More than 80 Michael Jackson collectibles — including the late pop star’s famous rhinestone-studded glove from a 1983 performance — were auctioned off Saturday, reaping a total $2 million.
Profits from the auction at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York’s Times Square crushed pre-sale expectations of only $120,000 in sales.
The highly prized memorabilia, which included items spanning the many stages of Jackson’s career, came from more than 30 fans, associates and family members, who contacted Julien’s Auctions to sell their gifts and mementos of the singer.
Jackson’s flashy glove was the big-ticket item of the night, fetching $420,000 from a buyer in Hong Kong, China. Jackson wore the glove at a 1983 performance during “Motown 25,” an NBC special where he debuted his revolutionary moonwalk.
Fellow Motown star Walter “Clyde” Orange of the Commodores, who also performed in the special 26 years ago, said he asked for Jackson’s autograph at the time, but Jackson gave him the glove instead.
“The legacy that [Jackson] left behind is bigger than life for me,” Orange said. “I hope that through that glove people can see what he was trying to say in his music and what he said in his music.”
Orange said he plans to give a portion of the proceeds to charity.
This is an excerpt from CNN.com’s “Glove, other Michael Jackson items fetch $2 million” Read the full article at CNN.com
Michael Jackson’s Moonwalk Glove Auctioned
November 22, 2009