Remarkable, comprehensive collection of approximately 6,500 autographs, chiefly obtained during the 1960s and 1970s by Dr. Charles Ronald 'Ronnie' Bauer, consisting of 2,500 signatures in vintage autograph albums, plus 4,500 autographs (including signed index cards, clipped signatures, trimmed magazine photos, glossy promo shots, and a few candids) held within more than 30 binders. As a whole, the collection focuses on entertainers—primarily Hollywood actors and actresses, plus a handful of directors, musicians, stage stars, and the like—but also includes several politicians, athletes, and other notable figures.
Among some of the best groups in the huge collection are members of the Rat Pack (Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop), Alfred Hitchcock and his favored stars (Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Jimmy Stewart, Tippi Hedren, and Janet Leigh), the Marx Brothers (Groucho, Harpo, and Chico), Wizard of Oz stars (Judy Garland, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Ray Bolger, and Margaret Hamilton), icons of The Twilight Zone (Rod Serling, Vic Morrow, Robert Redford, Burgess Meredith, William Shatner, and Buster Keaton), and Gone with the Wind actresses (Vivien Leigh, Olivia de Havilland, Butterfly McQueen, and Evelyn Keyes). Some other highlights include Steve McQueen, Audrey Hepburn, Natalie Wood, Rita Hayworth, Jayne Mansfield, Ricky Nelson, Paul Newman, Jacqueline Kennedy, Ronald and Nancy Reagan, Joe Louis, Salvador Dali, Edward (Duke of Windsor), and Wallis (Duchess of Windsor).
The collection of 67 vintage autograph albums, mostly circa 1960s, contain approximately 2500 signatures—primarily of Hollywood figures, but also including a smattering of singers, musicians, politicians, and athletes. Highlights include: Alfred Hitchcock (with self-portrait sketch), Steve McQueen, Judy Garland, Bert Lahr, Rita Hayworth, Natalie Wood, Jayne Mansfield, Ingrid Bergman, Jean Seberg, Miyoshi Umeki, Inger Stevens, Rod Serling, Peter Lorre, Errol Flynn, Stan Laurel, Richard S. Castellano, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, Harold Lloyd, Jackie Wilson, Barbra Streisand, Phil and Don Everly, Edward (Duke of Windsor), Wallis (Duchess of Windsor), Joe DiMaggio, Richard and Pat Nixon, Ronald Reagan and Nancy Davis, and Salvador Dali.
A small sampling of other names of note: Burt Lancaster, Agnes Moorehead, Diana Dors, Liberace, Mary Tyler Moore, Robert Redford, Bobby Darin, Sal Mineo, Kim Novak, Leonard Bernstein, Annette Funicello, Alec Guinness, David Carradine, Bette Davis, Rosalind Russell, Nancy Sinatra, Henry Fonda, Rod Steiger, Sam Jaffe, Jack Dempsey, Claudette Colbert, Fats Domino, Chubby Checker, Walter Matthau, George Peppard, Art Carney, Betty White, Otto Preminger, Burt Reynolds, Gloria Swanson, Liza Minnelli, Tony Bennett, Diahann Carroll, Jack Haley, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, David McCallum, Robert Vaughn, Joan Crawford, Warren Beatty, Milton Berle, Leslie Caron, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Gene Kelly, Paulette Goddard, Ava Gardner, Barbara Stanwyck, Margaret Rutherford, Ginger Rogers, Tony Curtis, Werner Klemperer, Angie Dickinson, Burt Bacharach, Omar Sharif, Claudia Cardinale, Dick Van Dyke, Van Johnson, Buddy Ebsen, Dennis Hopper, Adam West, Burt Ward, Peter Fonda, Lana Turner, William Wyler, Gene Tunney, Julie Andrews, Woody Allen, Anthony Quinn, Lee Marvin, Lorne Greene, Van Cliburn, Elsa Lanchester, Jerry Lewis, Gregory Peck, Michale Wilding, Robert Wagner, Janet Leigh, Jack Benny, Betty Grable, Sarah Vaughan, Don Knotts, Andy Williams, Peter Lawford, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Cesar Romero, Hedy Lamarr, Van Heflin, Norma Shearer, Bob Crane, Bob Hope, Vincent Price, Ricky Nelson, Ozzie Nelson, Harriet Nelson, Peter Falk, George C. Scott, Cass Elliot, Bing Crosby, Carolyn Jones, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Jim Nabors, Vic Morrow, Richard Pryor, Diane Keaton, Ernie Kovacs, Hedda Hopper, Gabby Hayes, Lotte Lenya, Charles Laughton, Eleanor Roosevelt, Ben Hecht, Cecil B. DeMille, Kay Kendall, Nat King Cole, Glenn Miller, William Bendix, Judy Holliday, Kim Hunter, Sonja Henie, Chuck Connors, Yvonne De Carlo, Jane Fonda, Sophia Loren, Eli Wallach, Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, Leslie Nielsen, Alain Delon, Fred Gwynne, Mel Blanc, Glenn Ford, Betty Hutton, Shirley Eaton, Lauren Bacall, Gina Lollobrigida, Vittorio De Sica, Marcello Mastroianni, Tippi Hedren, George Burns, Ed Sullivan, Dolores del Rio, James Stewart, Lee Remick, Steve Reeves, Olivia de Havilland, Barbara Eden, Maureen O'Hara, Federico Fellini, Burgess Meredith, Edward Platt, Julie Newmar, Clint Eastwood, James Arness, Noel Coward, Rita Moreno, Lloyd Bridges, Peter O'Toole, Samuel Goldwyn, Joey Bishop, Peter Ustinov, June Haver, Ann-Margret, and Roland Winters. A further group of three modern spiral-bound index card notebooks, circa 2007-2008, contain over 100 signatures, highlighted by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Sigourney Weaver, James Spader, and Lea Michele.
