A leather jacket worn by Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing has fetched 62,500 dollars (£48,260) at auction despite calls from his niece for the sale to be stopped.
The late Hollywood star’s widow Lisa Niemi said she had “mixed feelings” as she sold hundreds of his items at Julien’s Auctions in Los Angeles on Friday, including a silk shirt he wore in Ghost.
She said she wanted to share Patrick’s memorabilia with his fans but refused to comment on opposition from his niece Danielle Swayze, who described the auction as a “slap in the face”.
Patrick, who died from pancreatic cancer in 2009 aged 57, wore the black leather jacket in 1987′s Dirty Dancing when he delivered the famous line: “Nobody puts Baby in a corner.”
It had a pre-sale estimate of 4,000 to 6,000 dollars and was bought by a Hollywood memorabilia collector, who gave his name only as Glenn.
Lisa, who was married to Patrick for 34 years, told the Press Association: “I have a lot of mixed feelings.
“No matter what, it’s still a letting go. There’s always a little bit of loss associated with that.
“While it’s a very positive thing to do, it’s a difficult thing to do.
“I’m such a lucky woman to have had a man who loved me as much as Patrick did.”
Patrick’s other belongings on sale included a surfboard from action thriller Point Break, which sold for 64,000 dollars (£49,410). A torn t-shirt he wore in the 1991 movie fetched 22,500 dollars (£17,370).
His maroon silk shirt and Reebok trainers from 1990 film Ghost went for 17,920 dollars (£13,385), while the actor’s DeLorean car was sold for 81,250 dollars (£62.700).
One of Patrick’s teeth and a set of X-ray images showing his knee and broken leg was bought for 6,400 dollars (£4,940).
Just sold for $81,250! Patrick Swayze’s 1981 DeLorean DMC-12! Sold in our "Property from The Estate of Patrick Swayze" auction! pic.twitter.com/MvcgzSWY29
— Juliens Auctions (@JuliensAuctions) April 28, 2017
Meanwhile, a G-string he wore in 2005 comedy Keeping Mum was sold for 768 dollars (£590).Lisa, who remarried in 2014 to jeweller Albert DePrisco, said she decided to auction Patrick’s items when she moved out of their New Mexico ranch where they had lived for 30 years.She added that a grief counsellor had also advised her that auctioning off the items “would be really healthy for you”.“I could have put it all into storage but nobody would have seen it and nobody would have enjoyed it,” Lisa said.
“Every item holds so much memory and so much history. It’s important to me for people to know they’re not just empty objects. They really hold a life.“Of course the most personal and sentimental items I have kept.”Lisa said a portion of the money raised from the auction will be donated to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.She said she was unable to reveal the percentage of funds that will be pledged to the charity but it “will be generous”.
Patrick’s niece Danielle had called for Friday’s sale to be stopped and set up an online petition, which attracted nearly 1,500 signatures.She told the Press Association: “These were family heirlooms.“It’s a slap in the face that she’s selling these precious memories.”
