By Rollo Ross
BEVERLY HILLS (Reuters) – Personal items that once belonged to the iconic comedic actress Betty White, including a gold watch from her mother, are set to go up for auction in September.
Awards, paintings, scripts, jewelry and red carpet outfits from the homes of “The Golden Girls” actress were put on display at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills on Tuesday.
White died at age 99 on Dec. 31.
“This is an auction representing an incredible life and career. It’s a lifestyle auction,” said Martin Nolan, the executive director of Julien’s Auctions.
“All these items came from her home in Brentwood or her residence in Carmel in northern California, where she lived with her husband Allen Ludden,” he added.
The most personal item, according to Nolan, is a “14-carat gold watch that was gifted to Betty Dec. 25, 1940 with the initials T.C.W. which, of course, is Tess White, Betty’s mom.”
White started her career in radio in the late 1930s and by 1939 had made her TV debut. By 1952, White had her own television series “Life with Elizabeth” and went on to have iconic roles in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “The Golden Girls”.
She was one of the first recipients of a star on the Walk of Fame in 1960. A smaller replica, given to the recipient when they are awarded the star, is up for auction.
There are also numerous paintings of animals and paintings by animals.
“Pets were her thing. She said that she liked to keep her job in show business so that she could support her business with animals,” Nolan said.
Up for auction are three paintings by Koko, a gorilla who communicated using sign language.
Nolan values the entire collection at $1 million to $2 million. The auction will take place Sept. 23-25 in Beverly Hills.
(Reporting by Rollo Ross; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
