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A replica of the clown doll from Tobe Hooper's Poltergeist from the film's original dollmaker. In the film, Robbie Freeling's (Oliver Robins) clown doll grabbed and dragged him under the bed where it tried to strangle him.

Poltergeist became the eighth-highest-grossing film of 1982 and was nominated for multiple Academy Awards®, including Best Visual Effects. In the decades following, the film has inspired numerous sequels, a 2015 remake, and various parodies and homages, with both the New York Times and American Film Institute ranking it in their top film lists.

This doll, a similar but not exact replica of the production-made dolls, was created by original clown doll maker Annette Little circa the 1980s. Three stages of head were made for the clown doll's evil transformation in the film; this mid-transformation second stage style head was not seen in the finished film. This clown features a hand-painted plaster head with synthetic orange hair hand-sewed onto the body via holes along the neckline. Both the hat and body are made of a poly-blend sateen fabric with decorative stars and moons adhered, internal wire armatures, and polyfill stuffing.

The stitching of the frills and vest still retain their original blue colour, while the majority of the fabric on the cuffs and hat has faded from age to a softer pink tone, as all the clown dolls from production did. This doll exhibits snagged threads, torn fabric, discolouration, and faded colour. Dimensions: 122 cm x 61 cm x 25.5 cm (48" x 24" x 10")

Estimate: £20,000 - 40,000 US

View all lots from POLTERGEIST (1982)