Rudy Franchi, a movie collectibles appraiser and seller and film-magazine publisher, died on August 6. He was 85. Franchi started his magazine, the New York Film Bulletin, while still in college (it eventually attracted the work and notice of Andrew Sarris, Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, and other). For a few years, Franchi made his home at the Bleecker Street Cinema, where he hosted discussions with many New Wave and offbeat filmmakers. He ran the sales and appraisal site Nostalgia.com, and was one of the experts on the US version of Antiques Roadshow, from its first episode in 1995 (he also wrote the mystery novel Murder On the Roadshow). Franchi offered this advice to people who want to sell collectibles: “If you need cash right away, selling to a dealer is a valid option. A dealer will stand there with pockets full of money, and he’ll buy the stuff on the spot. But usually I suggest the auction houses for getting the best price, especially in the world of posters. The top collectors and dealers prefer to buy from major auction houses because you get a certain guarantee of authenticity.”
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