Yankee Doodle Dandy’s 1942 Oscar on the auction block

Saturday, Sept. 16, 2000 | 10:35 a.m.

The Oscar statuette James Cagney won for his portrayal of Broadway song and dance man George M. Cohan in the 1942 film is one of several Cagney items to be sold Sept. 27 at the auction house of Doyle New York.

Cagney, who lived near this hamlet 83 miles north of New York City, died in 1986 at age 86, leaving an estate worth $5.8 million.

According to Doyle, the Oscar is worth between $300,000 and $500,000. Money from its sale will go to the nonprofit James and Frances Cagney Foundation to serve the blind. Other auction revenue will go to the estate.

Also to be auctioned is a 1961 Bentley S2 hardtop automobile; a 6.42-carat diamond ring; art work and the Presidential Medal of Freedom given to Cagney by President Reagan in 1984.

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