While auctions of Hollywood memorabilia are nothing new, some items about to hit the block have a provenance that’s really unique.
When Harrison Ford was in the U.K. shooting the original Star Wars in 1976, he answered an ad in the paper from an older English couple in the Notting Hill section of London, asking to rent a flat in a house.
His landlords had no idea who he was, referring to him only as “an excellent tenant, very tidy.”
As the shooting continued, “the owners struck up a genuine rapport with Ford,” and the actor spent “time in the garden having drinks and relaxing after filming.”
Ford even kicked in money for new plants for the backyard and attended a family birthday party.
The family noted that Mark Hamill was a frequent visitor — again, a virtual unknown at the time — as was their co-star Carrie Fisher.
When the movie wrapped, Ford left behind an incomplete shooting script of the blockbuster-to-be, personal notes and a letter from his agent — which, in part, chided Ford for not being in touch with his wife at the time, the late Mary Marquardt. They incidentally divorced in 1979.
All those items from U.K.-based Excalibur Auctions will be hitting the auction block on February 17; the script alone is expected to fetch around $10,000 to $15,000.
Excalibur Auctions’ Jonathan Torode said, “Although other copies of this script have come to market previously, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to … offer a version with such wonderful provenance … The touching backstory to these items adds even more appeal for avid Star Wars fans and we anticipate huge interest from around the globe.”
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