Pop Culture Gems to Hit Vegas Auction Block

Funeral home hoping to get thousands for battered old coffin

(NEWSER) - A funeral home is selling off maybe the creepiest piece of Kennedy memorabilia ever: the coffin Lee Harvey Oswald was originally buried in. The coffin was dug up in 1981 to settle a dispute between Oswald’s widow and brother over whether a lookalike Russian agent had been buried in the alleged assassin’s place. Surprisingly enough, one had not. Oswald was reburied in a different coffin. More»

What will we still be talking about next decade? Britney, for one

(NEWSER) - The ‘00s were full of important contributions to culture, but which ones will we still be talking about in another decade? Here are some of New York ’s picks:

• TV: The Sopranos for inventing quality cable, American Idol for changing the music industry, and of course all things Oprah Winfrey.
• Books: The Da Vinci Code for singlehandedly sustaining the book industry, and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay for blazing the trail of combining geek lit with high lit.

Pact bumps pay 3.5% but nixes bucks for online reruns

(NEWSER) - A two-year contract narrowly approved by the board of the Screen Actors Guild board would boost pay 3.5% a year, but dodges payment for most online reruns. The pact, which would cover film and TV actors, was passed by just 53% of the newly elected moderate board, and now faces a full membership vote, the Los Angeles Times reports. The issue over Internet residuals has split the membership, but the contract is expected to pass. More»

Recording is 'fun,' says auction house

(NEWSER) - A 1973 tape of a boozy John Lennon slurring his way through Lloyd Price's Just Because fetched $30,000 at auction in Los Angeles yesterday, CNN reports. Because of Lennon's intoxication and raunchy, ad-libbed lyrics, “it's actually a fun song to listen to,” said a spokeswoman for the auction house. The buyer was not identified. More»

Raunchy recording likely to draw up to $40K

(NEWSER) - A tape never released to the public showcasing a boozed-up, raunchy John Lennon is set for auction in Los Angeles today, and will likely fetch up to $40,000, the New York Post reports. Belting an intoxicated rewrite of the Lloyd Price song Just Because, Lennon advises listeners that “I wanna take all them new singers, Carol and the other one, I wanna take 'em and hold 'em tight.” More»