This just in from the sad-but-true department: actor Gary Coleman, of Diff'rent Strokes fame, is auctioning off his pants for $400,000 on eBay.
The item in question is a navy blue, size 12XL-Regular Gap Kids pair of sweatpants signed by the former child star.
But before you start cracking jokes about Coleman’s kiddie knickers (and don’t pretend you weren’t going to), know that he only put his pants on sale because he needs the money for kidney dialysis.
Though the bidding was set to close late last week, the transaction has yet to be verified. The action was open only to pre-approved bidders, and more than a dozen bids (some as high as $50 million) have been axed because they were suspected to be fake.
The auction is being handled by eBayer brassonline, on Coleman’s behalf.
"I don't know if the bids are real," brassonline told press via email. "Until somebody actually pays that amount then I will be comfortable."
While the pants hit eBay at $19.95 on Jan. 7, bidding spiked when late night talker Jimmy Kimmel gave the sweats a shout-out on his show three days later, placing a bid of $80. Two more days later, the first apparently legit bid over $100,000 was placed.
This isn’t the first time the onetime California gubernatorial candidate has turned to eBay for financial aid.
In November 2007, he auctioned off an autographed GameCube. One month later, he put his car – a black Saturn Sky droptop – up for bids starting at $25,000. He threw in some autographed photos for free.
And if you’re distraught about missing out on Coleman pants, there’s more paraphernalia to be had: an autographed DVD is currently being offered by brassonline at a starting bid of $19.95.
melissa@tvguide.ca
