Pop culture at a hefty price

One bullet fired from one gun changed history and the American psyche forever.

That's how a Florida real estate magnate describes the gravity of Jack Ruby fatally shooting Lee Harvey Oswald in the gut while Oswald walked out of a basement garage amid a police escort and a swarm of reporters.

Ruby, a Dallas nightclub owner, strode up to Oswald, the man accused of assassinating President John F. Kennedy, and shot him on Nov. 24, 1963.

When Oswald died, the truth about Kennedy's assassination died with him, leaving people to ponder conspiracies and other theories, said Anthony Pugliese III, who has owned Ruby's gun for 17 years.

"We'll never know what really happened," Pugliese said.

Given the gun's historical weight, Pugliese hoped to sell it for at least $2.25 million during a colossal "Pop Culture Auction" held over the weekend at the Palms. That would be 10 times what he paid the Ruby family for the revolver in 1991.

Ruby bought the gun in 1960 for about $62.

But the highest bid, which came over the phone, was $750,000. Pugliese rejected it.

Later, he said he received an unofficial offer of $1 million after the bidding was closed. He said he wasn't inclined to accept it, and expects to get a host of post-auction bids.

Pugliese said he is in no hurry to part with such a profound piece of history.

"I don't mind keeping it," he said.

He plans to donate the proceeds from the auction to the Sierra Club, he said.

The South Florida man said he decided to unload the collection he has amassed so he can concentrate on developing a biosustainable community south of Orlando, Fla. He recently bought 41,000 acres -- roughly 64 square miles -- to build a sort-of colony that uses alternative energy -- be it wind, solar or ethanol -- and electric cars.

At the auction, Ruby's gun was a linchpin in a heady array of memorabilia from American films, music, pop culture, history and politics.

Casual observers who didn't want to spend, say, $25,000 on Mel Gibson's sword from "Braveheart" or $45,000 for Christopher Reeve's "Superman" costume, could check out the wares displayed museum-style in glass cases.

Headwear proved the most lucrative. The Wicked Witch of the West's hat from "The Wizard of Oz" sold for $170,000. The lethal, statue-decapitating derby, flung by Asian hatchet man Odd Job in "Goldfinger," pulled in $110,000.

Morbid items yielded hefty sums. Take Jayne Mansfield, the 1950s big-screen bombshell. Her blood-stained glove from her fatal car accident sold for $25,000.

Oswald's toe tag and a lock of hair drew a $66,000 offer, stirring ecstatic applause from Pugliese's corner.

Some touted items, aside from Ruby's gun, failed to sell. Madonna's wedding dress from her "Like a Virgin" video and the jacket John Lennon wore on the "Abbey Road" album cover found no takers.

Most Beatles memorabilia sold well, as did Elvis memorabilia.

Houdini also proved popular. Wayne Lensing of Illinois, was perhaps the biggest buyer of the legendary escape artist's props.

Lensing has a museum back home, and has begun incorporating devices from Houdini's acts. On Sunday, he bought handcuffs and arm locks as well as a burlap straightjacket and a crate from which Houdini escaped.

Houdini, who spent part of his childhood in Wisconsin, is an icon in that area of the Midwest, Lensing said. "Even the kids know about him."

Aside from Houdini's stuff, Lensing bought a cigar stub that Elvis smoked ($1,200) and the wingtip shoes Ruby wore when he shot Oswald ($6,000).

Pugliese said it's no surprise that the possible sale of Ruby's gun generated such widespread interest.

The slaying, captured by cameras, became an impromptu snuff film seen by millions of viewers.

"I saw it live on TV; I know how it sticks in your mind," said Pugliese said. "It's even stronger in your mind than something like 9/11."

Contact reporter Scott Wyland at swyland @reviewjournal.com or (702) 455-4519.