Poor Tim Gunn. During his stint onstage at VH1's Save the Music Gala last Thursday, the Guide to Style star hopped up to host an awkward auction of an autographed, stage-played guitar from Paul McCartney. The last time a McCartney guitar was auctioned off, it fetched over $400,000. Tim wasn't so lucky.
After showing the multi-millionaire audience (filled with Jon Bon Jovi, Denise Rich, L.A. Reid, Russell Simmons, Mariah Carey, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Quincy Jones, among others) a photo of McCartney with the guitar, Gunn announced, "We'll be starting the bidding at the cost of saving one school: $30,000," which was quickly met.
Then things got uncomfortable.
As Gunn struggled to get the bidding up to $40,000, heads were swiveling around the room, but hands and paddles remained down, causing Gunn to exclaim in exasperation, "C'mon people! Let's make this work! You don't want me up here all night." An excruciating five more minutes of pleading from the style maven passed while celebrities got up and hit the head or feverishly sipped Grey Goose and the teleprompter flashed, "Please wrap it up." The final bid: $45,000. Watch for it on eBay.