‘Empire Falls’ props sell in Waterville Mainers snatch up socks, shoes of the stars

WATERVILLE – Smelly socks worn by Ed Harris during the filming of “Empire Falls” were among the treasures snatched up by fans during a weekend sale of props and costumes from the HBO movie.

On Saturday, about 300 people bought a variety of items used by the likes of Harris, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward and Helen Hunt during last year’s filming in the Waterville-Skowhegan area.

The sale concluded Sunday after the remaining items were marked down in price. Proceeds will help defray the costs of the film.

The inventory included racks of clothes, license plates, jewelry, books, signs, gazebos, a couch, menus from the “Empire Grill” – even a wet suit worn by Woodward and a “fat suit” worn by Hunt.

“I’ve got Ed Harris’ socks, and they smell, but I’m not washing them,” said Bonnie Goodwin, pulling her loot out of a plastic bag. “I’ve got William Fichtner’s shirt and Danielle Panabaker’s earrings.

“I’m wearing them all to work on Monday for my birthday, and I’m going to bring this certificate of authenticity so I can show them they’re real.”

The movie, to be aired on HBO in May, is based on Richard Russo’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about a depressed Maine mill town whose factory has closed. The sale was held in a former Central Maine Power Co. warehouse next to the former C.F. Hathaway shirt factory, which closed two years ago and where some of the movie scenes were filmed.

Goodwin spent $55 on Saturday, but some buyers shelled out a lot more.

“One lady bought $2,200 worth of items,” said David Huard, who was staffing a special case of items, including ivory-colored costume earrings worn by Woodward.

Five dollars bought Vega Whiffs cigars held by Newman, who played Max Roby; a pair of Stuart Weitzman shoes worn by Hunt when her character, Janine Roby, married went for $200. Her brown leather hiking boots were going for $125.

Among the bigger items were several large wooden signs, including one that says “Empire Falls,” and gravestones that look like granite but are made of wood. They were used in a cemetery scene in Oakland in which Newman appeared.

“I just love Paul Newman,” said Marianne Miranda of Waterville, as sale attendants loaded her pickup truck with the signs and gravestones. “He’s been my idol all my entire life. I never got to see him, but now I have some of his stuff.”