Memorabilia from the set of Friends, including a jumper worn by late star Matthew Perry, have been sold in an auction marking three decades since the US sitcom first aired.
Friends: The One With The 30th Anniversary Auction featured costumes worn by the main cast and notable guest stars, furniture and props from Central Perk – where the group often gathered on screen.
The top-selling item of the auction was a studio-made reproduction of the Central Perk orange sofa where "the gang spent many famous scenes", Julien’s Auctions said.
The prop sold for 29,250 dollars (€26,300) – almost 15 times its original estimate.
Among the items exceeding its estimate was a teal, polo-style jumper worn by the character Chandler Bing (Perry) in an episode titled The One With The Holiday Armadillo.
It was worn during a scene in Central Perk where his fiancé Monica Geller (Courteney Cox) confirms she won’t be changing her last name to Bing, and again when Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow) brings her late mother’s Christmas candy dish to their holiday party.
The jumper sold for 6,500 dollars (€5,800) – more than six times its estimate.
Other clothing items from the show’s guest stars included the pink ensemble worn by Winona Ryder, who played an old sorority sister in The One With Rachel’s Big Kiss, which sold for 2,600 dollars (€2,300).
The white dress shirt worn by Bruce Willis in The One With The Ring, where his new girlfriend Rachel tries to get him to open up, sold for 3,250 dollars (€2,900).
A studio-made reproduction of the Geller Cup Trophy prop, from an episode titled The One With The Football, also sold for 9,100 dollars (€8,200) – marking 30 times its original estimate.
The sitcom originally aired on 22 September 1994 until 6 May 2004, spanning 10 seasons.
The show starred Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green, Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani, David Schwimmer as Ross Geller, Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay, Cox as Monica Geller and Perry as Chandler Bing.
"Thirty years since its debut in 1994, people from all over the world are still falling in love with Friends as evidenced by the success of today’s 30th anniversary auction," said David Goodman, chief executive of Julien’s Auctions.
"Since the announcement of this auction celebration, interest pivoted to an all-time high with thousands of bidders joining Julien’s and Warner Bros.
"Television’s nostalgic journey of Friends that culminated with all of the show’s iconic items being sold beyond their pre-sale estimates."
The auction comes weeks before the one-year anniversary of Perry’s death.
He died from the "acute effects of ketamine" on 28 October at the age of 54.
Five people have been charged in connection with his death, and are said to have taken advantage of the US actor after he fell back into addiction last autumn.
Source: Press Association
