The prosthetic nose worn by Laurence Olivier when he played Richard III in his classic film will go up for sale as part of an extensive collection of accessories and personal items that belonged to the actor.
His estate and his widow, Dame Joan Plowright, 94, a Golden Globe and Tony Award-winning actress, will auction about 350 lots.
They come straight from the couple's home in Sussex and have never been on the market before. While some reflect his contribution to the dramatic arts, others are more personal elements.
The exaggerated nose, along with a hump and a rubber glove in place of a withered left hand, enhanced Olivier's grumpy performance as Richard III in the 1955 film which he also directed and produced.
“I wanted to look like the most evil thing that existed,” he recalled in his book On Performing, published in 1986, three years before his death, at age 82.
The nose is preserved in a box with a note suggesting it was a gift from one of the film's makeup artists on her 80th birthday. Cube: “Dear Larry: We have both turned 80 years old. Happy Birthday. Here you have the first nose that we used in Spain. Remember that you would not shoot on the 13th.” It is estimated to sell for around £1,500.
The auction will include accessories from the crown that Olivier wore in his award-winning Shakespeare performances. He wore a leather and gold metallic crown when he played King Lear, which was televised in 1983. It marked his last Shakespeare performance, for which he won an Emmy. The crown is estimated to be worth around £900.
The sale will take place in December in Los Angeles and will be conducted live online, through a renewed partnership between Julien's Auctions and TCM, the leading authority on classic cinema.
Giles Moon, the collection's lead specialist, said: “It's an incredible collection. There are so many treasures. It is one of the great pleasures to be able to bring this to the public. “There is going to be a lot of interest because it is largely unknown, which makes it even more exciting.”
Other offerings include Olivier's red leather writing holder, which bears his name in gold on the front and pouches containing his eraser and pencil, and his gold pocket watch, which has an inscription from Richard III: “Give me a watch ”.
It has been said that his performances as Henry V, Hamlet, Richard III, Oedipus, Othello, Archie Rice in The Entertainer, Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights and Maxim De Winter in Rebecca earned him artistic immortality.
The auction will include the Venice Biennale Golden Lion he received for his Oscar-winning performance in the 1948 film Hamlet, which is estimated to sell for around £11,500.
Her Oscar nomination plaques for Wuthering Heights, Marathon Man and Sleuth will also be offered, along with rare photographs and Plowright's Golden Globe Awards for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film Enchanted April and the television movie Stalin..
Other memorabilia includes a replica of the National Theatre, which Olivier helped create. “Our beloved director 1963 – 1973” is recorded on it, presented to the actor at the end of his term as the theater's first director.
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