John Wayne’s Hat Is Part Of An Auction of Iconic Celebrity Headgear

John Wayne’s cowboy hat can be yours—for a price. Wayne’s iconic Stetson is just one of several dozen hats from a bygone era that are set to hit the auction block, according to the Hollywood Reporter. In addition to John Wayne’s hat, bidders can score the legendary actor’s cowboy boots and spurs, too.

John Wayne’s famous hat is part of a collection that once belonged to New York TV and radio legend Joe Franklin, who apparently was able to convince his famous celebrity guests (he had more than 300,000 of them in his lengthy career), to leave him with a souvenir after appearing on his show. Franklin died in January, 2015, and left behind a massive collection of celebrity memorabilia. The items from the upcoming auction come from an anonymous private collector who purchased them from Franklin.

John Wayne’s hat will be available alongside Frank Sinatra’s fedora and Walt Disney’s signature Mickey Mouse ears. Other famous hats from Franklin’s interviewer heyday include hats that once belonged to Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly, and Audrey Hepburn, a leather hat belonging to Jimi Hendrix, Charlie Chaplin’s derby, and Babe Ruth’s Gatsby. You can see the massive collection on the auction’s website, as well as all of the other celebrity items that are available, including Janis Joplin’s harmonica, Jack Benny’s violin, and Steve McQueen’s leather racing jacket.

In the past, John Wayne’s former possessions have been big sellers on the auction block. In 2011, CBS News reported that an auction of 700 items from John Wayne’s estate brought in a whopping $5.4 million. Among the John Wayne memorabilia that sold was an eye patch he wore when he played Rooster Cogburn in the 1969 movie, True Grit, which went for $47,800. In addition, Wayne’s final driver’s license, issued shortly before he died in 1979, netted $89,625. And Wayne’s hats are known for fetching a pretty penny. The green wool beret that John Wayne wore in the famous film The Green Berets sold for $179,250. A previous cowboy hat seen in Wayne’s movies Big Jake, The Cowboys, and The Train Robbers sold for $119,500. So, fans eyeing that Stetson may want to apply for a bank loan or a serious credit card credit limit increase.

John Wayne was one of the biggest movie stars of his era. In 2014, TV news journalist Barbara Walters told ABC News that her 1979 interview with John Wayne just three months before he died was one of the biggest highlights of her 50-year career. Walters described Wayne as “so masculine and straightforward.”

Incidentally, while John Wayne was known for his gritty blockbuster movies, once in a while, he would make a rare cameo on a comedy series like The Milton Berle Show or I Love Lucy. Diehard John Wayne fans are surely familiar with his famous 1955 appearance on I Love Lucy, where Lucille Ball (whose pillbox hat is also up for auction), gave him an awkward rubdown after he confused her for his masseuse. John Wayne didn’t wear a hat—or shirt—for that scene.

Eleven years later, John Wayne made a guest appearance on Ball’s second sitcom, The Lucy Show. Wayne wore his signature Stetson for the 1966 guest spot.

The auction of everything from John Wayne’s Stetson to Buddy Ebsen’s tattered straw hat will take place April 2 at the Maine-based Saco River Auction on April 2. Full information can be found on the auction house website.

You can see John Wayne rocking his cowboy hat below in the 1971 movie Big Jake.

[Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images]