The Book, Cat, & Cat Book Lovers Almanac

of historical trivia regarding books, cats, and other animals. Actually this blog has evolved so that it is described better as a blog about cats in history and culture. And we take as a theme the advice of Aldous Huxley: If you want to be a writer, get some cats. Don't forget to see the archived articles linked at the bottom of the page.

December 4, 2014

December 4, 1967

The lion suit worn by Bert Lahr (August 13 1895 to December 4 1967) in the 1939 Hollywood classic, The Wizard of Oz, has a patchy history. A junk dealer found it, while he was cleaning out an abandoned MGM building. I am not sure of the intervening steps but the costume would up owned by Los Angeles TV museum founder James Comisar.

Comisar recently (November 24, 2014) sold the lion costume to get the funds to display the rest of his collection. He did nicely. Here are some details from the Hollywood Reporter:





The Cowardly Lion costume from the Wizard of Oz and the Casablanca piano, two of the most iconic pieces of movie memorabilia, sold at Bonham’s Turner Classic Movies auction. Both pieces went for more than $3 million (with buyer’s premium). While neither result is a record, the sale price was at the upper end of presale estimates. 

The Cowardly Lion costume ....fetched $3,077,000, which includes a buyer’s premium of $477,000.
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