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25 August 2019 |
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Diamonds Are
Forever Moon Buggy up for auction
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The Icons & Legends of Hollywood Auction (page no. 88)
Sale Dates: Wednesday, September 25, 2019 - 11:00 AM PDT
Day 2: Thursday, September 26, 2019 - 11:00 AM PDT
UPDATE 26 September 2019 - SOLD FOR $400,000 +
($112,000) buyer's premium
Lot 430. Sean Connery “James Bond 007” Moon Buggy from Diamonds Are
Forever (EON Prod., 1971). The Moon Buggy was conceptualized by
Academy Award-winning production designer Ken Adam and built by famed
California custom car designer/fabricator Dean Jeffries. |
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ABOVE: (left) 8:30am
‘B’ Stage Thursday, 20th July 1971: Sean Connery during the
filming of Diamonds Are Forever at Pinewood Studios.
(right) Diamonds Are Forever UK quad poster design – the
Moon Buggy was an integral part of the promotional campaign
throughout the world for the seventh James Bond film and appeared
in all the advertising literature. |
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The Moon Buggy was used
in the famous chase sequence as James Bond (Sean Connery) escapes from
Willard Whyte's Tectronics Space outside Las Vegas in the Nevada Desert.
The 4-wheeled vehicle is constructed from a welded tubular steel frame
clad in aluminium panelling and cockpit covered with a Plexiglas dome
hinged on one side and a radar dish unit mounted behind. An arm with
claw implement is attached on each side and a red sphere at
the rear. Unlike other Bond vehicles there was only one Moon Buggy built.
Following production it was used as the centre piece of a worldwide
publicity tour to promote the film. Over time it fell into a state of
disrepair until it was restored in the 1990s
by 007 MAGAZINE Editor & Publisher Graham Rye. |
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ABOVE: (left) 1993 –
22 years after it was first used for filming the Moon Buggy, in
very poor condition, returns to Pinewood Studios. Before and after
its restoration, Graham Rye (pictured) was given permission by
Cyril Howard, Pinewood’s then Managing Director, to store the Moon
Buggy at the studios gratis. (right) 1994 – After its restoration
Graham Rye had the Moon Buggy photographed before it left for
Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas. PHOTOGRAPH/ANDREW PILKINGTON |
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Measures 163 in. long x
101 in. high x 101 in. wide. Exhibits expected age and wear with left
headlight damage. An instantly recognizable icon in the James Bond
franchise. Mechanicals untested. The item is located in the Eastern United
States and special shipping arrangements will apply. Provenance:
CHRISTIE'S South Kensington, December 14, 2004, Lot 204. $400,000 -
$600,000. |
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ABOVE: (left) 1994 –
Graham Rye was invited on an all-expenses paid trip to Caesar’s
Palace Las Vegas for the celebrity opening of the latest
restaurant in the Planet Hollywood chain. (right) 1994 – The
first and last time the Moon Buggy was photographed in front of
the iconic 007 Stage at Pinewood Studios. PHOTOGRAPH/GRAHAM RYE |
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Graham Rye loaned
the Moon Buggy to Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas from 1994 to 2004,
when it was eventually returned to the UK eight months later than
was contractually obligated. |
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On July 31, 2001 it
was offered in auction by Fleetwood Owen at Planet Hollywood
(London) but failed to sell. |
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In December 2004 it
was offered in auction by Christie’s and received only one bidder –
Planet Hollywood – who purchased the vehicle (for £23,000) with the
intention of using it in their then latest project the Planet
Hollywood Las Vegas Resort & Casino. For whatever reason the vehicle
was not displayed at Planet Hollywood’s new venue and sat in their
Florida storage facility for the next 15 years unseen by the public. |
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ABOVE: 1972 – Bond
Girl Lana Wood a.k.a. Plenty O’Toole poses with the Moon Buggy
during its promotional tour in Munich, Germany where the film
first opened on December 14, 1971. |
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TRIVIA NOTES:
In the Diamonds Are Forever script given to Dean Jeffries,
the Moon Buggy was to burst out through a breakaway wall and drive
off down a service road before turning on to a main highway and
disappearing from view. It was only when film's director Guy
Hamilton saw the location that it was decided to stage a chase over
the rocky and duned desert terrain. Unfortunately Dean hadn't
constructed the vehicle to take that kind of punishment, and much to
his displeasure (and the filmmakers) the Moon Buggy kept breaking
down during filming. On one occasion during filming the vehicle
broke down out of shot, but the rear wheel which had come off can be
clearly seen bouncing back into shot in the finished film! Watch out
for it the next time you see the movie on TV or DVD/Blu-ray. |
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ABOVE: (top left)
May 1971: The Moon Buggy in action at the ‘John Manville Gypsum
Plant’ in the Nevada desert outside Las Vegas in Diamonds Are
Forever (1971). (bottom left) The Moon Buggy as rediscovered
by Graham Rye in a field in Kent. (right) May 1971: Director Guy
Hamilton (in hat) and Camera Operator Bob Kindred prepare to shoot
close-ups of Sean Connery actually driving the Moon Buggy. |
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