Pee-wee’s Big Payday as Iconic Bike Sells for $125K
Big bids for Pop Culture icons.
The on-screen stunt bicycle from
Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, 1985, $125,000.
In the 1985 movie Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, Pee-wee tells the character Francis, who covets his cool bicycle and offers to buy it, that he wouldn’t sell his bike for all the money in the world. Not even for a trillion dollars.
For decades, collectors have also prized Pee-wee’s beloved bike, one of the most iconic in cinematic history. But where Francis failed, one lucky collector succeeded in scoring the sweet wheels for $125,000 at Van Eaton Galleries’ “Pop Culture: Collection of Jay Ward” auction May 3–4, where it was the marquee lot.
A handmade wooden cut-out of Bullwinkle
displayed at Dudley Do-Right’s Emporium in Hollywood,
1980s–2000s, 76 1/2 in. x 45 1/2 in. x 3/4 in., $8,750.
The sale was part of a larger memorabilia auction from the estate of Ward, creator and producer of animated favorites including Dudley Do-Right, George of the Jungle, and Rocky & Bullwinkle. Ward, who died in October of 1989 at age 69, collected and preserved many popculture treasures and icons from movie and TV franchises spanning multiple decades. The auction included autographed celebrity photos and movie posters, Star Wars items, guitars signed by rock legends, props from fan favorites Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and much more that collectors eagerly snapped up.
A LEGO minifigure prototype of Frodo from
2000, as portrayed by Elijah Wood in The Lord
of the Rings, along with a letter from New Line
Cinema requesting Wood’s approval, $2,000.
Pee-wee’s on-screen bike, which sold for more than double its high estimate of $60,000, was built by BMX innovator and famed stuntman Gary Littlejohn. In the movie, Pee-wee rides the bike during a chase sequence, and in the famous scene where he shows off some stunts for a group of kids watching. He flips over the handlebars and says, “I meant to do that.”
Another standout was Leon Russell’s 1963 Fender Stratocaster, which achieved $34,375 against an estimate of $20,000 to $30,000. The songwriter, musician, and two-time Grammy winner played with countless legends over his sixty-year career, including Bob Dylan and Frank Sinatra.
Dudley Do-Right prototype thermos and lunchbox,
Universal Vacuum Products, thermos is 8 in.,
lunchbox is 9 in. x 7 in. x 3 1/2 in. x 7 in., $25,000.
Rounding out the top lots were two prototype lunchboxes with thermoses featuring some of Ward’s famous characters. Each fetched $25,000, smashing their estimates of $100 to $200. One set features Bullwinkle and Rocky, and the other Dudley Do-Right. Made by Universal Vacuum Products, these were eventually produced in color and are highly collectible.
Bullwinkle and Rocky prototype lunchbox and thermos,
Universal Vacuum Products, 1962, thermos is 8 in.,
lunchbox is 9 in. x 7 in. x 3 1/2 in. x 7 in., $25,000.
A large Bullwinkle styrofoam golden statue from the
premiere of The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle,
49 in. x 35 in. x 94 in., $7,500.
Bullwinkle was popular with bidders, and among the items that stole the show were Ward’s one-of-a-kind mascot costume of the moose that brought $21,875, over three times its $7,000 high estimate; a handmade wooden cut-out of Bullwinkle displayed at Dudley Do-Right’s Emporium in Hollywood that fetched $8,470, more than four times its high estimate of $2,000; and a large golden Styrofoam Bullwinkle statue from the premiere of The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle that sold for $7,500, almost double its high estimate of $4,000.
An Elvis Presley-signed record sleeve for the single
“All Shook Up” (RCA Victor, 1957) in blue ink with a
personalized dedication, “To Pat,” 7 in. x 7 in., $2,375.
Other highlights were a one-of-a-kind Bugs Bunny doll by Charlotte Clark from the 1950s that sold for $5,625, almost three times its high estimate of $2,000; an Elvis-signed record sleeve for “All Shook Up” that sold for $2,375, four times its high estimate of $500; a LEGO prototype mini-figure of Frodo from The Lord of the Rings that sold for $2,000, five times its high estimate of $400; and One-Eyed Willy treasure props from The Goonies that brought $1,500, almost four times the $400 high estimate.
Three gold-painted metal doubloons and metal dish
props from One-Eyed Willy’s treasure
in The Goonies, 1985, $1,875.
For more results, visit vegalleries.com.
Photographs courtesy of Van Eaton Galleries.
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