Bobby Livingston (auction executive)
Bobby Livingston | |
|---|---|
| Born | Robert Livingston Jr. United States |
| Occupations | Auction executive, certified appraiser, television personality, musician |
| Relatives | Harold Livingston (uncle) |
| Website | https://bobbylivingston.com |
Bobby Livingston (born Robert Livingston Jr.) is an American auction executive, appraiser, television personality, musician, and former film and advertising producer. He is Executive Vice President, Principal, and Head of Public Relations at RR Auction. He is a nephew of Harold Livingston, a screenwriter credited for Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979).[1]
Career
He worked as an assistant director under the name Robert Livingston Jr. on Dr. Caligari (1989), an avant-garde horror film directed by Stephen Sayadian.[2]
Livingston joined RR Auction in 2008. He serves as Executive Vice President and Head of Public Relations, responsible for public relations, evaluations, and consignment assessments.[3]
He operates Robert Livingston Appraisals LLC, an appraisal practice.[4]
Notable auctions
During his tenure at RR Auction, Livingston has served as a spokesperson for auction sales including:
- Bonnie Parker's .38 Special revolver (2012), for which RR Auction worked with the ATF's Boston field division to obtain federal compliance prior to sale.[5]
- Lee Harvey Oswald’s wedding ring, sold in 2013 for $108,000.[6]
- Never-before-published negatives from the 1953 wedding of John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy, sold in 2014.[7][8]
- A seat from a Blue Origin New Shepard spacecraft, sold for $28 million in 2021.[9][10][11]
- The Apollo 15 Lunar Surface Chronograph, sold for $1.6 million.
- A Steve Jobs–inscribed Apple II manual, sold for $787,484 in August 2021 to Jim Irsay, owner of the Indianapolis Colts.[12]
- Elon Musk's university graded papers (2021) and memorabilia gifted by Musk to a college girlfriend (2022).[13][14]
- A handwritten Jacqueline Kennedy letter to John F. Kennedy, donated to the Kennedy Library Foundation in January 2020.[15][16][17]
- Two Ford’s Theatre tickets from the night of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, sold in September 2023 for $262,500 to Jim Irsay.[18][19][20]
- 8mm film footage of the 1963 John F. Kennedy assassination motorcade, offered in 2024.[21]
- Jim Sanborn’s complete Kryptos archive, including the solution to the sculpture’s fourth encrypted passage (K4), sold for $962,500 in November 2025.[22][23][24]
- RR Auction’s Apple 50th Anniversary sale, Steve Jobs & the Computer Revolution, which generated $8.1 million in January 2026, with the first Apple company check signed by Jobs and Steve Wozniak selling for $2.4 million.[25]
- A 2000 Cadillac DeVille used in The Sopranos, sold through RR Auction for $120,000.[26][27]
- A 1929 letter written by Albert Einstein to his son, offered for sale by RR Auction in 2016, with an estimated value exceeding US$100,000.[28]
- A 1543 letter by Martin Luther in which he described Jews as “devils incarnate,” offered at auction.[29]
Media appearances
Livingston has been quoted in The New York Times,[30] BBC News,[31][32] The Boston Globe,[33] NPR,[34] Wired,[25] Variety,[1] Smithsonian Magazine,[18] People magazine,[13] and the Daily Mail.[12]
He has appeared on television programs including NBC’s the Today show, CBS This Morning, CNN,[35] Fox News,[5] and the History Channel, and on series such as Pawn Stars,[36][37] Strange Inheritance,[38][39] and Brad Meltzer’s Lost History.[40]
In 2022, he hosted the Fox Nation documentary series Selling History, a seven-episode series following the acquisition and auction preparation of historical artifacts.[41][42]
Music career
Outside of his auction work, Livingston is a singer-songwriter and bandleader in New Hampshire.[43] He leads the Bobby Livingston Band, formerly known as Napoleon in Rags, a group influenced by Bob Dylan and other artists from the 1960s and 1970s.[43]
The band released its debut album, High and Away, in 2014 and promoted the release at Tupelo Music Hall in Londonderry, New Hampshire.[43]
Livingston has organized benefit concerts supporting the Brad Delp Foundation, raising approximately $15,000 for music education programs.[43]
Personal life
Livingston lives in New Hampshire. His uncle, Harold Livingston (1924–2022), was a screenwriter credited for Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979).[1] Bobby Livingston confirmed his uncle's death in 2022.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 Moreau, Jordan (2022-04-28). "Harold Livingston, 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture' Screenwriter, Dies at 97". Variety. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ "MOVIE REVIEW : 'Dr. Caligari' an Imaginative, Hilarious Satire". Los Angeles Times. 1989-12-01. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ "Team | RR Auction". www.rrauction.com. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ "Livingston Appraisal Services, LLC". www.bbb.org. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- 1 2 Miller, Joshua Rhett (2015-03-26). "Bonnie Parker's .38 Special made legal by ATF ahead of auction". Fox News. