Hollywood Charity Estate Auction of Mr. John Calley/Sony Pictures

MR. JOHN CALLEY

Date of Birth:  8 July 1930, Jersey City, New Jersey, USA

Date of Death:  13 September 2011, Los Angeles, California, USA (cancer)

Mini Biography

John Calley was born the son of a car salesman in Jersey City, New Jersey, and attended Columbia University before briefly serving in the Army. At NBC, he started in the mail room and moved up through the ranks from from 1951-57 in a still-young TV industry, from sale and production before settling in as director of nighttime programming. Later at Henry Jaffe Enterprises, he developed and produced musical programming; soon after he served the Ted Bates Advertising Agency as its radio and TV programming VP, until 1960.

Eventually it was at Filmways, where Calley hit his stride and either developed or produced appealing fare from Catch-22 (1970) to The Americanization of Emily (1964), The Cincinnati Kid (1965) and The Loved One (1965). When Warner Bros., merged with Filmways later in the '60s, Calley was promoted to executive VP of worldwide production, later rising to president and then vice chairman, under Wells, Frank.

In addition to All the President's Men (1976), Calley's Warner Bros. years featured hits like Superman (1978), Chariots of Fire (1981) and Woodstock (1970). However, after falling victim to an unhappy marriage and burnout from his involvement in the making of 120 films at WB, he all but dropped out of Hollywood for the next 10 years, moving away from the studio scene to pursue the life of a "virtual hermit" first at his huge home on Fishers's Island, NY and then in rural Connecticut.

Eventually in the 1990s, Calley returned as one of the producers of Merchant-Ivory's The Remains of the Day (1993), which led to the only Oscar nomination in his half-century career.

Also in 1993, Calley was persuaded to return to the executive suite in an effort to resurrect faded United Artists. His credit for doing so was linked to this shepherding the latest James Bond feature, big-budget GoldenEye (1995), as well as his decision to support the low-budget Leaving Las Vegas (1995).

Ultimately, it was when he once again teamed with director Mike Nichols (of 'Catch-22' fame) that he scored his greatest triumph at UA, with The Birdcage (1996) comedy that grossed well over $100 million.

However, that same year, Calley moved on from MGM/UA to Sony Pictures Entertainment as its president and COO, where he managed to achieve another turnaround. Two years later, having met his latest challenge, he returned to producing, once again hitting the mark with Nichols's Closer (2004), and then with the Da Vinci Code (2006 )original and sequel.

In 2009, Calley received recognition from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences when he won the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Awardand was celebrated as 'one of the most trusted and admired figures in Hollywood.'

When film executive and producer John Calley died on September 13, 2011, Variety described him as a "studio lion." In his 50-year career, he headed three different major movie studios and helped fashion dozens of popular as well as influential pictures, including The Exorcist (1973), 'Catch-22,' 'All the President's Men' and 'The Da Vinci Code'. Calley was renowned as a brilliant, almost scholarly executive, who was candid , humorous and low-key, yet his productions ran the gamut of budgets and genres.

Spouse

Meg Tilly(13 October 1995 - 2 February 2002) (divorced)

Olga Schoberová(30 December 1972 - 31 December 1992) (divorced)

Hello Everyone

I hope everyone enjoyed reading this mini biography of the late Mr. John Calley from Sony Pictures. We have been hired by the John Calley Charitable Foundation to liquidate the remaining items from his estate

We decided, due to the nature and importance of these remaining item to hold a charity auction to liquidate these items.

Venue of the auction is The Sportsman's Lodge on Ventura Blvd in Studio City.

This estate contains many movie and Hollywood items such as posters from Men in Black and others.

Original Oil Paintings by Christiane Kubrick (Stanley Kubrick's Spouse), other oil paintings, Antique English Prints and Etchings and more.

Also included in this sale will be a book collection which contain signed first editions, movie books, car books, boat books, hollywood books, autographed books and more.

Lots of Hollywood items such as movie posters from various movies, academy award paperwork, actual nomination certificates, scripts of a hundred movies, some are older pieces. Also, many pieces of hollywood ephemera, snow globes made about several movies, a starship trooper ship direct from the prop room, the code wheel from the DaVinci code with Ron Howard saying thank you to John Calley and more. A ton of movie posters both framed and loose. Most movie posters were meant for theatres, not your home wall. We even have the 1947 version script from the Great Houdini.

We even have two original rolls of movie film from "The Big Sleep", still in their 1940's Warner Brothers original film cans.

There are 3 steel door refrigerators in different sizes, china, household and even a boat engine if we can figure out how to move it!

There is fine furnitue, rattan and more. Also some boat items which came from one of his several yachts. An original boat compass off the USS Constellation

Speaking of yachts, we are also selling one of his fine yachts, a 1984 53 foot Magnum Maltese. Original price was over $400,000 and we get to sell it with a minimum reserve price of $75,000 (we hope to get the charity a bit more).  (THE BOAT HAS BEEN SOLD)

This is going to be a fun charity auction set up and run by Ken & Lynn's Antiques & Estate Sale Services in conjunction with the Ames Auction Galleries and the John Calley Foundation.

Mr. Jeffrey Ames will call the auction for us and this will be an inventoried, numbered and catalogued auction.

I will update you more with photos and information as it becomes available.

Preview will be Saturday from 10am until 6pm and Sunday from 8:30am until the auction starts at 10am.

We will have hot coffee and danish in the morning for your early morning pleasure.

Come on out and support the John Calley Charitable Foundation.

12-25-13 UPDATE:

We have professional photographs from George Hurrell and Mr. Richard Ehrlich, many oil paintings and English prints by Currier and Ives.

The books are just fabulous. There are approximately 1000 books, most are first editions and a large portion of those are signed.

We have unopened DVD's and CD's as well as scripts from various movies.

We have the prop and background information with photographs from the vatican used for "Angels and Demons" we also have the near complete production file for Jane Austin Book Club.

We have a fabulous collection of Geodes that he collected thru the years.

Nice pieces of furniture, 2 Japanese robot dogs still in their original boxes and two model jets from netjets still in their boxes.

Note: This will be an informal auction. You will be able to examine and touch almost all the items and this will be an absolute auction with only a handfull of items which must meet a small reserve.

Also, to help protect everyone from unfaithful patrons, a refundable $100 deposit will be required to get a bidders number. You can use cash or a credit card for this deposit.

1-8-14 UPDATE:

We have uncovered some really nice French Rattan furniture, also there is real antique furniture in the distressed style. and a real nice sleigh style bed.

There are 4 or 5 nice carpets, most are wool and room size with a really unique runner in a "U" shape for stairs.

A wooden duck collection, Lieca camera collection, books on Faberge, Bently, Mercedes, Antique French prints, Many many movie posters which will be sold by the lot.

In the paintings, there is Haitian Art, Canadian Art, Antique Etchings, Currier & Ives, Prints, and more.

White china in both Wedgwood and Coalport. I believe the pattern is Nantucket.

Many self recorded jazz cassettes and also professional jazz recordings.

I will continue to add photographs on a day to day basis.