Held within the 30+ binders are approximately 4,000 autographs—consisting of signatures on cards, clipped signatures affixed to scrapbook pages alongside magazine photos, signed images clipped from magazines, autographed glossy promo stills, and a small variety of other formats. Highlights from the binders include:
Signatures: Steve McQueen, Audrey Hepburn, Vivien Leigh, Jayne Mansfield, Ricky Nelson, Clara Bow, Cary Grant, Buster Keaton, Lucille Ball, Katharine Hepburn, Ingrid Bergman, Basil Rathbone, Inger Stevens, Sammy Davis, Jr., John Ford, Edward G. Robinson, Ed Sullivan, Jean Seberg, William Boyd, Margaret Hamilton, Marlene Dietrich, Gene Tierney, Deborah Kerr, Debbie Reynolds, Elke Somer, Gloria Swanson, Joseph Cotten, Kirk Douglas, Gabby Hayes, Carolyn Jones, William Holden, Ernie Kovacs, Claude Rains, Inger Stevens, Joseph Schildkraut, William Castle, Fred Astaire, Michael Landon, Gloria Grahame, Hedy Lamarr, Bill Bixby, Desi Arnaz, William Wyler, James Stewart, Joan Crawford, Lorne Greene, Jane Russell, Richard Rodgers, Duke Ellington, Edith Head, Noel Coward, Cab Calloway, Agnes Moorehead, Liza Minnelli, Tippi Hedren, Liberace, Bob Crane, Benny Goodman, Walter Cronkite, Richard Burton, Lauren Bacall, Joseph Wiseman, Maurice Chevalier, Gloria Vanderbilt, Buster Crabbe, John Huston, Emmett Kelly, Walter Pidgeon, and Margaret Rutherford.
Signed magazine photos: John Wayne, Elizabeth Taylor, Jayne Mansfield, Ricky Nelson, Vivien Leigh, Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, Cary Grant, Bobby Darin, Sal Mineo, Ingrid Bergman, Barbra Streisand, Carolyn Jones, Jennifer Jones, Julie Andrews, Richard Boone, Judy Holliday, Anette Funicello, Ed Sullivan, Shirley Temple Black, Alec Guinness, Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, Jerry Lewis, Liberace, Jane Fonda, Johnny Carson, Yves Montand, Kim Novak, Gregory Peck, Debbie Reynolds, Jane Russell, Natalie Wood, Paul Newman, Claudia Cardinale, Irving Berlin, Gina Lollobrigida, Barbara Stanwyck, Noel Coward, Sophia Loren, James Stewart, and Liberace.
Signed glossy and matte-finish photos: Natalie Wood, Rock Hudson, Alan Ladd, Danny Kaye, Bill Bixby, Kim Novak, Tab Hunter, Charlton Heston, Jerry Lewis, Ed Sullivan, Debbie Reynolds, Warren Beatty, Frankie Avalon, William Powell, Donna Reed, Bob Newhart, Fred Astaire, Burt Reynolds, Bette Davis, Laurence Olivier, Alec Guinness, Burt Lancaster, Mel Blanc, Werner Klemperer, Rosalind Russell, Gloria Swanson, Frances Bavier, Elsa Lanchester, Gene Krupa, Woody Allen, Alan Hale, Gina Lollobrigida, Olivia de Havilland, Eva Marie Saint, Mary Pickford, Janet Leigh, Lauren Bacall, Betty Grable, Agnes Moorehead, Maria Von Trapp, Mae West, and Betty White.
Some of the non-entertainment highlights include: Jacqueline Kennedy, Nancy Davis (Reagan), Mamie Doud Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, J. Edgar Hoover, Barry Goldwater, Edward (Duke of Windsor) and Wallis (Duchess of Windsor), Mountbatten of Burma, Joe Louis, Jersey Joe Walcott, Gene Tunney, Rube Goldberg, Leo Durocher, Hank Greenberg, and Bishop Fulton J. Sheen.
The collection rates in overall very good condition, with irregular trimming and toning, many affixed captions and small magazine images, and general overall wear. While the majority of the autographs in this collection were obtained in person, many were also obtained through the mail or via trade with other collectors. Due to the large quantity, several secretarial and/or printed signatures may be included in the lot (not included in this list). Interested parties are encouraged to view the collection in person at our offices or call us with specific inquiries, as this collection is sold as is and no returns will be accepted.
From the Dr. Charles Ronald Bauer Collection
