Victory! Auction Is a Thriller

Donna Frieden, 34, went shopping Sunday and paid $1,400 for a black fedora.

“This was my birthday present, my Christmas present and my anniversary present,” the Sherman Oaks voice-over artist said. “I’m not going to buy any clothes for a long time.”

This was not just any hat, mind you. This particular headpiece belonged to superstar Michael Jackson, and Frieden had long coveted one. Several times she came close to catching the trademark fedora that the performer tossed into the audience after singing “Billie Jean” in his concerts.

Always Wanted His Hat

“I have always wanted to catch the hat at his concerts, but it always went to the person in front of me or next to me. I’ve always wanted it so badly,” said Frieden, who attended two concerts in Jackson’s 1984 “Victory” tour and three during his just concluded “Bad” tour.

“I’m not normally star-struck. I don’t usually go after things like this, but Jackson is such an incredible performer.”

Frieden was able to buy her heart’s desire at an auction in a North Hollywood warehouse where Enid Jackson sold some of the clothing and memorabilia she won in a divorce settlement with her ex-husband, Jackie Jackson, Michael’s older brother.

Enid Jackson said she has “warehouses and warehouses full of stuff,” belonging to members of the Jackson clan that she plans to sell because she no longer wants to pay for its storage and maintenance.

Though Frieden admits that $1,400 is a lot of money to pay for a hat that she will be “too afraid to wear in public,” she said she and her husband agreed she could bid as high as $1,500 for it.

Most of the Jackson-related items at the auction--including a silver lame suit, blue and gold brocade vests, an iridescent jumpsuit, a black and white, tiger-skin patterned spandex leotard, a turquoise and rhinestone spandex leotard, a number of belts, pairs of boots, and several gold and platinum records--were snapped up by businessmen who hope to capitalize on people’s attraction to stars.

Memorabilia Shop

“A lot of people love anything associated with their favorite artist,” said Paul Scharfman, who purchased several costumes worn by Michael Jackson’s brothers during the Victory tour. Scharfman hopes to resell the items at The Rock House, a boutique he plans to open on Melrose.

He said he has been planning to open the boutique for 10 years and will feature clothes and memorabilia from musical stars.

The biggest purchaser of Jackson memorabilia was Brian Murphy, director of memorabilia artwork and display for the Hard Rock Cafe. Murphy spent about $12,000 for more than a dozen Jackson items, which he said will be used to decorate the cafe’s London restaurant, and branches under completion in Washington and Boston.

Murphy said he attributes much of the famous restaurant chain’s success to the power of music memorabilia to draw large numbers of people.

As she watched strangers bidding for costumes she helped design for her ex-husband and former brothers-in-law, Enid Jackson took it all in stride.

“I have pictures and I have memories that no one can take away,” she said.