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Lot 83
A Bruce Springsteen tour jacket gifted by Al Pacino
27 March 2017, 13:00 EDT
New YorkSold for US$25,000 inc. premium
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A Bruce Springsteen tour jacket gifted by Al Pacino
A black satin long-sleeved baseball-style tour jacket with zipper up the center front and a pocket at each side, with an elastic collar, cuffs, and waistband, with "Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band" embroidered on the back. C.1984.
I had gotten to know Al Pacino for a Playboy interview in 1979, and by the time my daughter Maya was born a year later, we had become friends. He sent my wife flowers at her birth. He came to visit to see her. And over the years he remembered Maya's birthday and gave her things like a hamster cage or some small jewelry. But the present she most remembers is the one she almost didn't get.
She was 4 years old when she first heard Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A." It captured her young imagination, and for months afterwards she went around the house shouting the refrain, "Born in the U.S.A. I was born in the U.S.A." Springsteen was very real to her in a "famous" sort of way, whereas Al Pacino, was real to her as a personal friend of our family.
So one day, Al was at our house when Maya was eight, old enough to hold her own in a conversation, and to question doubtful things. On this occasion, Al happened to mention that he knew Bruce Springsteen, and Maya was in full skeptical mode.
"Oh yeah, sure you do," she mocked.
Pacino found her reaction amusing, understanding that to Maya, Springsteen was Famous and Al was just Al.
"It's true," Pacino said, "I do know him." Maya continued to doubt him, so Al went on.
"No, really," he persisted. "And not only that, I was once walking in New York on my birthday when I ran into him. When I mentioned that it was my birthday, Bruce took off the jacket he was wearing and gave it to me. I told him I didn't really want it, but he insisted."
"Yeah, sure," Maya said, rolling her eyes. . "Bruce Springsteen gave you his jacket. Right."
Pacino was laughing by now, but he was determined to convince her that what he was saying was true. "He did, he gave it to me, Maya, and you know what? I'm going to give it to you."
Maya refused to take the bait, looking at him suspiciously and, though she didn't want to call an adult a liar, you could see what she was thinking. As far as she was concerned, Al was just teasing her, playing with her. And she wasn't buying into it.
When Pacino left, I told Maya that she blew it; Al really did know Bruce Springsteen.
"And Springsteen really did give him his jacket," I continued. "And he was going to give it to you. But probably not now."
Believing that her father would never lie to her, Maya looked crestfallen and went to her room. She knew that I was going to be seeing Pacino later that night and she handed me a sealed envelope with a note she had written inside. "Can you give this to Al?" she asked.
I didn't read her note until Pacino showed it to me. Maya had written him an apology. She said she was sorry she didn't believe him when he said he knew Bruce Springsteen, and she would really like to have the jacket. Al laughed in triumph at her newfound trust and said that the jacket was in New York and he would ask one of his assistants to send it to L.A., where we lived. But the assistant couldn't locate it and Al told me to tell Maya that he would get it when he was back in New York and would bring it when he returned to L.A.
Sure enough, a few months later, when Pacino was back in L.A., he called and said he had the jacket and he wanted to bring it to Maya. "It's after ten," I reminded him. "She's sleeping."
"I'll send my driver with it," he said. "You can put it on her bed so when she wakes up, she'll see it." And that's what he did. It was a black satin jacket with the logo "Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band" sewn on the back, and a note on a lined white paper from Pacino saying: "Dear Sweet Maya! Here it is. Love Al." He also wrote her a notecard that said, "Dear Maya, Bruce Springsteen took his jacket off his back and gave it to me on my birthday in N.Y.C. Now I'm passing it on to you! With love, A. Pacino."
There was a ticket stub from the Curran Theatre dated March 30, 1984 in one of the jacket pockets and I asked Al if that was the year Springsteen had given him the jacket (Pacino's birthday is April 25). He didn't remember, so I figure it was between that year and 1989, when Springsteen dissolved the E Street Band.
When Maya awoke the next morning she saw the jacket at the foot of the bed and was ecstatic. She immediately put it on and though it didn't fit she wanted to wear it to school that day. I suggested that she might want to put it away and not take a chance that she could lose it or stain it. That seemed reasonable to her. She put it in a drawer and only took it out on special occasions, like when Al came to visit.
