How could there any another Friars Club scandal?
The fabled showbiz clubhouse went out of business several years ago after groups of vultures wrecked its legacy.
You can read the whole ugly history by clicking here.
So what now? Julien’s Auction house in Los Angeles is selling off a lot of memorabilia and souvenirs from the club. It’s unknown if the seller — so far unidentified — has the rights to the objects, or if they’re authenticated.
An insider tells me that years ago, the Friars auctioned off a piano they said belonged to Frank Sinatra. It turned out later he didn’t, it was just a gift to the club from a member.
A lot of what’s up for auction at Julien’s is meaningless, and won’t be worth anything anyway.
But some of it is pricey, like $2,000 for a violin maybe signed or owned by Jack Benny. There’s a trunk full of jokes that belong to some comic, or many.
There’s also a bust of Frank Sinatra by late sculptor Jo Davidson, already bid up to $2,000. Another bust, of JFK, by late sculptor Robert Berks, is picking up steam at $600.
Who’s getting the dough from all these sales? I could offer some likely characters, but we’ve got a call into Julien’s and to Friars Club lawyer Arthur Aidala.
If you have a relative who belonged to the Friars, check out the website and see if something that isn’t theirs is about to be someone else’s.
Here’s the description of the Jack Benny violin. Someone should tell his grandkids:
“A handmade violin from Eduard Reichert, crafted in Dresden in 1911, approximately 23 inches in length, formerly owned by violinist and entertainer Jack Benny. The violin is mounted a wooden display case with a wine red fabric background, along with a plaque which reads “Jack Benny’s violin inscribed ‘To Roberta with love, Jack Benny.'” Donated to the Friars Club by opera singer Roberta Peters, a star soprano who appeared on The Jack Benny Program in an episode titled “Jack Does Opera” in 1962. Peters had worked with Benny at least one other time, performing an aria during the 1961 event “Carnegie Hall Honors Jack Benny.”
PS Email me if you know who owns this stuff at showbiz411@gmail.com
Â
