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‘Auction Kings’ continues its reign on Discovery Channel By John Crook © Zap2it It’s not even 9 a.m. on an otherwise sleepy Atlanta Sunday in early summer, but already a healthy line is forming outside the yellow warehouse that houses Gal- lery 63 in the city’s Buckhead neighborhood. As parking at- tendants wrangle the growing swell of cars in the adjacent parking lot, the crowd is buzzing with happy anticipa- tion, suggesting a sporting event, not an auction, is in the offing. Welcome to the world of “Auction Kings,” the hit Dis- covery Channel reality series that starts its sophomore season on Tuesday, Aug. 9. Tapping into America’s grow- ing fascination with bidding and selling, especially with the kind of quirky and dis- tinctive items gallery owner Paul Brown specializes in, the show was an instant suc- cess when it premiered last October, moving Discovery to order 26 additional episodes for the new season. Inside the building, just minutes before the doors open, Brown and his staff make last-minute adjust- ments to the auction room, which looks like someone’s improbable fantasy hoard. A hot-air balloon hangs from the rafters, and hot rods sit on a loading dock just out- side. Vintage movie posters are prominently displayed, Paul Brown, Cindy Shook, Jon Hammond and Delfi no Ramos (from left) star in “Auction Kings,” returning for its second season Tuesday on Discovery Channel. and on this particular Sunday, several items from the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala. — including Russian cosmonaut suits and an autographed poster fea- turing some NASA legends — await their moment under the hammer. “A gallery tends to take on the personality of whoever is running it, and I, for what- ever reason, am drawn to quirky, oddball things,” Brown explains. “When you begin selling something like African tribal art or antique ivory — really cool stuff — word starts Stutzman MOTOR SALES , INC. 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US 33 West, Goshen • 533-1166 8 The Goshen News • Viewer’s Choice • Saturday, August 6 - Friday, August 12, 2011 Watch for 4-H Results Section coming Saturday, August 6th only in to get out and then builds on itself. Soon you’re the go-to guy for weird stuff, and there really aren’t a lot of outlets, or even book value, for a lot of the stuff I sell.” That’s certainly true of three items spotlighted in the season premiere: a Ty Cobb tobacco tin dating from the early 1900s, one of only 10 or so in the world; a vintage 1943 Harley-Davidson mo- torcycle; and a 19th-century lady gambler’s watch with a concealed pistol. The doors have opened now in advance of the 11 a.m. start time, and the crowd, definitely dressed for comfort over style in most cases, surges inside to claim preferred seats, either on the floor or in a bank of bleachers toward the back. There’s food on hand ranging from shrimp and grits to barbecue and hot dogs and Gallery 63 T-shirts for sale, but many visitors are focused on getting their pictures taken with an accom- modating but mildly stunned Cindy Shook, the tough but friendly office manager. “It’s been a shocker when people recognize me, and it has taken some getting used to, because I am just a nor- mal person, just like anybody else,” she says later. “They like to see that you are just the same as you are on TV, because I’m not an actress. I end up giggling and tell them they’re crazy. It’s hard to get used to, because I’ve always been in the back, doing the work. Now that they see what I do, they kind of like it, and I hope that will be good for auction houses everywhere and it gets people interested in antiques again.” It’s that passion for these items that has kept Brown working in a field he entered “temporarily” 18 years ago, when he had to abandon his graduate-school plans to be an English teacher and novelist to earn money for the baby he and his wife were expecting. Starting out in his father’s business at Atlanta’s Red Baron auction house, he eventually branched out on his own with Gallery 63 in 2005. His success caught the attention of Authentic Enter- tainment, a California-based production company that was considering doing a reality program set in an auction house. Discovery bought the show, then quickly expanded the first season episode order from two to 20. After “Auction Kings” premiered last fall, Brown and Shook realized their lives had under- gone a major change. “We had our next auc- tion about three weeks after the show hit,” Brown says. “I come bopping in about 9 a.m. as usual and turn into our driveway and there were liter- ally — if I am lyin’, I’m dyin’ — about 500 people lined up all the way from our building, at least four or five wide, all the way to Roswell Road, and then it T’s off and goes north and south, all people waiting to get in. I am sitting there in the car with my mouth down around my kneecap.” “When I walked outside at 8:30 and saw that line, I just started crying,” Shook recalls. Allergies? Asthma? We Can Help! See us for help with: • Headaches • Sinus Pressure • Congestion • Cough • Shortness of Breath Yatin J. 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You have to keep the audi- ence busy, and when there are more people to play, it makes it twice as much fun.” Tracking this fun can be a challenge for executive producer Jeff Weaver, who routinely keeps up to nine cameras running to capture the action. “(The auctions) are fast and furious and exciting and confusing and at times overwhelming,” he explains. “A lot of auctions only last for one or two minutes, some even less than that, so we have to make sure we have enough footage to be able to edit together that story and tell it well. I have seen our camera teams and assistants and our audio guys holding a tripod handle with one hand and having a sandwich in the other. It’s sort of like a giant boulder rolling downhill that can’t be stopped.” 13024 US 20, Middlebury • 574-825-2965 Back To School Special BILL’S COLLISION $25 Oil Change • $59 Alignment SERVICE Weblinks On Sunday, ABC Family premieres “Teen Spirit,” a movie about a high-school queen bee given a tough choice in order to save her soul. Click on abcfamily.go.com/movies/teen-spirit In “Sugar High,” premiering Monday on Food Network, “Ace of Cakes” star Duff Goldman visits bakeries. Click on www.food- network.com/shows/sugar-high-behind-the-scenes-with- duff/pictures/index.html Monday on HBO, the documentary “Superheroes” looks at real-life caped crusaders. Learn more at conchordswiki.hbo. Deborah Ponce, RN, MSN, NP-C Nurse Practitioner Our friendly staff is ready to help you!

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