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LOS ANGELES - Celebrity rock couple Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, facing a new life as "empty nesters" with their children off on their own, are holding a US$1 million garage sale to clean out some of their rather upscale clutter.
More than 600 lots of memorabilia, jewelry, costumes,
paintings, and furniture from their Gothic-style house in Beverly Hills, their Malibu home and their British mansion in Buckinghamshire will be auctioned on November 30 and December 1.
"I don't know why we are selling everything, as I want it all," said Ozzy Osbourne, 58, who rose to fame in the 1970s as a vocalist in the heavy-metal band Black Sabbath before going solo. "Sharon tells me that we have to, otherwise our house will ... explode."
The sale, to raise funds for the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Foundation, includes a gilded Buddha statue, a walnut parquetry inlaid games table, and the couple's Louis XVI-style master bedroom set.
But it also includes such items as a pair of Ozzy's trademark sunglasses, the all-terrain vehicle he was seriously injured while riding in 2003, his son Jack's black leather bed, and gowns worn by Sharon and their daughter, Kelly.
The two younger siblings launched their own showbiz careers from the MTV reality show about the family called The Osbournes. The eldest daughter, Aimee, refused to take part.
Sharon Osbourne said it had taken her and Ozzy, who married 25 years ago and are listed as one of Britain's richest couples, nearly a lifetime to collect all of these items.
"Both Ozzy and I have very special memories of each and every item ... It is like giving up a part of us, and we hope each and every item finds a very special home," she said in a statement.
Darren Julien, president and CEO of Julien's Auctions house, which is holding the sale in Beverly Hills, said the event took about two years to organize. He anticipated the sale would bring in over US$1 million.
"Sharon and Ozzy have incredible taste in decorating their homes, but they wanted to minimize their lifestyle a bit. There really is something for everyone -- high-end collectors and also for fans," Julien told Reuters.
The couple also is auctioning off three backstage passes to Ozzy Osbourne concerts and a fourth "experience" ticket to an on-set visit with Sharon Osbourne while she is judging the TV show America's Got Talent.
- REUTERS