Larry Birkhead is selling some Anna Nicole Smith memorabilia at an upcoming auction for charity and his daughter Dannielynn’s future.
Birkhead, a photographer who became a key figure in the media circus surrounding Smith’s death in 2007 after it was revealed he was Dannielynn’s father, says he does not need the money, but his daughter, now three, does have “different needs” such as security and private schools.
“It’s like, do I want to hold on to one of Anna’s dresses or do I want to try to help Dannielynn’s future?” he told Reuters.
Birkhead has spent the last three or four months “buried in storage bins, archiving and cataloguing” Smith’s possessions.
He created piles of items to be sold and piles to be held for Dannielynn as keepsakes of her mother.
Up for sale on June 26 by Julien’s Auctions in Las Vegas are big-ticket items such as a 1992 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster and several bronze statues, both given to Smith during her marriage to oil tycoon J Howard Marshall.
Also going under the hammer is Smith’s furniture as seen on her former E! network reality TV series, The Anna Nicole Show.
Smith’s Marilyn Monroe memorabilia, many gowns she wore at red carpet events and several of her own paintings will also be sold.
“You’ll see Anna’s love for the finer things, but you’ll also see the down home girl that would paint pictures and carry little fun purses,” said Birkhead.
Even a dog bed and bowls belonging to her miniature poodle, Sugar Pie, are up for sale, while a dress worn by Smith in a PETA ad will earn proceeds for the animal rights group.
Sales from all other items will be tallied and a flat fee will go to the Anna Nicole and Daniel Wayne Smith Foundation, which helps underprivileged children.
The remaining money will go to in to a trust for Dannielynn.
Smith, a former Playboy model and reality TV star, died in February 2007 in Florida of an accidental drug overdose.
At the time, Smith was in a legal battle over proceeds from the estate of her late husband Marshall and Dannielynn stood to be the key beneficiary.
But this past March, a federal appeals court ruled Smith’s estate was not entitled to any of the $US300 million she sought from Marshall’s estate. Last week, another appeals court denied a request to reconsider the decision.
“We have money,” said Birkhead.
“We have more than enough to survive on. [Auction proceeds] would just supplement that.”
