Tom Hanks makes killing at auto sale
CARMEL>> In an acting career spanning four decades and dozens of roles, Tom Hanks has never starred as a used-car salesman. But last week, he had a convincing turn as one, selling off four vehicles from his private collection at a Bonhams classic car auction. The autos that Hanks put on the block, and that he had kept at his backwoods ranch in Ketchum, Idaho, fetched more than a half-million dollars, at least twice as much as expected.
The centerpiece was a unique Airstream 34-foot travel trailer from the 1992 model year, bought new in the days before Airstreams would become wildly popular in all shapes and sizes. The sales price was $235,000, including buyer premiums, especially notable since the Airstream was not as lavish as a new one that size would be. “I got it in the days when movies moved slower,” Hanks said before the auction when he was preparing it for the auctioneer. “Sleepless in Seattle” was filming at the time. “I had spent too much time in regular trailers with ugly decor and horribly uncomfortable furniture, so I decided to buy a brandnew Airstream just an empty shell with an interior made to my own request,” Hanks said. He had kitchen and bathroom equipment put in, but he swapped in furniture whenever it was needed for places to sit, eat, rehearse and carry on with fellow actors. Hanks told a story from the filming of “Apollo 13,” when he, Ed Harris, Bill Paxton and Kevin Bacon, dressed as astronauts, drove to visit a notable gravesite. Buster Keaton, he said, did not respond.
The Airstream has traveled from Seattle to Beaufort, South Carolina (for “Forrest Gump”), with stops in Philadelphia (yep, “Philadelphia”) and New York City (“Sully”) and plenty of treks to the L.A. area. The marketing material from Bonhams gave the lowdown: “It comes complete with all its accessories and furniture including dishes, glasses, several espresso makers, some kitchen equipment and the pictured comfortable teakwood chairs and table.” To increase its sentimental value, Hanks autographed one of the air-conditioners.