Story Archive

Bosom Buddies

Mike Martin, 88, died from Alzheimer’s disease in his Beloit, Wisc, home. Part of his estate was auctioned off by Rich Ranft of Beloit Auction & Realty. “Some people are making fun of it online. But everybody collects something,” says Ranft. The collection up for sale: 60 mannequins that Martin purchased, upgraded, dressed, and kept in the house. “Whenever he heard there was a mannequin for sale, he’d go get it,” Ranft said. Martin would use his skills in automotive body work to augment the mannequin’s ...er... assets. “If you’ve seen them, obviously you can tell he was very into big-busted women, to say the least,” Martin’s daughter, Lisa Erspamer, admits. Martin also meticulously dressed and posed the mannequins, dressed them in elegant gowns and accessories, and applied nail polish, lipstick, and long eyelashes. Erspamer said her mother, Maxine, isn’t sorry to see the figures go, although she had been glad to see her husband busy. (MS/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) ...He had a rich life filled with friends, even if most of them had stiff personalities.