold for $1.3 million.

The garments included the main outfit worn by the Julie Andrews' character Maria, which was described in the auction handbook as "a heavy brown homespun Austrian-style dress with a wheat-coloured homespun blouse".

Floral lederhosen worn by cast members who played the Von Trapp children also went under the hammer.

Another highlight was a costume worn by late actor James Gandolfini in his final scene of The Sopranos, which sold for $22,000. The outfit was placed under auction before Gandolfini passed away from a heart attack while in Italy last month (Jun13).

Other big sellers included Steve MCQueen's signature brown tweed jacket from Bullitt, the original Charlie Chaplin 'Tramp' cane from Modern Times, and Judy Garland's 'Dorothy' dress from The Wizard of Oz, which sold for $360,000 - exactly twice its estimate.