Truman Capote’s ashes auctioned off for nearly $44,000

The ashes of the late Truman Capote — who wrote the acclaimed novels “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”  and “In Cold Blood” — were auctioned off over the weekend for $43,750 by Julien’s Auctions in Los Angeles. The self-proclaimed “auction house to the stars” obtained the late author’s remains from Joanne Carson, ex-wife of the late “Tonight Show” host Johnny Carson. Joanne Carson became friends with Capote through his many appearances on the late night talk show before his death in 1984. The buyer will remain anonymous, said Julien’s Auctions president Darren Julien, adding that the seeming morbidness of the sale would have probably delighted the late author. The ashes are inside the carved Japanese wooden box, pictured above, in the original cemetery packaging from Westwood Village Mortuary. Roughly 50 Capote items were up for auction over the weekend, including clothing that belonged to him, a pair of ice skates, books, and the shirt he was wearing on the day he died. Two locks of Marilyn Monroe’s hair were also auctioned off on Saturday for $70,000; a watch that once belonged to Steve Jobs sold for $18,750; and a script for “The Matrix Revolutions” that belonged to Keanu Reeves went for $5,700.