Debbie Reynolds auctions Hollywood treasure trove

Published 5:00 am Saturday, June 18, 2011

Debbie Reynolds still knows how to make a splash.

She was a teenage charmer opposite Gene Kelly in “Singin’ in the Rain,” earned an Oscar nomination for her gutsy character in “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” and, at 79, is going strong as a nightclub and theater performer.

Today, Reynolds will demonstrate her flair with an auction of movie memorabilia she’s gathered over four decades and which include costumes evoking some of filmdom’s greatest stars and roles.

Among them: The Marilyn Monroe dress that flirted with a subway gust in “The Seven Year Itch,” Audrey Hepburn’s stunning black-and-white Ascot race scene gown designed by Cecil Beaton for “My Fair Lady,” and Elizabeth Taylor’s pint-sized race togs from “National Velvet” and towering headdress from “Cleopatra.”

“I consider myself a fan. I’m a fan who was lucky enough to be among stars, so I collected them,” Reynolds said during an auction preview at the Paley Center for Media.

Profiles in History, the auction house, estimates the nearly 600 items could bring up to $10 million in the sale that will also be conducted online.

Other pieces up for grabs include costumes worn by Yul Brynner in “The King and I,” Greta Garbo in “Anna Karenina” and Marlon Brando in “Mutiny on the Bounty,” along with props such as a guitar used by Julie Andrews in “The Sound of Music.”

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