The Cowardly Lion costume from the film “The Wizard of Oz, ” was sold for more than $3 million at a New York City auction.
The Lion’s outfit had been authenticated as the one Bert Lahr wore in the 1939 film. The face is a sculpted likeness of the actor.
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American actor and comedian Bert Lahr (1895 –1967), born Irving Lahrheim, is known for his double-role in the film, as Kansas farm worker Zeke and the Cowardly Lion. But in his day he was also a star of the burlesque, vaudeville, and on Broadway.
Lahr was born in New York City, the son of German Jewish immigrants.
A spokesman for the most recent owner of the Lion’s costume, James Comisar, said there was a second costume Lahr used in the film, which was also sold at auction recently for just under $1 million.
The same auction also featured the upright “Casablanca” piano, which broguht in $3.4 million.
