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Citizen Kane Oscar auctioned off Orson Welles' Citizen Kane Oscar auctioned in US
(about 1 hour later)
The Oscar won by Orson Welles for writing the 1941 groundbreaking film Citizen Kane has been sold by an auction house in California. The Oscar won by Orson Welles for writing the groundbreaking 1941 film Citizen Kane has sold at auction in California for $861,542 (£549,721).
The golden statuette fetched $861,542 (£549,721). Welles wrote, directed and starred in the film, which was nominated for nine Academy Awards. Welles wrote, directed and starred in the film, regarded by many as one of the greatest films of all time.
It won in only one category - best original screenplay. That was to be Welles' only Oscar. It was nominated for nine Academy Awards but won in only one category - best original screenplay.
Citizen Kane is regarded by many as one of the greatest films of all time. The statuette, Welles' only Oscar, was once thought lost but resurfaced in 1994 when a US man tried to sell it.
The statuette resurfaced after the filmmaker's death and was put up for auction by a cinematographer who claimed Welles had given it to him as a form of payment. Cinematographer Gary Graver claimed Welles had given it to him as a form of payment.
There were numerous legal battles before the family of Orson Welles won back the rights of ownership. Numerous legal battles ensued before Welles's won back the rights of ownership.
The identity of the bidder who won it at an internet auction has not been revealed. The identity of the bidder who won it at an internet auction has not been revealed. But the auction house said the second-highest offer came from magician David Copperfield.
Academy Awards very rarely come up for sale. Since 1950, the academy has required Oscar winners to sign an agreement that they will never sell their statuette.
But some high-profile sales have taken place before. In 1999, singer Michael Jackson paid $1.54m for the Oscar given to David O Selznick for producing Gone With The Wind.