My name is Joe Maddalena. I hunt for iconic treasures from the movies and TV shows you loved, and auction them for prices you wouldn't believe. Together with my team of talented investigators, I would scour the globe to uncover Hollywood treasure.
Cast
Joe Maddalena – "Treasure Hunter", Host/Owner of Profiles In History
Brian Chanes – Head of Acquisitions/Consignment Relations
David Hinckley of the New York Daily News wrote "Hollywood Treasure will intrigue film junkies and memorabilia collectors. For the rest of us, it's breezy amusement about a world that, like the movies themselves, we will always be watching from the audience".[2]
Brian Lowry of Variety wrote that "we've seen this movie (or rather, reality-TV show) before, dozens of times, in more glamorous settings. And having each half-hour (two will air back to back) conclude with an auction doesn't really foster much suspense".[3]
Patty Miranda of Shakefire.com wrote "For those who wish there was a Hollywood-themed version of American Pickers, Hollywood Treasure scratches that itch as it returns for a second season".[4]
Episodes
Season one (2010–11)
Ep #
Title
Airdate
101 (1)
"Let the Bidding Begin"
October 27, 2010 (2010-10-27)
Joe tries to recover one of the mechanical sharks used in a Jaws movie that was on display at a junkyard. Later, a Chicago family offers to auction the original carpet bag prop used in the 1964 Mary Poppins film.
Joe meets a New York City collector of classic movie posters and he believes his 1931 Frankenstein poster could fetch a million dollars, but does not convince the owner to part with it. He also meets a film historian who has leads to original King Kong memorabilia.
105 (5)
"London Calling"
November 10, 2010 (2010-11-10)
Joe heads to England to see the car used in the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Later, Joe meets former child star Harvey Spencer Stephens, who played Damien in The Omen (1976) to appraise a tricycle used in the film. Stephens has second thoughts with selling the tricycle and instead, parts with a costume from the film.
With an auction deadline approaching, Joe loses out on obtaining the original Lawgiver statue from 1968's Planet of the Apes, and a wax statue of Jerry Lewis from 1963's The Nutty Professor, but lands obscure items from the collection of the late Forrest J Ackerman, who coined the term "science fiction". Later, actor Christopher Judge, who played Teal'c in Stargate SG-1, offers up dozens of original props used in the series.
Joe comes to the aid of prop maker Lauren Vogt who needs money to save her home and is considering selling her items kept in a storage shed, such as models from James and the Giant Peach and The Nightmare Before Christmas and masks from Enemy Mine. Joe gets a call about a copy of The Wizard of Oz signed by every cast member of the 1939 movie, including Toto. Later, he visits Golden Era science-fiction collector Bill Malone, who will not sell his Robby the Robot from Forbidden Planet, but parts with a ray gun from the film instead.
114 (14)
"Endoskeletons in the Closet"
June 1, 2011 (2011-06-01)
Joe is contacted by Eric Lidoff, the son-in-law of legendary FX artist Stan Winston, to help auction off some family heirlooms to fund a character school in Stan's name. The prize of the collection is a full endoskeleton from Terminator 2. Later Joe checks out a plane on the roof of a restaurant that was allegedly used in the James Bond film, Octopussy, but he finds too many inconsistencies between the plane and production photos from the movie. The last items he looks at are original RKO Pictures title cards.
Joe's mother Betty shows him an article about a Christmas movie-themed museum in Hinckley, Ohio that is closing down and considering selling some of their items. Joe and Tracey visit museum owners Mark and Dana Klaus (aka Santa and Mrs. Claus). After some hesitation, they finally let Joe auction off their Miracle on 34th Street Santa's Sleigh and Reindeer model. Later, other items inspected by Joe and team are a full-body monster from Jeepers Creepers II, a collection of checks signed by Frank Sinatra, Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock.
In Raleigh, North Carolina, Joe, Jon and Tracy check out Wesley Cannon's "man-cave" of collectibles, which features a "body tree" from 300, a goblin sword from Labyrinth and characters from The Dark Crystal. Back in L.A., after appraising a "gobstopper" prop, Tracy visits Mel Stuart, director of the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, who consigns his "Wonka Bar" and a hand-annotated script with the original ending. Later, actor Burt Ward stops by "Profiles Loft" to authenticate Robin'sBatcycle, used in the Batman TV series.
