Part Six - Scattering the Bones

With the hopes of a proper touring exhibition now dashed, the only option seemed to sell the collection and provide Bill and Giorgio with much-needed funds. All the major auction houses (Christie's, Bonham's, and Sotheby's) were contacted but Profiles in History and Julien's were the top for entertainment memorabilia. Profiles had just finished two highly successful Debbie Reynolds auctions, where many of Travilla's Monroe costumes went for high dollars. However, Julien's held more Marilyn-themed that brought higher prices on average. I never pressed Dimakis about why he preferred not to work with Profiles again. Perhaps he had the same problematic relationship that he had with Silva and Hansford. To help things go smoothly in October 2012, I began communicating with Darren Julien.

My first letter to him introduced myself and my years of involvement with the Estate. I outlined the ratio was 25-30% entertainment and the rest fashion. There were a few bright spots with the Valley of the Dolls cache and the hundreds of wardrobe test photos. A few costume pieces and nicer gowns were the standouts among the clothes, and roughly 250 film of the roughly 2000 sketches.

10-29-12 Regarding Travilla "not wanting the items sold", I agree with you in that he would want Bill and Giorgio taken care of. Also, they will someday be sold, and Giorgio might as well make sure it's done in a way to honor Travilla rather than down the road when he has no control...We are very happy to work something out with you as we don't ever want to take advantage of anyone plus we think you will be a valuable asset to make sure everything goes smoothly… In the end we want to make sure this is a good experience for Giorgio and it honors the legacy of Travilla. Thanks so much for your time, Eric, and I will talk with you this week.

It's about time that Andrew and I had what would turn out to be our last Skype conversation after I told him that plans were moving forward with the auction but without his involvement because Giorgio didn't want anything to do with him. He didn't take it well at all and ghosted me. Disappointed but not surprised, I went ahead with the project. Darren and his partner Martin came from Los Angeles to pick up everything from Giorgio on Thanksgiving Weekend. 

11-24-12 I made it to Palm Springs late last night and I am waiting to meet with our fine art movers in about an hour. I am planning on it all going well. That's fine that you told Andrew I just don't want to let Giorgio down. I will always be loyal to Andrew as well because if it were not for him, we would have not known about this collection. I will let you know how today goes J.

And then later that same day...

11-24-12 Today went very well. Giorgio was very good and gave us everything. Lets talk tomorrow on the phone.

Darren's mention of Andrew seemed strange as his name never came up during our previous communications, and Julien knew of Giorgio not wanting Hansford involved. It's also about this time that communication between Darren and I began to break down once I presented my conditions to assist. (A week's stay in L.A., including accommodations, a rental car, and per diem. In addition, the Travilla pieces I'd collected for the (now canceled) exhibition were to be incorporated into the sale.) Negotiations came to a head shortly after the New Year.

1-7-13  We were just having you help with identifying the sketches and some of the clothing. This can all be done off of photographs. We were doing this more to include you. It's all getting too complicated for us.

I severed my working with Darren in one final scathing email, immediately trashing his reply, so I'll never know his response. I continued to support Giorgio and Bill the best I could from Florida. Mostly, it was trying to pull Giorgio off the ledge, as communication ceased with Darren after he and Martin returned to Los Angeles with the items and completed their final inventory. It was far less impressive than he'd been led to believe. What I think was the final straw for Darren was that Travilla's Academy Award for Don Juan could not be offered due to the AMPAS buy-back rule that began in 1950, the year he received it. That alone could've brought in $50,000-$100,000, possibly more. All Darren was left with were some dressy clothes, drawings, photographs and bits and bobs of a fifty-year career. 

Promised exhibitions in New York City and Tokyo never materialized; just a few pieces were displayed at the Newbridge Museum of Style in Ireland for a couple of weeks. Also, the original date of October 11, 2013, was pushed back to November 13 without notification to the Estate.

While he and I were still talking, Darren was emphatic about the quality of the catalog, stating on January 14. 2013, "Our goal is to make this as detailed and accurate as possible because the catalog is going to be a historic reference guide for many years to come."

They failed.

Like Maureen Riley's books and Hansford's Dressing Marilyn, Julien's catalog was filled with lush, colorful images of Travilla's work, but also with errors. It almost seemed a "fuck you" response to things not being as presented.

The cover featured the Seven Year Itch sketch ten years after it appeared on the cover of  Profiles in Hisotry's "Lost Collection" Sale #20.  Inside, the promise of an exclusive Travilla-only sale was broken with the inclusion of the first fifty lots split between Marla Maples (Trump's 2nd wife) and Mr. Blackwell (a Travilla peer. Mildly successful label but more famous for his best/worst dressed lists.) Their presence makes no sense, especially with Julien's holding a poorly promoted online-only sale of sixty lots (1509 – 1569) held back till the following Monday, restricting buyers from bidding on Friday.

Marla Maples and Mr. Blackwell's gowns on display at Julien's showroom for the Travilla auction.

When it came to the Travilla portion, my lack of involvement was evident with unidentified film and television costumes/sketches mixed in with the fashion. The phrase "attributed to" was used frequently when describing signed sketches, and "Marilyn Monroe-inspired" was used to describe the vintage traveling copies made from vintage patterns by Travilla seamstresses. The lackluster attention to detail was why prices were so disappointing. Fashion sketches sold in lots of ten to fifteen bringing as little as $10-20 each, . Gowns sold initially for four figures went for as little as $50. Many pieces were stained or had broken zippers, clasps or missing buttons.

A total of 440 lots were sold, bringing $269,565.00. I a grouping of items that totaled $10,000.  Julien deducted $53,913 in commissions and $920 to repair one of the Emmys (incorrectly listed as a Grammy on the invoice.) Giorgio and Bill received $214,732.00.

Except for the items kept by Giorgio and those deemed unsaleable by Julien's, Travilla's legacy was now scattered to the four corners of the earth. 

Something that has always bothered me and seems a little shady is how the Itch sketch that sold on November 13, 2013, for $25,000 was immediately placed in Profiles in History's Hollywood Auction #64, where it sold on December 21, 2013, for $96,000 - a $70,000 increase in five weeks. As someone who understands printing production timeframes, the Profiles catalog was completed and mailed from overseas before the Julien's sale occurred. Profiles did not mention Julien's in the provenance but listed it from their previous unsuccessful sale. Was a backdoor deal between the houses done? After my dealings with Darren, it wouldn't surprise me.