Downsizing Caine sells 60 years of f ilm memorabilia
So would you pay £1,200 for his iconic specs?
TO the tens of thousands of dedicated Sir Michael Caine fans, who have spent rather too much of their time quipping ‘not a lot of people know that’ in a knowing Cockney accent and imagining they were the great man himself, this is your moment.
Because one of Britain’s bestloved – and most imitated – actors, the star of iconic films from Alfie to Zulu, to the Italian Job, Educating Rita and even Batman (and many more rather less than iconic – The Swarm, Jaws: The Revenge, Bullseye!), is auctioning off a collection of memorabilia dating back over half a century.
Pictures, portraits, posters, but also some extremely personal effects – including four pairs of glasses, a watch and a cigarette lighter – will all go on sale at Bonham’s later this Spring.
Which means that any especially committed followers, preferably with very deep pockets, can really jump into character.
Just imagine! You could don a pair of Michael’s oversize specs (estimated value £800-£1,200) and bark at anyone in the vicinity about how they ‘were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off ’.
You could decorate your home with two original signed posters from either Alfie, the film that made him a star in 1966, or Zulu in 1964 when he played a posh army officer (from £500 and £1,500 respectively).
Or you could perch on the director’s chair from Get Carter (£800-£1,200) and light a cigarette with a diamondencrusted, monogrammed lighter (£1,000-£1,500) – perhaps better value for those who share the initials ‘MC’.
You could even check the time impatiently on Sir Michael’s gold Rolex (£8,000-£12,000) and imagine you’re waiting for your great, late buddies Sirs Roger Moore and Sean Connery and photographer Terry O’Neill to arrive for pre-dinner cocktails. Alternatively, you could simply do as most movie memorabilia collectors do: pop the whole lot in an alarmed display cabinet.
Whichever, a lot of people will be thanking their lucky stars that the real Sir Michael, 88, and his wife, former model Shakira Baksh, have had a good old clear out before downsizing from their nine-bedroom,12,000-square foot Surrey mansion.
The sale does boast some real treasures, including a Chagall monograph (£30,000-£50,000) which an expert once wrongly assured Caine was a fake and a Lincoln Townley’s portrait of Caine (£10,000-£15,000), the proceeds of the latter will go to the NSPCC.
It is not clear where the Caines are moving when their £3.75million house sale goes through. Wherever it is, there’s clearly not room for quite so much clutter. Or perhaps, whisper it, Shakira’s finally had enough of all that ‘Michael memorabilia’ and is demanding a clean, minimalist look in their new pad. Sir Michael Caine: The Personal Collection sale will take place on March 2 at Bonhams in New Bond Street, London