WEBVTT 00:02.533 --> 00:05.133 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% GUEST: I bought this in an auction of jazz-related memorabilia in New York City about 12 years 00:07.066 --> 00:11.533 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% ago. It belonged to the great jazz tenor player Dexter Gordon. He wore it for the Academy 00:13.400 --> 00:18.400 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Awards ceremony. He was nominated for his role in "Round Midnight" as the best male 00:19.566 --> 00:22.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% actor. He didn't win, but I got the suit. 00:22.600 --> 00:24.266 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% APPRAISER: But he looked snazzy going to the awards show. 00:24.266 --> 00:26.300 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% GUEST: Oh, yes. 00:26.300 --> 00:28.366 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% APPRAISER: So that's kind of the obvious thing here. You, years later, found this photograph 00:28.366 --> 00:31.966 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% of him wearing it in French "Vogue" magazine. So he obviously liked this suit, and one of 00:31.966 --> 00:36.100 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% the most interesting things about this suit-- beyond the fact that it was Dexter Gordon's-- 00:36.100 --> 00:41.066 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% for me is, who designed it for him and the fact that he had a custom suit designed. And 00:43.066 --> 00:46.966 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% the reason he had a custom suit designed, apart from wanting something fancy, is because... 00:48.066 --> 00:50.500 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% (laughs): ...he's quite tall. 00:50.500 --> 00:52.566 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% GUEST: My goodness, yeah. 00:52.566 --> 00:56.466 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% APPRAISER: I think it's difficult to find pants to fit someone who's 6'5". Yeah. And 00:59.000 --> 01:02.400 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% his nickname actually was Long Tall Dex, because he was known for his great height, which added 01:04.366 --> 01:07.200 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% to his larger-than-life persona. But even beyond that, Arthur McGee, the designer of 01:07.200 --> 01:12.200 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% the suit, is a really important figure that's not known as much as he should be because 01:14.100 --> 01:17.266 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% he was the first African-American fashion designer on Seventh Avenue in New York. So 01:17.266 --> 01:22.066 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% he essentially broke the color barrier of American fashion design, and did pave the 01:22.066 --> 01:26.333 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% way for a lot of other people who came up after him. He's also very well-known among 01:26.333 --> 01:29.833 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% a lot of African-American entertainers. He designed for Stevie Wonder, 01:29.833 --> 01:34.833 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Cicely Tyson, Dexter Gordon. I think that's a really important factor here. What did you 01:35.966 --> 01:36.900 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% pay for it back when you bought it? 01:36.900 --> 01:39.000 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% GUEST: I paid $1,000 for it. 01:39.000 --> 01:42.266 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% APPRAISER: Okay. Today, if it were to come up for auction, I would expect it should sell 01:42.266 --> 01:47.233 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% for at least $5,000. We actually had the great fortune in Anaheim a few years ago to meet 01:49.333 --> 01:51.166 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% his daughter. She came to the Roadshow and she brought some beautiful signed photographs. 01:51.166 --> 01:53.233 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% GUEST: Oh! 01:53.233 --> 01:54.800 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% APPRAISER: He had Billie Holiday and a few other people he was friends with-Sarah Vaughan. 01:54.800 --> 01:57.966 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% She couldn't have been lovelier, she was such a wonderful spirit 01:57.966 --> 01:58.200 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% and personality.