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No Takers for Anna Nicole Diaries

Mon., Apr. 16, 2007 12:05 PM PDT by Josh Grossberg

The world continues to be fascinated with Anna Nicole's death. But the day-to-day minutiae of her early life? Apparently not so much.

Two handwritten diaries penned by the late model in the early '90s failed to sell during an online auction this weekend as the two lone bidders pulled out amid questions of the sale's legality.

Doug Norwine, director of Dallas' Heritage Auction Galleries, says the would-be buyers got "cold feet" after a lawyer for Smith's companion Howard K. Stern issued a statement last week alleging the journals had been stolen.

"We had two good high bids, two good bidders on each of the diaries," the auctioneer told E! Online. "But everyone was scared off by Stern's attorney's claims."

There was no additional comment Monday from either Stern or his attorney.

Norwine maintained that the diaries, along with canceled checks, shopping receipts and ID cards that made up the Smith-related lots, were all legally obtained and purchased from an anonymous German businessman, who himself purchased them on eBay for more than $500,000 last month.

But, according the auctioneer, the first bidder expressed concerns after one of the sellers, Tom Riccio, appeared on CNN Headline News' Nancy Grace and had a tough time convincing the skeptical prosecutor that the journals were not the ones purportedly pilfered from Smith's Bahamian residence after her death in February.

"When we were contacted regarding other diaries, we understood that there are many diaries out there, and there are other issues with other diaries," Riccio told Grace. "In fact, we were contacted regarding another set of diaries, which we wouldn't represent. And we know there's a problem with those, but not with the ones that we had."

Norwine said that although his auction house posted a certificate of title from the consigner on its Website, the high bidder opted to withdraw and the second bidder soon followed suit.

As a result, the journals—written between 1992 and 1994 and providing insight on Smith's relationship with octogenarian oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall among other personal tidbits—will no longer be on the auction block. Instead, Heritage's site is now offering a "buy now" option, making the diaries available for immediate purchase for the sum of $29,875.

"Frankly I think there are some stolen diaries floating around...[but with] these diaries I believe there is a clear title," said Norwine, adding that Stern's yet to produce any concrete police report or injunction supporting his belief.

While the diaries didn't sell, some other Smith-related memorabilia did get snapped up. Her old Texas photo ID fetched $3,500, while a check signed with her original name, Vickie Smith, went for nearly $600.

(Other non-Smith items in the weekend auction included one of Elvis Presley's guitars, which sold for $77,675; Walt Disney's last passport, which nabbed $28,680; Marilyn Monroe's photo archive, which went for $17,000; Mark Hamill's original Star Wars contract, which sold for $15,535; and Paul Newman's bowler from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, which fetched $8,365.)

Meanwhile, with his legal threats at least temporarily halting the diary sale, Stern is also ramping up action against those he claims dissed him in the media.

On Friday, he filed a slander lawsuit against attorney John O'Quinn, who represents Smith's estranged mother, Virgie Arthur, accusing him of suggesting to reporters that Stern was responsible for Smith's death in interviews on Fox News and MSNBC.