She never doubted him again.
--Lawrence Grobel
I had gotten to know Al Pacino for a Playboy interview in 1979, and by the time my daughter Maya was born a year later, we had become friends. He sent my wife flowers at her birth. He came to visit to see her. And over the years he remembered Maya's birthday and gave her things like a hamster cage or some small jewelry. But the present she most remembers is the one she almost didn't get.
She was 4 years old when she first heard Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A." It captured her young imagination, and for months afterwards she went around the house shouting the refrain, "Born in the U.S.A. I was born in the U.S.A." Springsteen was very real to her in a "famous" sort of way, whereas Al Pacino, was real to her as a personal friend of our family.
So one day, Al was at our house when Maya was eight, old enough to hold her own in a conversation, and to question doubtful things. On this occasion, Al happened to mention that he knew Bruce Springsteen, and Maya was in full skeptical mode.
"Oh yeah, sure you do," she mocked.
Pacino found her reaction amusing, understanding that to Maya, Springsteen was Famous and Al was just Al.
"It's true," Pacino said, "I do know him." Maya continued to doubt him, so Al went on.
"No, really," he persisted. "And not only that, I was once walking in New York on my birthday when I ran into him. When I mentioned that it was my birthday, Bruce took off the jacket he was wearing and gave it to me. I told him I didn't really want it, but he insisted."
"Yeah, sure," Maya said, rolling her eyes. . "Bruce Springsteen gave you his jacket. Right."
Pacino was laughing by now, but he was determined to convince her that what he was saying was true. "He did, he gave it to me, Maya, and you know what? I'm going to give it to you."
Maya refused to take the bait, looking at him suspiciously and, though she didn't want to call an adult a liar, you could see what she was thinking. As far as she was concerned, Al was just teasing her, playing with her. And she wasn't buying into it.
When Pacino left, I told Maya that she blew it; Al really did know Bruce Springsteen.
"And Springsteen really did give him his jacket," I continued. "And he was going to give it to you. But probably not now."
Believing that her father would never lie to her, Maya looked crestfallen and went to her room. She knew that I was going to be seeing Pacino later that night and she handed me a sealed envelope with a note she had written inside. "Can you give this to Al?" she asked.
I didn't read her note until Pacino showed it to me. Maya had written him an apology. She said she was sorry she didn't believe him when he said he knew Bruce Springsteen, and she would really like to have the jacket. Al laughed in triumph at her newfound trust and said that the jacket was in New York and he would ask one of his assistants to send it to L.A., where we lived. But the assistant couldn't locate it and Al told me to tell Maya that he would get it when he was back in New York and would bring it when he returned to L.A.
Sure enough, a few months later, when Pacino was back in L.A., he called and said he had the jacket and he wanted to bring it to Maya. "It's after ten," I reminded him. "She's sleeping."
"I'll send my driver with it," he said. "You can put it on her bed so when she wakes up, she'll see it." And that's what he did. It was a black satin jacket with the logo "Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band" sewn on the back, and a note on a lined white paper from Pacino saying: "Dear Sweet Maya! Here it is. Love Al." He also wrote her a notecard that said, "Dear Maya, Bruce Springsteen took his jacket off his back and gave it to me on my birthday in N.Y.C. Now I'm passing it on to you! With love, A. Pacino."
There was a ticket stub from the Curran Theatre dated March 30, 1984 in one of the jacket pockets and I asked Al if that was the year Springsteen had given him the jacket (Pacino's birthday is April 25). He didn't remember, so I figure it was between that year and 1989, when Springsteen dissolved the E Street Band.
When Maya awoke the next morning she saw the jacket at the foot of the bed and was ecstatic. She immediately put it on and though it didn't fit she wanted to wear it to school that day. I suggested that she might want to put it away and not take a chance that she could lose it or stain it. That seemed reasonable to her. She put it in a drawer and only took it out on special occasions, like when Al came to visit.
She never doubted him again.
--Lawrence Grobel