LUTHER VANDROSS PERSONAL BELONGINGS--FROM THERMOSES TO MINK-LINED CHAIR--TO BE AUCTIONED OFF THIS WEEK.

If my money wasn't funny and my change wasn't strange, I'd be on the first thing smoking out of Tallahassee to see what goodies I could cop from Luther's auction. That is real talk, too! I ain't lying. Damn, I miss him...

From the Picasso charcoal drawing to the diamond watches, mink coats and gold records, Luther Vandross lived large. Now, fans of the legendary singer who died in 2005 will have a chance to own more than 1,000 items that reveal a glimpse into his super star existence. On Dec. 5 and 6, his estate will auction off just about everything: his handwritten lyrics to Love Forgot; the army green thermoses from which he sipped hot tea during his concerts across the globe; loafers and boots made by Gucci, Prada and Dolce & Gabanna; Lalique crystal vases, glasses and door knobs.
The items come from his former homes in Beverly Hills, Greenwich, Conn., and New York City, and from his tours.

Fans have an expectation of how stars live, and Vandross' items won't disappoint, said Max Szadek, his a personal assistant for 13 years. "This mink-lined chair symbolized the lap of luxury that Luther lived in and just how a star, a world-class entertainer, kind of lived it out in his private life too," Szadek said as he walked through 13,000 square feet of items, displayed at an auction house in a suburban office park. Szadek said fans will see many items that Vandross brought with him on tours, from the banal to the bling--like a silver Piaget diamond-encrusted watch, a silver diamond-encrusted tennis bracelet and a 4-carat diamond ring.

The touring and music memorabilia on sale span his career, with a record from Bowie's Young American on which Vandross sang background to a Grammy nomination in 1981 for best new artist (he did not win) to a double platinum certification of Dance with My Father in 2006, Szadek said. The collection is valued at between $600,000 and $800,000, said John Nye, whose Morris Plains, N.J.-based auction house, Dawson and Nye, is handling the sale.

The public can tour the showroom beginning Sunday. The first 500 lots will be auctioned on Wednesday and the rest on Thursday.

Vandross' deep, lush voice _ on hits such as Here and Now and Any Love _ provided the romantic backdrop for millions of couples. He sold more than 30 million albums during his award-winning career.Since a stroke in his Manhattan home in 2003, the R&B crooner stopped making public appearances. In 2004, he captured four Grammys for the album Dance with My Father, which he recorded before the stroke. He won eight during his career, which started in the musical background.

Vandross' mother, Ida Vandross, said fans meant so much to her son. She hoped the auction would give them something personal to remember him by. "There was a love thing going on from the stage to the audience and from the audience to the stage," Ida Vandross, 84, said by phone. "To be remembered is the greatest gift on earth. I don't think he'll be forgotten quickly."

In October, his record label released Love, Luther, a four CD box set that covers his recording career beginning in 1973.