Sir Robin Broadway Bear Goes For $17,000 Bid

The 11th Annual Broadway Bear auction was held on Sunday, and a total of $127,000 was raised, with the top winning bear being Sir Robin of Spamalot. The Sir Robin Bear, which was signed by both Clay Aiken and David Hyde Pierce, sold for $17,000. Photos of all bears, including Sir Robin, and the top bid for each bear, can be found at Broadway.com An interesting tidbit about the Sir Robin Bear that can be found just under its picture is:

This was the hair-raising moment, ladies and gentlemen! The live audience up against the telephone-bidders, this Bear was the highest-winner of the evening! Plus, the rubber chickens cluck and lay-eggs!

Ellenpoppy at The Clayboard tells us that stripedshirts at CV was at the auction and posted the following:

I had a good feeling one of the fandom had won. To the winner, I will tell you that your winning total brought a collective gasp all around BB King's when the gavel was slammed onto the podium, & I was shrieking like crazy when the winning bid. was announced. What a triumphant moment!

When the Sir Robin bear was brought out to the auction, David Hyde Pierce wasn't there to help sell it - but due to schedule conflict, he couldn't. His picture was on the screens, holding the signed bear, then it transitioned into a picture of Clay dressed as Sir Robin, holding the rubber chicken.

The opening bid started at $3000, bringing 'ooohs' from the audience. The host of the show said, "This will separate the men from the boys....or the chicken from the egg", referring to the bear. In less than 2 minutes - barely under 1.5 minutes I'd say - the bids shot straight up to the teens. People were bidding hard & fast. I'm sure jaws were dropping as the nos. climbed, & the auctioneer was trying to keep up w/ the paddles & the shouts coming from her assistants who manned the phones & the bar, where there were additional bidders. It was just WILD!

Description of the materials for Sir Robin Bear, as per the Playbill I received & from having talked to the designer herself:

The chain metal was made with a painted knit. The shoulder & elbow guards are painted leather stretched over a thermoplastic base, studded w/ metal grommets. The robe is handpainted, complete w/ brown paint stains at the hem (to give it the 'distressed, sloshed-in-the-mud' look). The boots were formed w/ heavy paper, covered w/ painted leather. The belt is painted ribbon & lase on a leather base. The hair was teased w/ gel, & the rubber chickesn came from the Abracadabra Superstore. The rubber chickens squawk when squeezed & lays an egg.

The bear is just exquisite. ALL of the bears on display, were absolutely stunning, but of course, we only had eyes one...Lastly, I absolutely ate up the reactions of the Auctioneer, the Event Organizer, & the Bear Designer.

The Auctioneer couldn't believe it. Maybe she didn't care, or expected something else - but from my reading, she didn't think Robin would get the biggest bid...The Designer, Brionna McMahon was the last one I spoke to. She was glowing w/ happy disbelief at how Sir Robin got so much money when in the past, the most one of her bears ever got, was $4000. & she's been contributing to BCEFA Broadway Bears Fundraiser for yrs & never saw anything like this. I gave her a hug, & said, 'I had a good feeling about your bear. You have bragging rights now'. She herself is also a fan of David Hyde Pierce - I'm sure she's now getting how Clay's name has help boost all interest...

Congratulations to the lucky winner of the autographed Sir Robin Bear, as well as to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.