‘What’s It Worth?’ Host Jeff Foxworthy Tells Us What He Collects
Q&A
How valuable is a sweat-stained vest worn by Eric Clapton when he played with his band Cream in the ’60s? Jeff Foxworthy’s new virtual appraisal series, What’s It Worth?, tells us Tuesday!
From the comfort of his man cave at home in Georgia, the longtime comedian quizzes owners of antiques, oddities, and collectibles about how they acquired their prized possessions—then connects them with an expert who reveals whether the item is worth $50 or $500,000. Foxworthy fills us in.
What are some of your favorite reactions you’ve seen on the show?
Jeff Foxworthy: There’s one couple that has a piece of art, and the wife won’t even let the husband put it up in the bathroom. They’ve got it literally under the bed, and then they find out it’s actually valuable. The fun of this is it goes both ways. There are people who are cocky, and then you’re like, “Oh my God, you’ve been holding on to this for 40 years and it’s worth nothin’!”
The show is perfect for this moment, when we’re all on Zoom peering around people to see what’s on their shelves. You have some NASA memorabilia, right?
One guy on the show was fascinated with astronauts taking Cokes and Pepsis into space, so he collected the containers. While I was talking to him, I went, “Oh, I have something from outer space!” One of my [comedy] CDs went up on a space shuttle. NASA framed it and presented it to me. The appraisers were like, “Hell, I don’t even know how to value that!”
(Justin Stephens)
What do you collect?
I go through cycles. I love to look for Native American artifacts, like arrowheads and ax-heads. For a long time, it was baseballs. Every time I would do The Tonight Show or Letterman or host an awards show, I would carry baseballs in my backpack and get people to sign ’em. So I have a bizarre collection. One [part] is just comedians: Johnny Carson, Milton Berle, Richard Pryor, George Carlin. I’ve got Elton John. Brad Pitt. And then I’ve got five presidents. [Laughs] I’m the guy who gets invited to the White House and whips out a baseball and goes, “Hey, would you mind signing this?”
What’s It Worth?, Tuesday, August 18, 9/8c and 9:30/8:30c, A&E
