Celebrity Auction House to Sell Betty White’s Estate Items

By Lori Perkins

Image taken from Julien's Auctions

Julian’s Auctions, a California-based auction house known for representing the estates of celebrities such as Greta Garbo and various Beatles, has announced that some of Betty White’s possessions will be available for auction September Sept. 23-25 in Beverly Hills.

The beloved actress died a few days before her 100th birthday on December 31st of last year.

According to the announcement on the internet, the auction will include 1,500 personal items that once belonged to White, such as a gold watch from her mother as well as awards, paintings, scripts and jewelry. The sale includes White’s wedding band from her marriage to Allen Ludden and memorabilia from The Golden Girls, including the original director’s chair from the set, a script from the series’ pilot episode and a script signed by White and co-stars Rue McClanahan, Bea Arthur, and Estelle Getty. Red carpet outfits she wore were put on display at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills on Tuesday.

“This is an auction representing an incredible life and career. It’s a lifestyle auction,” said Martin Nolan, the executive director of Julien’s Auctions. “All these items came from her home in Brentwood or her residence in Carmel in northern California, where she lived with her husband Allen Ludden,” he added.

The most personal item, according to Nolan, is a “14-carat gold watch that was gifted to Betty Dec. 25, 1940 with the initials T.C.W. which, of course, is Tess White, Betty’s mom.”

According to an article in the NY Post, among the paintings for sale are numerous images of animals. “Pets were her thing. She said that she liked to keep her job in show business so that she could support her business with animals,” Nolan said.

The auction also includes three paintings by Koko, a gorilla who communicated using sign language.

According to the NY Post, Nolan values the entire collection at $1 million to $2 million.