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Michael Jackson's deathbed was withdrawn from auction

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

The headboard from Michael Jackson's deathbed was withdrawn from auction on Tuesday at the request of the singer's family.

But previously unseen footage of the King of Pop's 1993 concert tour is up for sale in London this month, and auctioneers say it could fetch up to $6 million.

The London-based Fame Bureau is selling the concert footage, filmed during Jackson's "Dangerous" tour in 1993 at a stop in Argentina, on Nov. 26. If the film meets expectations, it would become among the top prices ever paid for any pop culture memorabilia at auction.

It was shot by Jackson's production crew and meant to be an intimate portrait of Jackson on tour. But the singer was unhappy with the quality and gave the lone copy to his driver, who is now selling the footage, the auction house said.

"It's a film that's frighteningly personal and up-close," said Fame Bureau CEO Ted Owen in an interview posted on YouTube. "It's like you're on stage with Michael Jackson".

A DVD of the "Dangerous" concert tour, filmed in Bucharest, was released in 2005 and is still available on Amazon.com and other retailers for about $12.

Items related to Jackson have skyrocketed in value since his death in 2009. The red and black leather jacket he wore for his 1983 "Thriller" video sold for $1.8 million in Los Angeles in June.

But an elaborate antique Louis XV-style headboard from the bed where Jackson died on June 25, 2009 is no longer among potential Jackson collectibles, according to Julien's Auctions.

It carried an asking price of $3-5,000 in a December sale of items from the rented Los Angeles mansion where the 50 year-old singer was found lifeless more than two years ago.

But auctioneer Darren Julien said the headboard was removed from sale at the request of the Michael Jackson estate and the singer's family.
"We want to maintain a good relationship with the family and we don't want to do anything upsetting for them," Julien told ET