Holy Memorabilia! Original ‘Batman’ TV Costumes Fetch Nearly $1M at Auction

How much would you pay at auction for Adam West and Burt Ward’s original costumes from Batman? For a Henry Winkler leather jacket from Happy Days? For a Don Adams shoe phone from Get Smart?

Those items and many others from the world of classic television resulted in $3.17 million in sales (with buyer’s premium) on Friday as memorabilia from the famed collection of Dr. Stewart Berkowitz went up for bid via Heritage Auctions.

Batman and Robin outfits donned by West and Ward on their 1966-68 ABC series together sold for $575,000, while one worn by Cesar Romero as the Joker went for $212,000. Other accepted bids were for costumes sported by Yvonne Craig (Batgirl, $87,500), Julie Newmar (Catwoman, $68,750) and Burgess Meredith (the Penguin, $46,250). Add that up and it’s a cool $989,500.

Plus, a Batscanner console from the Batcave and Batman’s Batarang and holster realized another $150,000 and $50,000, respectively. (In fact, seven of the top 12 sellers at the auction were costumes and props from the 20th Century Fox Television show.)

Meanwhile, Lynda Carter’s signature Wonder Woman costume that she wore on her 1975-79 ABC-CBS series — complete with red, white and blue corset, golden cuff bracelets and her golden “Lasso of Truth” — sold for $225,000.

Two of Winkler’s Fonzie leather jackets from ABC’s Happy Days brought $87,500 and $75,000, and a pair of William Shatner’s Captain Kirk costumes from NBC’s Star Trek — a Starfleet uniform and an outfit from the “Mirror, Mirror” alternate-universe episode — went for $62,500 and $52,500, respectively.

Also, Barbara Eden’s pink harem costume from NBC’s I Dream of Jeannie and Jackie Gleason’s bus driver uniform from CBS’ The Honeymooners sold for $42,500 apiece; a (very long) Fred Gwynn costume from CBS’ The Munsters went for $37,500; and Adams’ shoe phone from NBC-CBS’ Get Smart fetched $35,000.

The event opened the vault to the “Television Treasures Collection” amassed by Berkowitz, an early adopter of eBay who died last year at age 64.

“This auction was a love letter to the golden age of television,” Heritage Auctions executive vp Joe Maddalena said in a statement. “Stewart Berkowitz built this collection out of pure passion for the shows and characters that defined an era.

“To see collectors from around the world respond so enthusiastically — and to watch iconic pieces from Batman, Wonder Woman, Happy Days and Star Trek find new homes — was incredibly rewarding. It reaffirms that the stories and heroes of classic TV continue to inspire generations.”