| If celebrity trash collecting is a good barometer of who’s hot, here is a little sampling from the third annual Junk of the Stars auction: Elizabeth Taylor’s worn-out pink satin pumps. (Expected to fetch at least $2,000) The pajamas Ally McBeal star Calista Flockhart wore in a “oohga-chucka” dancing baby fantasy. (Bidding starts at $1,200) A squeezed-out toothpaste tube, autographed by Gillian Anderson of The X-Files. (Because it will probably be purchased by a skeptic, it comes with a letter of authenticity. $50 minimum bid.) The Sept. 4 auction will benefit California’s ERAS Center, a program for “at-risk” children with emotional and physical disabilities. And this pleases the father of Hollywood dumpster divers, 66-year-old Ward Harrison, who has stuck his nose in some of the best garbage cans. “When I started poking around Beverly Hills, I started a trend,” he says. “I’m glad to see the hobby has gotten so classy.” Among Harrison’s biggest finds: Letters from Fred Astaire to Ginger Rogers; Rock Hudson’s Christmas cards; and a principal’s note sent to Tori Spelling’s parents, which might confirm why she will never portray Madame Curie. His collection is valued at $50,000. Harrison, now retired, had no part in the Junk of the Stars auction. “I don’t even bother dumpster diving anymore in Beverly Hills,” he says. “Since the early ’90s, all the really big stars have gotten shredders.” |