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ Phillips, Lauren (2013-10-24). "Lee Harvey Oswald's wedding ring fetches $108,000 at auction". Dallas News. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ Kyung Kim, Eun (2014-10-06). "Unseen JFK-Jackie Kennedy wedding photos up for auction". TODAY.com. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ Shortell, David (2014-10-02). "Unseen photos of John and Jacqueline Kennedy's wedding auctioned". CNN. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ Bray, Haiwatha (June 10, 2021). "Want a ride into space with Jeff Bezos? This Boston auctioneer has your ticket - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ "Jeff Bezos and brother to fly to space in Blue Origin flight". www.bbc.com. 2021-06-07. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ "Behind Blue Origin bids: RR Auction vets viers for New Shepard seat". CollectSPACE. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- 1 2 Avery, Dan (2021-08-20). "Colts owner Jim Irsay pays $787K for Apple manual signed by Steve Jobs". Mail Online. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- 1 2 Hahn, Jason (August 25, 2022). "Elon Musk Ex-Girlfriend Auctioning Gifts Photos From College Relationship". People.com. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ "Someone just paid $7,753 for school papers graded by Elon Musk". KTVZ. 2021-12-09. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ Dwyer, Dialynn (2020-01-07). "Handwritten letter penned by Jacqueline Kennedy to JFK donated to Kennedy Library Foundation". Boston.com. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ "JFK's handwritten love letter to alleged mistress is up for sale". Los Angeles Times. 2016-06-03. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ Victor, Daniel (2016-06-10). "J.F.K. Letter to Lover to Be Auctioned". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- 1 2 Wexler, Ellen. "What Did These Two Ticket Holders See on the Night of Abraham Lincoln's Assassination?". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ Lewis, Courtney (2023-09-26). "Theatre tickets from night of Lincoln assassination sell for $262,500". BBC News. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ Wamsley, Laurel (2023-09-26). "Ford's Theatre tickets from the night Lincoln was assassinated sell for $262,500". NPR. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ Moynihan, Colin (2024-09-04). "Desperate Bid to Save J.F.K. Shown in Resurfaced Film". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ "This Clue May Have Just Cracked the Code to the CIA's 'Kryptos' Sculpture". Artnet News. 2025-11-24. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ "Long-sought solution to 'Kryptos' sculpture sells for almost $1 million". The Washington Post. November 21, 2025.
- ↑ "Solution goes on auction for CIA HQ's 'Kryptos' sculpture that has stumped code breakers for decades". 980 CJME. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- 1 2 Levy, Steven. "Steve Jobs' Early Apple Items Are Going Up for Auction—Along With His Bow Ties". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ "Cadillac used in 'The Sopranos' sells for $120,000 at Boston auction". WCVB. 2015-11-21. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ "'Sopranos' Cadillac Auctioned Off For Nearly $120K - CBS New York". www.cbsnews.com. 2015-11-22. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ Buell, Spencer (2016-10-11). "A Rare Letter from Einstein Is for Sale in Boston". Boston Magazine. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ "Martin Luther letter critical of Jews goes up for auction". The Times of Israel. 2018-07-10. ISSN 0040-7909. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ "Nancy Ireland Sets June Nuptials". The New York Times. 1979-02-04. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ "Rare Moon meteorite to be auctioned in US". BBC News. 2018-10-11. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ "Rare Moon meteorite to be auctioned in US". 2018-10-11. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ "Golf gear from George H.W. Bush up for auction". The Boston Globe. November 7, 2016. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ Allen, Greg (2016-05-12). "George Zimmerman Attempts To Sell Gun Used To Kill Trayvon Martin". NPR. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ Crook, Lawrence (2016-04-22). "Camera lens used on the moon sells for $453K". CNN. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ "Pawn Stars". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ "Pawn Stars". Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ "Strange Inheritance (2015) Full Cast & Crew". Plex.tv. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ "Strange Inheritance". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ "Brad Meltzer's Lost History". Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ "Selling History". FOX One. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ "Fox Nation's 'Selling History' goes behind the scenes of auctions". Fox News. 2022-06-06. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- 1 2 3 4 Copeland, Bill (2014-10-10). "Bobby Livingston comes into his own with release of original music". Bill Copeland Music News. Retrieved 2026-06-14.