A leather jacket worn by Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing has fetched $62,500 (€57,000) at auction, despite calls from his niece for the sale to be stopped.
The late Hollywood star's widow Lisa Niemi said she had "mixed feelings" as she sold hundreds of his items at Julien's Auctions in Los Angeles on Friday, including a silk shirt he wore in the 1990 film Ghost.
She said she wanted to share Swayze's memorabilia with his fans, but refused to comment on opposition to the auction from the actor's niece Danielle Swayze, who described it as a "slap in the face".
Swayze, who died from pancreatic cancer in 2009 aged 57, wore the black leather jacket in the 1987 film Dirty Dancing, as he delivered the famous line: “Nobody puts Baby in a corner.”
It had a pre-sale estimate of $4,000 to $6,000 and was bought by a Hollywood memorabilia collector, who gave his name only as Glenn.
Ms Niemi, who was married to Swayze for 34 years, told the Press Association: “I have a lot of mixed feelings.
“No matter what, it’s still a letting go. There’s always a little bit of loss associated with that.
“While it’s a very positive thing to do, it’s a difficult thing to do.
“I’m such a lucky woman to have had a man who loved me as much as Patrick did.”
Auction items
Other belongings on sale included Swayze's maroon silk shirt and Reebok trainers from Ghost, a surfboard and wetsuit from the 1991 thriller Point Break and the actor's DeLorean car.
One of Swayze’s teeth and a set of X-ray images showing his knee and broken leg were also available to buy, as was a G-string he wore in the 2005 comedy Keeping Mum.
Ms Niemi, who remarried in 2014, said she decided to auction Swayze's items when she moved out of their New Mexico ranch.
She said a portion of the money raised from the auction will be donated to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.
Danielle Swayze had called for Friday’s sale to be stopped and set up an online petition to halt it, which attracted nearly 1,500 signatures.
She told the Press Association: “These were family heirlooms.
“It’s a slap in the face that she’s selling these precious memories.”
PA
