Debbie Reynolds spent more than 40 years and millions of dollars trying to build a Hollywood memorabilia museum to house her collection of costumes, cars and props from Tinseltown’s greatest cinematic productions.
But after her fourth developer went bankrupt, she gave up on her dream.
“I’m just getting a little saddened and weary by it and all,” Reynolds, 79, tells The Post. “So I just thought it was time to make a change. That happens in life, I guess. Sometimes you have disappointments, and you either consider it a disappointment or consider it just meant to be.”
So on June 18, Reynolds — who starred in such hit movies as “Singin’ in the Rain” and “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” — will auction off 600 of the best Hollywood treasures she’s collected over her lifetime. The rest of her items will be sold in December, with the estimated profits going toward paying off Reynolds’ debts.
(The June sale alone is expected to gross $7 million.)
“Rather than pass away before seeing it done, I’d sell it,” the star says with sadness over the auction, which the Profiles in History auction house will organize in Beverly Hills.
Now the public will have a chance to own some of Hollywood’s most iconic fashions. Got $2 million to spare? Marilyn Monroe’s fabled “subway” dress from “The Seven Year Itch” could be yours. Willing to spend $300,000? Then you’ve got a chance at owning the ornate black-and-white ascot dress Audrey Hepburn famously donned in “My Fair Lady” (one of Reynolds’ favorite pieces). And if you’re willing to shell out upward of $150,000 for a pair of worn-out shoes, you might get lucky enough to slip your feet into the ruby slippers Judy Garland wore during the first two weeks of filming “The Wizard of Oz.”
But the sequined slippers almost didn’t make it to the auction table. “I love my daughter [actress Carrie Fisher] so much, I would give her anything,” Reynolds says. “But when she asked me [in the ’80s], ‘Mommy, I’d like to give George [Lucas] a great present. Can I give him the red slippers?’ — I didn’t want to give them to her. So I told her I’d loan George one and keep the other. And a few years later I realized I had made a mistake and called and asked if I could borrow the other one back,” Reynolds says. “He’s a great sport and knew I was trying for a museum.”
Reynolds’ family encouraged her to sell the items, which were housed until recently at her ranch in Northern California.
“Basically, what Debbie has is what’s left of Hollywood,” says Profiles in History president Joe Maddalena, who will showcase the trove on the SyFy program “Hollywood Treasures” June 15.
“Hollywood never cared. They never wanted to help her. They didn’t really care a whole lot about their heritage. And she does,” Maddalena says, noting that it took more than six months to sort through the star’s vast collection.
Reynolds first got her start collecting in 1970, when MGM went bankrupt and decided to liquidate its assets. She went to the auction and spent more than $400,000 of her savings to acquire studio movie artifacts — everything from the costumes to the props needed to re-create a particular scene.
“I’ve always loved movies . . . I’m a fan. But I don’t produce films,” says Reynolds. “So my small way of contributing was collecting.”
In 1971, Fox went bankrupt, liquidating its assets. Reynolds swooped in to build her collection.
“Credit card, credit card, credit card . . . bought me a lot of things,” she explains.
“Because she was there at the right time, she had first shot at the best of the best,” adds Maddalena.
Reynolds is only holding onto two items from her collection — including a sketch of her from “Singin’ in the Rain” — “for the [two] children,” she says. Her son, Todd, “is keeping my ‘Unsinkable Molly Brown’ red fabulous-looking dress I wore in that.” That means Reynolds will have to part with some of her most cherished treasures, such as Charlie Chaplin’s bowler hat — “I really wanted to keep that,” she admits, “and Harpo Marx’s top hat with the little curls.”
“Carrie wanted the car . . . the little red MG [used by Marilyn Monroe and Cary Grant in ‘Monkey Business’], but I told her we were going to sell that. She can’t drive it . . . and I don’t want it to just sit in the garage.” And what does Reynolds plan to do with the money from the auction? “There won’t be a lot left. I have a lot to pay off. Maybe take a trip myself, without working for a change,” she says. “I travel 42 weeks a year and have for 65 years . . . I’m an old rock ’n’ roll girl.”
dschuster@nypost.com