People blow their money on weird stuff and celebrities are no different. If you were to visit any one of these celebrities' homes you could find yourself face to face with these strange items.
Posted on 08/16/2010 - Author: Diane Mettler
Johnny Depp - Pigeon skeletons
Pirates Of The Caribbean actor Johnny Depp has played some bizarre characters, but his collections may even be more bizarre. Besides collections of bats and insects he's also into pigeon skeletons. What got him hooked on this unique collection is anyone's guess.
Other items you'll find at the Depp abode are the bladed limbs from the movie Edward Scissorhands and personal items of the late author Jack Kerouac. Besides Kerouac's original manuscripts, Depp also owns two of Kerouac's jackets, letters written by Kerouac and the author's suitcase. He's reported as having paid $15,000+ for the author's shabby raincoat.
Akon - Tiger Cage (with tiger)
Some people have a batting cage, R&B singer-songwriter and rapper Akon has a tiger cage, complete with a white tiger named Simba, which appeared on the popular MTV show "Cribs." (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8k6rkYe9yOw&feature=related)
There has been some controversy as to whether the cage is too small for the large cat (approximately 15.5' x 8'), but it appears that Simba may have sounded off on the topic herself. In 2009 it was rumored that Akon was attacked by the tiger and walked away with injuries to his upper body and slight injuries to the face.
Michael Jackson - Oxygen Chamber
The late pop start Michael Jackson owned a number of interesting items during his lifetime - the rights to the Beatles songs, a monkey named Bubbles, and an authentic Egyptian harp, among others. One of his strangest pieces, was an oxygen chamber, which he felt would help him live longer.
On a dark and ironic note, at the time Jackson owned the chamber he was quoted as saying, " . . . if I treat my body properly I'll live to be at least 150." Jackson died at the early age of 50 and the chamber was donated to the California Medical Center.
Celine Dion - Water Park
You might expect a diva like Celine Dion to be into shoes - and she is. It's been estimated that she owns over 1,000 pair. But what will catch your eye first, long before the pile of shoes, is the state-of-the art water park she built in the backyard of her Florida mansion on Jupiter Island.
This $20 million aquatic wonderland features two slides, two swimming pools, as well as a lazy river. She didn't make any points with neighbors, however, when she tapped local water supplies to fill her water park. She used all the water on the island, causing a drought and water restrictions.
It was reported that Dion was fined an enormous sum and also had six wells constructed on the property to provide the 6.5 million gallons needed each year. Even if she was able to appease neighbors, no one will be giving her the "green" award any time soon.
Rod Stewart - Replica of the Grand Central Station
Rock and roll singer Rod Stewart may be known for his vocals and tight pants . . . but trains? Stewart's 1,500 square foot model train station was inspired by the 1940s New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroads and it's housed in a third floor room of his Beverly Hills home.
It turns out that the man who wrote songs like Forever Young and Maggie May is as much a model railroading geek as a pop legend. When he was on tour he would unwind by building many of the tiny features, including a number of the miniature buildings.
He told Model Railroader magazine, "I'm proud to be a railway modeler. It means more to me to be on the cover of Model Railroader than to be on the cover of a music magazine."
Tim Burton - Dead Oompa Loompas
Director Tim Burton is practically the poster child when it comes to the strange and bizarre. So it comes as no surprise that every day is Halloween in his half of the house he shares with wife Helena Bonham Carter. For example, visitors are often startled by the gothic monster models, and are probably also creeped out by the chair from the movie Sweeney Todd. Even the Christmas tree is Burton-ized with scalpels and other freaky decorations.
The strangest props you're likely to stumble upon, however, are dead Oompa Loompas from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. (Like the live ones weren't creepy enough.)
Burton's children seem to be fine with the Oompa Loompas, but not so for the nannies. Helena Bonham Carter told a Scottish paper that, "The night nannies were freaked out by them."
Tom Hanks - Old Timey Typewriters
That Forrest Gump guy, Tom Hanks, can't say no to a manual typewriter and will pay a fortune to have them shipped from just about anywhere in the world. "I bought a $5 typewriter from Australia that cost me $85 to ship," he says.
He's had to make room over the years for 150 typewriters, ranging from anything built in the 1930s until they stopped making them.
Hanks says he fell in love with them because "if you write somebody a note with a typewriter it is as permanent and will last as long as though you chiseled it in stone."
Weird Al Yankovic - Plaster Cast of in-laws
Accordion-playing satirist Weird Al lives in a house formerly owned by Heavy D, where he said everything is oversized. He believes the house may have been built to scale for the oversized rapper.
Inside his home you'll find some nostalgia, like the accordion he played when he was 7 years old. You'll also find some odd things, like a phone book in the fridge because his wife says that way she knows where to find it, as well as a giant Spam costume in the closet next to a Darth Vader phone.
But the weirdest by far? A plaster cast of his in-laws. "There's a ton of weird stuff in my closet," says Al, "but that wouldn't really be a surprise to anybody, would it?"
Dan Aykroyd - Badges
Comedian and actor Dan Aykroyd has a thing for badges and just about anything to do with them. The Saturday Night Live star carries a badge with him at all times and has said his ultimate fantasy is to commit a crime and arrest himself for it.
The police buff, who also played Sgt. Joe Friday in Dragnet, not only rides an Ontario Provincial Police motorcycle, collects police badges, and occasionally rides shotgun with detectives in squad cars, he also holds an advisory commission with the police force in Payne City, Georgia. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgKHCB7lnog)
How many badges Aykroyd has amassed is unknown.
John Travolta - 707 Boeing Airplane
Some people collect airplanes, but actor John Travolta has taken it to an entirely new level. He has a two plane pavilions, a Gulfstream II jet and a 7,500-foot runway.
He says he caught the bug when he was 15 and got a look at Dulles International and he brought his passion into the house. One of the largest plane-related pieces is a 17-foot mural of a family in the 30's waiting for their flight. The inspiration came from a picture he saw in a 1937 issue of Fortune.
How do you top a 17' mural? How about a 1964 Boeing 707, with its exterior restored to its original Qantas colors. It houses all the amenities - bedrooms, three dining rooms, office, crew quarters, and more. Travolta, who calls himself the "ultimate eccentric", is even qualified to fly his 707.
Resources:
Depp
http://www.johnnydeppfan.com/interviews/swedishintv.htm
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/2625953/Weird-things-celebs-collect-Britney-Spears-Johnny-Depp-Angelina-Jolie.html
Jackson
http://gossip.commongate.com/post/creepy_as_hell/
