Collectibles of the Rich and Famous

Big names lend glamour to collectibles that express their unique tastes and values.

By Meredith Schwartz -- Gifts & Decorative Accessories, 10/1/2000

Celebrities have always made for hot collectibles-witness the popularity of figurines of everyone from the rock group Kiss to Princess Diana. Now some renowned names are becoming figures to be reckoned with behind the scenes, using their star power to back products that they design or endorse.

Sheena Easton

Two-time Grammy-award-winning recording artist Sheena Easton created a collection of dolls and sculptures based on her vision of angels and their positive influence on our lives, a belief rooted in her Scottish heritage. New York-based Seymour Mann Studios produces and distributes the collection, which includes Four Seasons angel dolls, porcelain fairy figurines, the Little Folk Series, and angel figurines. Angel of Autumn, one of the Four Seasons angel dolls, recently received Doll Reader magazine's Doll of The Year award.

Annette Funicello

Annette Funicello, known as America's Sweetheart, has had many roles on television and film, as well as a career as a recording artist and author. Over the years, she has won four industry awards and received 16 nominations. Funicello also received the first Teddy Bear Review Lifetime Achievement Award for elevating awareness of the collectibles industry. Eight years ago, Funicello founded the Annette Funicello Collectible Bear Co. "to share with people all over the world the comfort and love a teddy bear brings." The limited-edition bears, designed by top bear artists, are distributed by Papel Giftware, Monroe Township, New Jersey. They come with certificates of authenticity, and retail for $50-$80. Funicello's lifelong love affair with bears began at the age of four. She came down with a severe case of chicken pox when her family moved from New York to Los Angeles, and was given her first teddy, named Brownie. "Each of my Teddy Bears has a sense of humor and conveys a sentiment of love and affection," says Funicello. "The most rewarding part is hearing about the joy my bears bring to many different people."

Marie Osmond

Marie Osmond, a member of the singing Osmond family and a TV host with brother Donny, started collecting dolls while on tour, and she added dolls from each country she visited. Marie's personal collection now contains almost 700 dolls.

In 1990, Louis Knickerbocker of the L.L. Knickerbocker Doll Co., Lake Forest, California, read in an article about Osmond's love of dolls. He approached Osmond and suggested that they create a line of porcelain collector dolls. She loved the idea, but wasn't interested in simply endorsing the dolls; instead, she began to design them herself. Several other doll artists also design under the Marie Osmond Fine Porcelain Collector Dolls umbrella. In 1991, the dolls launched on QVC and in the Disney theme parks. Osmond introduced her first vinyl doll in 1994 and her first personally sculpted doll in 1995. The collection contains more than 200 dolls, divided into series ranging from the Four Seasons to Expressions of Love. Her dolls became QVC's top selling doll line and have received numerous award nominations, including Dolls magazine's Award of Excellence. In 1998, a licensing agreement with Eastman Kodak yielded a line of porcelain figurines by Kodak and Marie Osmond. Osmond also uses her dolls to advance causes dear to her heart. The Miracle Children series benefits the Children's Miracle Network, which Osmond co-founded and co-hosts. Marie is the mother of three adopted children, and a special mother/child doll set called "From God's Arms" honors mothers who choose adoption.

Della Reese

Della Reese's career in show business has been joined to her spiritual beliefs from the beginning: She began singing in church at 6 years old, and was hired to sing with noted gospel performer Mahalia Jackson's group at 13. After moving to New York in 1953, she began her career as a recording artist and is still recording. Her album, My Soul Feels Better Right Now, was recently nominated for a Grammy. Reese's television career grew along with her singing. She hosted The Tonight Show, had her own talk show, Della, and a series, The Della Show. She currently stars in Touched by an Angel. Reese is also the founder of the Understanding Principles for Better Living Church, where she has served as pastor for 17 years. She is also the author of a children's book entitled The Piece of God Inside.

Now Reese teams up with Sandy USA Inc., Springfield, Missouri, to offer her own line of collectible figurines, the Legacy Collection, and line of vinyl angels, the Glory Collection. The Della Legacy Collection contains tributes to the traits of courage, love, faith, and perseverance, to remind all of us of the angels in our lives and inspire us to be angels to others. They range from 7" to 10" tall and retail from $75 to $110. Each African-American woman figurine is mounted on a wood base with an engraved nameplate. It comes gift-boxed with a hangtag and certificate of authenticity. The Della Glory Collection represents the angelic qualities and unique traditions of each of the diverse cultures that make up America. Each angel is 15" tall and sits on a wood base with an engraved nameplate., and come gift-boxed with accompanying hangtags and certificates of authenticity. They retail for $85. Proceeds from the collection go directly to the building fund of Reese's church.

Richard Simmons

Fitness guru Richard Simmons was born and grew up in New Orleans, and "prevailed over his own weight problem" before moving to Los Angeles in 1973. After consulting with doctors and nutritionists, in 1974 he launched a health program tailored to the needs of the overweight. He still leads aerobic classes at Slimmons in Beverly Hills. Television and radio appearances in the mid-1970s led to a role on General Hospital and a syndicated series, The Richard Simmons Show. In addition to working on bestselling videos, books, infomercial products, and retail products, Simmons averages 300 days on tour per year.

Simmons became an avid doll collector five years ago, when a friend gave him a doll created by a master artist. Today his home is filled with one-of-a-kind pieces, and he hopes to open a doll museum. To share his passion with others, he created The Collection of the Masters, in which dolls from Simmons' personal collection are reproduced in resin and hand-painted. Within the collection are: Nana's Family, elderly characters sculpted by artist Annie Wahl; Memories of Childhood, by artist Cynthia Malbon, which includes classic portrayals of youth and innocence, as well as depictions of children from bygone eras; Holiday Treasures, featuring Christmas Santas by artist Rosemary Volpi; and Reminder Angels, also by Wahl. Pennington, New Jersey-based Goebel of North America is the collection's exclusive distributor, and plans to expand into collectible and figurine lines, as well as other areas, under the Collection of the Masters by Richard Simmons banner.

Stars in the Wild

Stars in the Wild, Wilsonville, Oregon, is dedicated to the preservation of endangered species. Each of its plush animals was adopted by a celebrity and comes with a hangtag that features the celebrity's photo and personal message supporting the animal and Stars in the Wild. Both the product and the celebrities have strong teen appeal: boy band *Nsync sponsors a white tiger, and singer Christina Aguilera, pictured, adopted a polar bear. The organization's Web site, www.starsinthewild.com, offers limited-edition, numbered versions of its animals, as well as information about the environment and the group's wildlife preservation efforts. Each animal retails for $39.99. One more feel-good detail? The group was founded by 14-year-old Erica Summers, as a project she and her father could do together.