emmys

On October 7th, Doyle New York will offer at auction the Estate of Beverly Sills.

One of the world's greatest coloratura sopranos, Beverly Sills' diverse collection comprises over 460 lots of fine art, furniture, decorations, jewelry, handbags, photographs, costume designs and opera memorabilia from her home overlooking New York's Central Park.

A variety of costume designs and memorabilia will be offered, including a design by Nikolai Alexandrovich Benois for Sills as Pamira in Rossini's "L'assedio de Corinto". The pastel on paper piece has an estimate of $1,500 to $2,500. Another drawing up for auction is by Jose Varona of a costume design for Sills as Cleopatra in Handel's "Giulio Cesare". The pencil, colored pencil, watercolor, ink wash and gouache on paper drawing has an estimate of $600 to $800.

Several Emmy Awards won by Sills will also be up for auction, including the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Emmy won by Sills for Outstanding Classical Music Program for 1974-1975. The lot also includes a New York Area Emmy Award for Outstanding Informational Program in 1976-1977 and three Emmy Honorary or Nomination plaques presented to Sills. Sold as a single lot, it has an estimate of $1,000 to $1,500.

Art lots include a pencil on paper drawing by Fernando Botero, a Colombian artist, which has an estimate of $20,000 to $30,000. There's also an oil on panel painting by Beryl Cook, a British artist, with an estimate of $12,000 to $18,000.

Handbag collectors will be impressed by the large selection of Judith Leiber evening bags, including clutches, shoulder bags and minaudieres.

The public is invited to the exhibition on view from Friday, October 2 through Tuesday, October 6. Doyle New York is located at 175 East 87th Street in Manhattan.

Born in Brooklyn, Beverly Sills was catapulted into international stardom singing Cleopatra in New York City Opera's landmark 1966 production of Handel's Julius Caesar. Acknowledged as "America's Queen of Opera," she appeared on the cover of Newsweek in 1969 and Time in 1971, and traveled to the world's leading opera houses as an ambassador for American talent. In 1975, she made a triumphal Metropolitan Opera debut as Pamira in Rossini's The Siege of Corinth, receiving an 18-minute ovation. Retiring from singing, she became Director of the New York City Opera (1979-1989), then Chairman of Lincoln Center (1994-2002), and finally Chairman of the Metropolitan Opera (2002-2005).

And the Emmy Award goes to ... Camacho Cigars!

Camacho has announced that it will be the official cigar for the HBO Luxury Lounge® at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards. The lounge will be held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, From September 18 – 20, 2009. At the event, Camacho cigars will feature its top-end 10th Anniversary Robusto cigar, contributing to an already elegant affair.

"Camacho Cigars is proud to be a part of the HBO Luxury Lounge," said Dylan Austin, marketing director of Camacho Cigars. "We are excited to be aligning Camacho Cigars with HBO, the premiere name in cable television, to honor The 61st Primetime Emmy Awards."

[Photo via Camacho Cigars]

This Sunday, 9/21, at 8 p.m., get ready to park yourself on the couch to watch ABC and gawk at all the celebs who are famous-for-being famous and oh yes, the real actors, as they parade up and down the red carpet at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards. I'm always interested in the gifts and perks they get, though, because I know that manufacturers know that there's no better advertising than that which (whom) is unpaid: a celeb wearing or using your item.

Let's take a peek at some of the items inside this year's swag bag, according to the New York Post: "Everyone from Gossip Girls to Desperate Housewives will have the chance to be 'gifted' with Valentino and Jimmy Choo sunglasses ($300-$400), Rock & Republic jeans ($200-$300), Klipsch Image headphones ($350) and even drugstore finds like Dove chocolates ($2.50) and 5 Gum ($1.50)."

Well, fresh breath is a priority in the celeb world. ... Read more by clicking below!

Since dogs don't have to pay taxes on their Emmy swag, they probably constitute the only group of gift recipients from this year's awards that didn't have to think twice before playing with their new goodies. And they had a lot to play with because the value of the celebrity pet gift bags from the EXTRA Awards Lounge was about $1,200. The bags included an embroidered Brody Bag, Sushi Pups dog toys and an exclusive Year of Your Dog Tag from Bark Avenue Jewelers, in addition to loads more stuff. It may be a cliche to say it's a dog's life - but it's clearly true for the celebrity pets.

With the Emmy Awards approaching in just a few weeks, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (ATAS) took the time to remind celebrities that their swag bags are considered taxable income and need to be reported as such when tax season rolls around. This is no small thing, either. The value of this year's Emmy gifts is estimated to be between $27,000 and $33,000. The ATAS even sent out letters to the presenters asking for compliance with the various tax codes with a waiver to sign, proving that they read it.

One of the reasons that the ATAS is being rather strict is that the IRS reportedly stands to collect over $1million from Oscar bags alone, which were worth over $100,000 each last year, and the ATAS doesn't want to be held responsible for any tax problems stemming from the Emmy Awards.

For a full list of the goodies that the Emmy presenters will be getting, click past the jump.