Nov 5, 2025 10:00 EST
Stage & Screen featuring The Estate of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
71
Bathing suit design for Esther Williams in Million Dollar Mermaid
Property of a Massachusetts Collector
HELEN ROSE AND WALTER PLUNKETT
Bathing suit design for Esther Williams in Million Dollar Mermaid. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1952. Pencil, watercolor, and white on paper with three attached fabric samples, 15 x 21 inches. Some spotting, offsetting from fabric samples, and foxing. Very good.
An elegant costume design for the Esther Williams vehicle Million Dollar Mermaid. A biopic about the Australian swimming star Annette Kellerman, Million Dollar Mermaid epitomized the Esther Williams aqua-musical craze, featuring synchronized swimming, high, high dives, and beautiful bathing suits. Williams wore this particular bathing suit in the movie's final aquatic sequence in which she, as Annette Kellerman, acts in the 1914 film Neptune's Daughter. (Interestingly, Esther Williams starred in a movie titled Neptune's Daughter in 1949.)
Sold for $704
Estimated at $500 - $1,000
Includes Buyer's Premium
Property of a Massachusetts Collector
HELEN ROSE AND WALTER PLUNKETT
Bathing suit design for Esther Williams in Million Dollar Mermaid. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1952. Pencil, watercolor, and white on paper with three attached fabric samples, 15 x 21 inches. Some spotting, offsetting from fabric samples, and foxing. Very good.
An elegant costume design for the Esther Williams vehicle Million Dollar Mermaid. A biopic about the Australian swimming star Annette Kellerman, Million Dollar Mermaid epitomized the Esther Williams aqua-musical craze, featuring synchronized swimming, high, high dives, and beautiful bathing suits. Williams wore this particular bathing suit in the movie's final aquatic sequence in which she, as Annette Kellerman, acts in the 1914 film Neptune's Daughter. (Interestingly, Esther Williams starred in a movie titled Neptune's Daughter in 1949.)
Auction: Stage & Screen featuring The Estate of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Nov 5, 2025
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Popular Stage & Screen Auction on November 5, 2025 Attracted Global Audience
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Memorabilia, Autographs, Artwork & Photographs Celebrating Theater, Hollywood, Music and Dance
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Archive of Samuel Beckett Material from the Estate of His American Director Alan Schneider Topped $75,000
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Sale Featured a Special Section Devoted to the Estate of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
NEW YORK, NY -- Doyle's popular Stage & Screen auction on November 5, 2025 attracted fans and collectors around the world vying for an exciting range of offerings celebrating the performing arts of Theater, Hollywood, Music and Dance.
The Estate of Alan Schneider
Featured in the sale was fascinating collection of early Waiting for Godot material from the Estate of Alan Schneider that topped $75,000 amid trans-Atlantic competition. “The primary American director of Samuel Beckett plays” and a close friend of the playwright, Alan Schneider died in 1984, and his widow died at 101 this past summer. This remarkable archive offered an extraordinary glimpse into the creative partnership between Schneider and Beckett, spanning decades of groundbreaking theatrical work. Highlights included Schneider’s annotated working copy of Waiting for Godot used in the landmark American production, an inscribed typescript of Eh Joe, and first editions and presentation copies of Endgame and Happy Days, many personally inscribed to Schneider by Beckett. Other treasures included manuscripts, letters, awards, recordings and posters that document a pivotal collaboration in modern theater history. Read more
The Estate of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
Doyle was honored to offer a sequel to the successful 2011 auction of property from the estate of the legendary actor. Featured in the sale were artwork, furniture, photographs and memorabilia. Read More.
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