121 (21)
"Lost in Apes"
June 29, 2011 (2011-06-29)
Joe travels to New Jersey to help collector John Azarian hunt down wanted items to add to his prized Lost in Space collection. Tracey finds a rare spaceman suit and helmet from the show which fetches $20K. Joe also auctions off Walter Lantz originals and Mel Blanc possessions to help raise money for animation collector Paul Mayer who needs heart surgery. The items include a Woody Woodpecker costume and animation cels, an Oswald the Rabbit cel, and a Bewitched autograph production still signed by actor Dick York. Jon gets a King Konganimatronic mask he believes is from King Kong Lives, however its actually from the 1976 King Kong making it more valuable. Jesse authenticates an unknown flying saucer model which turns out to have been used in The Dick Van Dyke Show.
122 (22)
"Chitty Chitty Bid Bid"
June 29, 2011 (2011-06-29)
Joe lands for the auction the original car used in the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and races to the studio of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno to present it to guest Dick Van Dyke who starred in the original movie. Meanwhile, Brian checks out some creature costumes and manages to get a Predator 2 costume for the auction. Chitty fails to attract a bid at the starting price of $950,000, but later sells privately for $800,000, not the million Joe estimated for owner Pierre Picton. Another big ticket item exceeds expectations; $210,000 is paid for a hand-written letter from Walt Disney to Ub Iwerks, the man behind Mickey Mouse, offering him a job.
Joe gets a call from Rene Reyes at the Paley Center for Media to appraise costumes and character heads used by make-up artists. He finds several costumes from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and a "Borg" and "Data" costume from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Meanwhile Tracey tries to find Joe a birthday present for his 50th birthday party which is a difficult challenge for a man who buys and sells movie memorabilia, but she manages to find a Twiki costume from Buck Rogers. Actor Felix Silla, who played the robot in the series, also pays a visit. Later Joe gets a Nautilus submarine miniature from Captain Nemo and the Underwater City, to auction.
Joe and Brian purchases the 1977 Chevycamaro "Bumblebee" from Transformers found in a Hollywood stuntman George Sack's junkyard and later drives the car to The Television Motion Picture Car Club meet. A client brings in a Yoda on-set "rehearsal puppet" from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back that goes for $22,500 at auction. Joe and Tracey have a chance to add "District 12", the 72-acre site filmed in Hildebran, North Carolina from The Hunger Games into their auction. They also buy a "Mockingjay" pin used in the movie. Then, a collector comes into the showroom to sell his "puzzle box" from Hellraiser which could be just a replica.
204 (28)
"Auctions Are Like a Box of Chocolates"
June 12, 2012 (2012-06-12)
Tracey and Jon head to Blast from the Past, a local memorabilia store to check out a pair of Wonder Woman's bracelets and golden lasso from the 1975 Wonder Woman TV series. Joe travels to Granbury, Texas to meet up with music producer Chris Christian to auction off his Forrest Gump collection that features Gump's Nike sneakers, the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. running hat and the screen used bench. Then shows Joe his 21-foot filming miniature submarine from the Hunt for Red October. Jon goes to the Hollywood Show in Burbank, California where he tracks down his "others" costume from his stint on season 6 of Lost. Brian buys an "Immortal" battle mask from 300 and a client wants to sell a lock of Marilyn Monroe's hair.
205 (29)
"X Marks the Prop"
June 19, 2012 (2012-06-19)
Brian meets his friend at Vasquez Rocks that has been used as a filming location in the original Star Trek series to show him a screen used "Phaser One" prop. Joe then calls in George Takei to determine if the mid-grade phaser is authentic. Next, a passionate Star Wars collector brings his limited edition replica Don PostC-3PO statue into the showroom to possibly cosign it. Then Joe and Tracey meets Academy award-winning makeup artist Ve Neill at her ranch to see her Beetlejuice collection which features a modern cowhide party couch and a "Betelgeuse" coffin. Meanwhile, Joe and Jon travel to Oklahoma City to secure a Wolverine's claws and dog tags from X2: X-Men United. Also, a new client brings in a Stan Winston's animatronic gorilla head from Instinct.
