If you’ve ever wanted to own an original utility belt worn by Adam West in ABC’s Batman, now’s your chance. Propstore’s Los Angeles Spring 2025 Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction includes one of the iconic yellow utility belts. The estimate for the belt is $40,000 – $80,000 and there is an absentee bid of $20,000 that has not met the reserve price. What will it ultimately sell for? We’ll have to wait and see.
The majority of the 1,300 items in the auction are from movies but there are a good number of props and memorabilia from TV shows, including classic TV shows like Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, V: The Series, and more. Perhaps the most obscure item up for auction is a matte painting from Irwin Allen’s 1968 The Man from the 25th Century pilot presentation starring James Darren.
A hand-painted, mechanical Project Delphi matte painting from the production of Irwin Allen’s The Man from the 25th Century. In the television pilot, Project Delphi took control of Robert Prentiss’ (James Darren) car and guided it through sliding doors into their secret mountain base.
Designed and painted by legendary special photographic effects artist L.B. Abbott’s team for effects inserts of the base doors opening, this specialized matte painting is believed to have originated directly from Irwin Allen Productions. It is rendered in mixed media with wooden supports and slats, and features a slide mechanism mounted to a track on the reverse which opens the doors in the center horizontally when pulled. Following production, wood supports for the track broke off. The painting exhibits some scuffing and discoloration from age as well. Dimensions: (approx.) 48″ x 72″ x 2″ (122 cm x 183 cm x 5 cm)
The starting bid is only $600 and the estimate $1,200 – $2,400.
Here are some of the more notable items up for auction that may be of interest to Television Obscurities readers:
- BATMAN (1966-1968) 30. Set of Three Batmobile Dyeline Prints
- STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES (T.V. SERIES, 1966-1969) 317. Leonard Nimoy’s Autographed, Annotated Personal “The Savage Curtain” Script with Abraham Lincoln’s (Lee Bergere) Makeup Appliances
- STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES (T.V. SERIES, 1966-1969) 318. Leonard Nimoy’s Autographed, Annotated, and Bound “The Deadly Years” First Draft Script
- STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES (T.V. SERIES, 1966-1969) 319. Captain James T. Kirk’s (William Shatner) “The Tholian Web” EVA Suit Costume with Helmet, Glove, and Boot Replicas
- THE STAR WARS HOLIDAY SPECIAL (1978) 356. Hand-Painted Boba Fett Animation Cel
- BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (T.V. SERIES, 1978-1979) 538. Cylon Centurion Helmet Master Pattern
- SCOOBY DOO, WHERE ARE YOU! (T.V. SERIES, 1969-1970) 1050. Set of 10 Hand-Drawn Iwao Takamoto Character Sketches
- STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES (T.V. SERIES, 1966-1969) 1114. Maisie-Series Android 492’s (Tamara Wilson) ID Necklace
- STAR TREK: THE ANIMATED SERIES (1973-1974) 1116. DeForest Kelley’s Autographed Personal “More Tribbles, More Troubles” Final Draft Script
- V (T.V. SERIES, 1984 – 1985) 1297. Stunt Visitor Laser Rifle
As much as I’d love to own a stunt Visitor laser rifle from V: The Series or a U.S.S. Voyager concept model from Star Trek: Voyager, I won’t be bidding on any of these items. But I do enjoy browsing online auction catalogs to see what props and costumes still exist from classic TV shows.
I loved the Batman TV show as a kid, and have a used DVD copy of the 1960s movie, since I saw it at a yard sale for 25 cents and thought that was a good price. But a yellow Batman utility belt doesn’t appeal to me. I’ve got some DVDs of favorite shows – plus a few video tapes since I’m really old school – but I can’t think of a TV series I’d pay big bucks for something connected to the show. (I once bought a Bordertown [1980s Family Channel series] crew member baseball cap with the series logo on it, but that was only a few dollars from an eBay seller.)