More than 65 years in the world of acting contemplate sir Michael Caine, one of the most respected and loved British actors of his generation. Who was the flirt Alfie in the sixties, but also the butler Alfred in the Batman saga or doctor Wilbur Larch from The rules of the Cider House He accumulates to his credit more than 170 film titles that have left him a multitude of experiences, earnings and memories, and not only sentimental, but also material. Things, after all, that have filled his life and homes over the years and that he has now decided to part with.
That’s right: Caine sells everything. If not everything, a lot: dozens of objects that have belonged to him over the decades and that he has decided to auction through the British house Bonhams. On March 2, in London, the sale will take place, where there will be objects whose price will vary from 600 to 60,000 euros, approximately.
“It is going to be quite painful to separate myself from such beloved parts of my life and career, but now is the time to move on. I hope that these memories give their new owners as much joy as they have given me ”, Caine explained to the Bonhams house itself. It is not known if the actor wants to remove these objects from his life thinking of moviegoers, due to lack of space or financial need, although that does not seem to be the case, since some British media estimate a fortune of around 65 or 70 millions of euros. Caine also put up for sale two years ago Keston Lodge, his Leatherhead mansion (in Surrey, England) with a swimming pool and movie theater for 4.5 million euros and, according to adventure, the CNN, the sale of that house also makes me want to clear some of the objects that were in it.
Over the years, Caine has become something of an art collector. Although he endorses that theory himself, as he has told the newspaper The Times with his British humor: “I never collected art like a big dealer, only things got too expensive accidentally.” Hence, art is precisely one of the strong assets of the sale. One of the main pieces, whose price is estimated to be between 36,000 and 60,000 euros, is the painting by Marc Chagall Les Amoureux dans l’arbre. In addition, there is also a pastel work by British artist LS Lowry (1887-1976) called Peel park, painted in 1920 and priced at between € 14,400 and € 21,600, as well as a portrait of Caine himself signed by John Bratby in 1977 and priced at between € 2,400 and € 3,600.
In addition to art, there are also Caine’s personal belongings, such as two pairs of glasses that will go on sale together, or his own watch, a Rolex on his wrist that the auction house estimates will sell for between 9,600 and 14,400 euros. You can also buy a director’s chair with your name engraved (1000-1,500 euros), a collection of autographs from the 1970 Tony ceremony, including Caine himself, but also Julie Andrews, Barbra Streisand, James Stewart, Mia Farrow and Maggie Smith (1,200-1,800 euros) or movie posters such as Zulu, 1964 (1,800-2,400 euros) and Alfie, for which he was nominated for the Oscar, the Bafta and the Golden Globe (600-960 euros).
The director of the auction house, Charlie Thomas, has acknowledged on its website that the sale “will create great interest among collectors and movie fans,” and in statements to CNN has assured that this is one of the auctions more personal than Bonhams has ever embraced. “Sir Michael Caine has an appeal that goes beyond age or nationality, his films are part of the history of the 20th century and those who are among the lucky bidders will get a piece of that history, with an object of origin without the same ”, says Thomas, who also defends that they have been collected by Caine over decades, since the actor“ has always been buying the things he loved, as the main reason, and that makes the collection incredibly special ”.
At 88, Caine is still active and last October confirmed that retiring is far from his intentions. In an interview on the BBC He implied that this would be the case, that there were hardly any papers for a man of his age and that now, with a couple of published novels, he was focusing more on his role as a writer; In addition, some health problems, especially pain in the legs, prevented him from moving easily. However, his representatives wanted to clarify that none of that meant that Caine was not going to act again and even he tweeted himself: “I have not retired and that is something that not everyone knows.” In fact, you already have a movie shot, another about to start and another, a third of Now you see Me, announced.
Since 1973 the actor has shared his life with Shakira Baksh, his second wife, of Guyanese-British origin and with whom he has a daughter, Natasha. “Meeting Shakira saved me,” he said six years ago in an interview where he gave an account of the problems he had had with alcohol. “She calms me down, I tell her everything. She was already famous when I met her, but I couldn’t have gotten here without her, ”he said. In addition, the fact of having three grandchildren and wanting to see them grow up definitely separated him from drinking, as he explained a few months ago. “They are my fountain of youth and they have given me a new lease of life without any of the worries or problems. I am completely in love with them and my wife too ”.
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