Bidding for this lot will end on Wednesday, August 26th. The auction will begin at 9:30 AM (PDT) / 12:30 PM (EDT) / 5:30 PM (GMT) and lots are sold sequentially via live auctioneer; tune in to the live streaming broadcast on auction day to follow the pace. Note other lots in the auction may close on Thursday, August 27th or Friday, August 28th or Saturday, August 29th.
A Rocketeer helmet with an inner safety helmet based on The Rocketeer's (Bill Campbell) helmet from Joe Johnston's The Rocketeer. In The Rocketeer, pilot Cliff Secord donned his iconic helmet when he took flight as the titular character using an experimental jetpack designed by Howard Hughes (Terry O'Quinn).
The design for the Rocketeer's classic gold helmet - a symbol of Secord's all-American love of flight - originated from Dave Stevens' comic series of the same name. After Stevens requested that a completely new version of the helmet be made for the film, Johnston ultimately approved a much gentler redesign after rejecting multiple prototypes. Cliff's Rocketeer helmet was later used throughout the promotional campaign and has since become among the most recognizable costume elements from any live-action Disney film.
Academy Award®-winning special effects designer Jon G. Belyeu and his team created several practical SFX props for filming, including rocketpacks and helmets that were intended for stunt or SFX sequences. Belyeu's team made vacuum-formed helmets of multiple styles, including helmets with one piece shell construction and helmets with multiple-piece shell construction, designed to be torn away during aerial sequences if needed. They were built around real crash helmets for safety. As the film’s primary stuntman used Design Setters helmets for his filming work, it is unknown whether helmets of this style were ultimately used for filming or tests.
Following production, Disney obtained multiple helmets for use in marketing materials. This one-piece stunt helmet is consistent with documented examples of the two-piece helmets as seen in Campbell's appearance on the cover of Disney Adventures magazine's July 1991 issue, as well as in the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant at Disney World. This crested, vacuum-formed example is believed to be one such Disney helmet based on design elements that distinguish it from the production originals built by Design Setters, such as the use of Bondo in the fins and a lack of faux weld marks around the dome.
Believed to have been built by Jon G. Belyeu's Practical FX team and later acquired from Design Setters, this helmet is painted entirely gold-color, inset with tinted urethane lenses, affixed with a nylon and leather chin strap, and applied on the interior with information stickers, including one labeling it as size "M (6 7/8 - 7 1/8)." The helmet shows evidence of intentional production distressing and tarnishing, together with wear consistent with use, handling, and age, including cracking in its crest and upper right vent, as well as tearing in the fabric around the foam padding. Dimensions: 19.5" x 9.5" x 10.5" (49.5 cm x 23.25 cm x 26.75 cm)
Estimate: $12,000 - 24,000
View all lots from ROCKETEER, THE (1991)
This item comes with a Propstore Certificate of Authenticity.