Michael Jackson Wins Oscar

Thursday February 18, 1999 12:00 AM EST

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A record price for Hollywood memorabilia was set Saturday at a Sotheby's New York auction when Michael Jackson (bidding over the phone through an agent) paid $1,542,500 for producer David O. Selznick's 1939 Best Picture Oscar for "Gone With the Wind." The price shattered the previous mark of $607,500 (set in 1996) for the Oscar won by Clark Gable as Best Actor for the 1934 film "It Happened One Night." The pre-sale estimated price for the Selznick trophy had been $300,000.

• Saturday's auction of pop-culture memorabilia also saw spirited bidding on a group of lots from the classic 1950s sitcom "The Honeymooners." The gritty Kramden "kitchen suite," consisting of dining table and chairs, sink, stove and a decrepit icebox, was bought for $63,000 by Larry Jones, the general manager for cable network Nick at Night's TV Land. (The pre-sale estimate had been $15,000.) Other "Honeymooners" gewgaws ranged from Jackie Gleason's bus driver uniform, which fetched $64,100, to Audrey Meadows's apron. That went for a mere $575.