Posted 3 days ago
Patriotica
(42 items)
“Vitameatavegamin” is a classic story line used by Lucille Ball in her “I Love Lucy” television situation comedy in 1952. The character of Lucy Ricardo, as we all know, does a commercial for a “health tonic” that has 23 percent alcohol as a main ingredient. Lucy didn’t know this, of course, and after many takes to get it right, slowly devolves into the hilarious effects of too much “tonic.”
I bring this up because I was watching sitcom reruns lately and, since I knew most of the story, began noticing the background. It occurred to me that the set was decorated with all manner of mundane things like photos, pictures, furniture, glassware and such. So, what happened to these props after the show was cancelled, I wondered? Well, it turns out the props themselves have become an entire collectible category all their own.
Curiously enough, the first television sitcom broadcast on network television was called “Mary Kay and Johnny” from 1947 to 1950. Being live performances then, they were later taped on kinescopes for rebroadcast on the West Coast. However, no complete show exists as the networks didn’t begin to save most of the early broadcasts until about the early 1970s.
While the early broadcast tape didn’t survive, some of the props did. Right now, there are a number of online auction sites that offer actual props from shows like “Laurel and Hardy” all the way to the more recent straight-to-Internet TV productions of today. Now, you can own an actual prop from your favorite TV show or TV character and feel that more personal connection at home.
Surprisingly, though, the cost of owning a piece of your favorite show doesn’t need a laugh track. Many of the mundane items were available as well, like the a cake plate used on “I Love Lucy” that sold for $105, a costume brooch from the “Golden Girls” for $23, a telephone from the original 1950s “Superman” series starring George Reeves for $125, and TV scripts, even with signatures, selling for as little as $15 or so.
Others, though, like the brown bomber jacket and shirt that Bob Crane wore in the television sitcom “Hogan’s Heroes”, for example, sold for $22,500 on eBay in 2015 (image 2). This jacket has connections to two movies, as well, as it was worn by Greg Kinnear, who portrayed Crane in the film “Auto Focus” (2002) and Frank Sinatra during the filming of “Von Ryan’s Express” (1965). Radar's teddy bear from M*A*S*H that sold (image 4) for $14,000 in 2014 and the scene clapper used to close out the last “Seinfeld” episode in 1998 (image 3) that sold for $9,500 all are really more the exception because they were tied directly into an iconic series.
But are they really the items used on the shows? If you are acquiring the props through companies that specialize in the sale of TV and movie props such as Prop Store, The Movie Prop Warehouse, Premier Props, It’s a Wrap, and others, a guarantee or a certificate of authenticity is usually expected.
How do the props become available? At the close of a TV series, the production companies dispose of the props used on set usually at auction or they are sold wholesale to companies. If props are rented, they are returned to the company that provided them and they may resell them through auction sites. Actors, extras, crew and visitors also acquire the props after the production ends as souvenirs.
It’s important to know that there can be multiples of a single prop created in case the original is lost, damaged, misplaced or becomes unusable through normal production. Ask if the prop you’re interested in was used onscreen or kept as a backup. Also, read the description carefully to be sure the prop is not a reproduction.
Not that there’s anything wrong with a reproduction! The Vitameatavegamin bottle or advertising sign (image 1) is available on eBay to help remind you that you don’t need to poop out at parties.
So, open a can of Duff Beer, sit a spell and enjoy your favorite TV show with your own classic prop close at hand. Y’all come back now, ya hear?
This is from an article originally published on WorthPoint.com
I have a background prop I bought a long time ago. Claims it was used in Bonanza and other shows. Probably sat on a shelf?
https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/286461-bonanza-tv-show-prop