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York collector reveals original James Bond movie props


Picture the biggest James Bond fan you can imagine.

Someone who has seen the films countless times, regularly travels to James Bond movie conventions and has a James Bond movie prop and costume collection so large it fills three rooms in his house.

That's David Starr.

By day, the West Manchester Township resident works as a theatrical designer for famous artists, including Kevin Hart, 50 Cent and Alice Cooper.

But by night, he’s on the hunt for new props to add to the museum-like display in his home.

Starr started collecting movie props about 25 years ago when he found a paintball-splattered Boston Bomb Disposal baseball cap that Forest Whitaker wore in the 1994 film “Blown Away.”

“I thought it would be really cool to own an item from a movie,” Starr said, and when he found out the hat cost only $25, he couldn’t say no.

For years, Starr said he didn’t spend more than $100 on an individual prop.

“I realized if you didn’t buy the main costume of the star, you could buy (props) from companies for less than $50.”

But when eBay came along in the mid ‘90s, the pricing structure changed, and it became more difficult to find props cheap.

But that didn’t stop Starr from trying.

About 10 years ago, he decided to focus his collection on only James Bond-related props and costumes. Today, he has at least one original and/or reproduction prop from all 24 James Bond films, including “Spectre,” released in theaters Nov. 6.

Starr’s collection includes items, such as the blanks fired from James Bond’s gun, a reproduction of the “Spectre” ring and a life preserver that Pierce Brosnan fell on in “The World Is Not Enough.”

But one of his favorites will always be one of the original Moonraker uniforms from the 1979 film “Moonraker.” Starr waited about 15 years as the costume traveled the world from one collector to another before he was finally able to acquire it two years ago.

“There’s a cool story behind finding each one,” he said.

With the release of “Spectre” earlier this month, Starr said his focus now will be on finding some original “Spectre” props and costumes, such as the skeleton mask from the opening sequence of the film.

“It’s like a scavenger hunt looking for stuff,” he said. “It’s the fun of the chase.”