Further confirmation that the irresistible pull of childhood nostalgia knows no rational boundaries: Entertainment Weekly reports that the original Cowardly Lion costume from The Wizard Of Oz has sold at auction for more than $3 million. Given that a backup version of the costume recently netted around $1 million, that’s some pretty steep inflation for the dubious privilege of getting a little more of that authentic Bert Lahr sweat stink.
As we reported earlier, the costume—certified as the one worn in the film, and made from real lion skins (Hollywood magic!)—was sold by Los Angeles Museum of Television founder James Comisar in order to fund an exhibition of his other memorabilia. No word on the mysterious person who placed the winning bid, but perhaps it’s the same anonymous Angeleno who, in that same auction, coughed up more than $3 million for the upright piano used in Casablanca. If so, that person’s neighbors should brace themselves for invitations to a deeply unsettling one-person show several months from now.