C-3PO head from Star Wars actor Anthony Daniels sells for $843,750 in prop auction
A C-3PO head belonging to Anthony Daniels, the actor who played the droid, has sold for $843,750.
The film memorabilia from 1983’s Return of the Jedi fetched a six-figure sum through the auction house on Tuesday. Propstore Auction, TMZ reported Wednesday.
Propstore officials told the outlet that the head was seen on camera in multiple scenes in the third installment of the film series, directed by Richard Marquand and written by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas.
The auction house said the head, made of fiberglass, was the last one for sale in the lot Daniels provided, according to the outlet, and that it was not immediately clear who placed the winning bid.
According to Propstore, the droid’s head with the excessive caution protocol lights up and consists of three separate parts that interlock.
A C-3PO head of Anthony Daniels, the actor who played the droid, has sold for $843,750
Daniels said of the items going away, “I had all this stuff, almost all of it was in closets, drawers and attics. No one looked at it, no one cherished it, if you like. And it was too good to throw away.’ Pictured last year in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, England
Daniels spoke earlier this month with The Hollywood Reporter about the emotional components of saying goodbye to the sentimental item.
“Not only is it the prop that I wore, but it was also a prop that I used in interviews to identify myself,” Daniels told the outlet. ‘It’s very much: ‘You don’t know my face, but you know this face.’
He said that during a photo shoot promoting the item, he “wobbled a little” when it came to letting go of the head and other memorabilia he is selling through the auctioneer.
Daniels said he wondered, “Am I right to go through with this” in selling the items, which he has owned for decades?
“I’ve been living with this stuff for 50 years, some of it, and I have very mixed feelings,” he said.
Daniels added, “I had all this stuff, almost all of it was in closets, drawers and attics. No one looked at it, no one cherished it, if you like. And it was too good to throw away.’
The auction house estimated in a listing for the head of C-3PO that the final sale price would be between $500,000 and $1,000,000.
The head was seen in several scenes in Return of the Jedi during the Rebel Alliance’s battle in Endor, where they are stationed amid the collapse of the Empire at the end of the film.
Propstore officials told the outlet that the head was seen on camera in several scenes in the third episode of the film series
The auction house said the head, made of fiberglass, was the last one for sale in the lot Daniels provided
It was not immediately clear who placed the winning bid
According to Propstore, the droid’s head lights up with the excessive caution protocol
The head consists of three separate parts that interlock, Propstore said
The auction house estimated in a listing for the head of C-3PO that the final sale price would be between $500,000 and $1,000,000.
Among the scenes, according to Propstore, “include when Luke reunites with the group after the speeder bike chase and as the Rebels explore and approach the shield reactor.”
“It corresponds to distinct markings on the right side of the outer ring of C-3PO.”
Propstore said the Star Wars droid is “one of the most recognizable cinema designs of all time,” as “this screen-matched C-3PO costume head, with direct production provenance, is one of the most important artifacts from the original Star Wars film coming to market.’