I'll admit wondering whether a celebrity has ever wandered in here looking for information on their favorite collectibles. Most of my visitors remain annonymous, so if anyone famous has stopped by they didn't sign the guest book (also known as blog comments!). Given my curiosity, it's not too surprising that I recently had no shopper's resistance when I ran across a book titled What Celebrities Collect! by Michelle Karl. After reading the book, I did a little digging around online and I found more information on the topic. It seemed like the perfect time to highlight some items that celebrities do indeed collect.
1. Bakelite Jewelry
Both
Whoopi Goldberg and
Lily Tomlin are reported to collect
Bakelite jewelry. Tomlin wore lots of this fun vintage plastic in her recurring role on
The West Wing. This is a topic I relish covering on the site, since I've been known to pick up a piece of Bakelite for my own vintage collection from time to time. I also cover
ways to test Bakelite for authenticity on the site, a popular and useful feature for those interested in learning more about vintage Bakelite and how to tell the difference between old pieces and new imitations.
2. Movie Memorabilia
Both actress
Debbie Reynolds and critc
Leonard Maltin are collectors of
movie memorabilia. Given their association with the industry, choosing movie collectibles as a hobby doesn't seem too surprising. Even still it was interesting to read about thier collections and the history they've preserved through them in Karl's book. Read more about an avid collector of
It's a Wonderful Life memorabilia through the related links below.
3. Antique & Collectible Dolls
The list of celebrities who collect
vintage and antique dolls doesn't come up short:
Demi Moore,
Morgan Fairchild,
Marie Osmond and
Richard Simmons. Even controversial singer
Courtney Love is rumored to collect Mattel's Liddle Kiddles dolls from the 1960s. Osmond also designs and sells her own line of dolls, while Moore enjoys adding dolls to her collection while traveling around the globe. With the vast variety of dolls available, from
rag dolls to
bride dolls, it's no wonder why so many celebrities are enamored with them.
4. Board Games
While Karl's book doesn't go into much detail on the topic, it does interestingly note that writer/director/actor
Quentin Tarantino enjoys playing and collecting games. His specific interest seems to be
board games, in fact. Other celebrities who fancy vintage board games haven't seemed to surface yet, but with the vast selection of games available there are bound to be more out there.
5. Roseville Pottery
It really is
Back to the Future for
Roseville pottery collector
Lea Thompson. Karl reports that she uses some of her blue-hued pottery to decorate her bathroom. Thompson's in good company with
Designing Women star
Jean Smart who also collects this beautiful and popular pottery. Smart was noted in one interview remarking about how much prices for Roseville have increased since she first began collecting. She's no doubt wise to the many
Roseville reproductions on the secondary market as well.
6. Vintage Typewriters
While you don't usually associate
Tom Hanks with communicating through the written word, it's true that he's a bona fide
vintage typewriter collector. A
Country Living online article notes that he keeps one by the phone to jot off notes to friends. Hanks also laments that he often spends $45 on a pre-World War II typing machine only to invest three times that much getting it in working order. Say "amen" if you know of what he speaks.
7. Old Photographs
If you have a collection of old photographs, you're in good company with actress
Jamie Lee Curtis. Being an amateur photographer herself, Curtis has a penchant for black & while photos. She's also tried to collect work of some of the master contemporary photographers. Curtis more than likely knows her fair share about proper
photo preservation and care, a topic good to brush up on before starting a photography collection.
8. Vintage Clothing & Accessories
Lots of stars know that vintage clothing and accessories can enhance a sense of
personal style, or perhaps their stylists are responsible for all the vintage dresses showing up on red carpets. One way or another, certain stars are known to collect vintage clothing, purses and other accessories including
Lea Thompson and
Demi Moore. It's also noted in Karl's book that
Celine Dion collects
shoes. Her collection seems to lean toward newer shoes, but she collects them nonetheless.
