This month we travel to Palm Springs, Calif., home (and former home) of many of Hollywood’s biggest and brightest stars.

The beautiful desert city is a hotbed of celebrity memorabilia. Even when strolling down world-famous Palm Canyon Drive, evidence of movie stars and celebrities are literally at your feet. Similar to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the city of Palm Springs has placed stars in the sidewalk featuring the likes of Lucille Ball, Frank Sinatra, Sonny Bono and dozens of others.

The city is still home to Bob Hope, Loretta Young and many other stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age. But even deceased stars have a presence here. No, not celebrity ghosts inhabiting the old Palm Springs Movie Colony (the enclave where the who’s who of Hollywood lived) but, rather, in the form of personal effects for sale in various antique and resale clothing stores.

I was lucky to stumble into an antiques mall called Antiques Center recently, and found some incredible pieces from the estates of Lana Turner and Ginger Rogers.

Bob Turanchick, owner of the mall, graciously allowed me full access to all the memorabilia he had on display from both estates. Turanchick opened a store in the the mall in April 1997. In addition to his own merchandise, Turanchick’s Antiques Center houses 20 other antique dealers offering a variety of wares ranging from soup to nuts.

I loved modeling Ginger Rogers’ necklace and Lana Turner’s mink jacket. left    right

With all the antique stores in the desert, I asked Turanchick how he was fortunate enough to land the collections of the two Hollywood glamour queens. “Cheryl (Crane), Lana Turner’s daughter, lives in Palm Springs and had been into the shop several times,” he said. “She was impressed by the quality of the shop and its dealers, and asked if she could consign some pieces. I accepted, and have had the estate since last April. It’s been very successful.”

Turner’s memorabilia and personal items are very popular with young and old collectors alike. Turanchick has had buyers ranging from 8 to 80. The highest-priced pieces he’s sold were a pair of lamps from Turner’s bedroom for $1,800. He personally acquired her pony skin vanity bench for $500. Turner is one of his favorites. “A very classy lady,” he said.

Because of the Turner and Rogers memorabilia, Antiques Center has become a featured spot on the local Celebrity Tours bus line – a tour that goes through the Movie Colony, visiting homes of stars like Elvis Presley, Liberace, Loretta Young and others. Turanchick says that many of the tourists come back and purchase a memento to take back with them to Germany, Toledo or wherever they may be from.

Lana Turner estate sale tag

The Lana Turner estate features a number of personal items, including the actress’ full-length mink coat made by Lipsey of Beverly Hills that carries a price tag of $3,000, a painting done by Turner for $1,500, a black broad-tail turban for $650, a Gucci tote bag with Turner’s air travel card for $2,500, a gold shawl for $100, sunglasses with “movie star tint” for $350, an ivory cigarette holder for $350, the unique calfskin and gold-plate bracelet offered in this month’s Treasures auction for $150, the rubber stamp used by Turner on photos bearing her facsimile autograph for $450 and, something that no one should be without – a white mink necktie for $425! There are many, many more items priced from $50 on up. The collection is beautiful, and contains something for everyone.

The Ginger Rogers collection has special appeal in Palm Springs. Rogers was a local resident, and many people come by to pay tribute. Some get quite emotional when viewing her personal mementos. Among the items offered are sterling cutlery for $320, a Wedgewood cup and saucer for $150, a beautiful Weiss rhinestone necklace for $788, a Tiffany cigarette box for $2,500, a wildly-colored ceramic boar for $2,250, a pottery bowl actually made and painted by Rogers (with her signature on the bottom) for $988, the snakeskin purse offered in my Treasures auction for $48, and several other elegant and collectable personal items. The collection is owned by a man who bought more than 900 lots at the Rogers estate auction.

Ceramic dish made by Ginger Rogers with signature on bottom.

Turanchick is in the process of making room for personal memorabilia of another star soon to come to his Palm Springs shop – Mae West. Keep your eye on this column. We’ll be there when Mae hits town!

Ginger Rogers’ snakeskin purse and unusual ceramic boar.

In the coming months, I’ll take you to more shops featuring celebrity memorabilia. And, when I’m out and about, I may even take you to a celebrity home or two. Palm Springs is one of my favorite places in the world, so I’m always looking for an excuse to be there.

Until next time, keep collecting! If you’d like me to try and find some piece of pop culture memorabilia, write to me and I’ll get out and shop for it! Thanks also for your great response to my first column!

Courtesy of Pop Culture Collecting Magazine

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