WHEN A BELOVED TV MEMORABILIA COLLECTION OUTLIVED ITS CREATOR, A SON FOUND A WAY TO HONOR HIS FATHER’S VISION AND SHARE IT WITH THE WORLD
By Barbara Tunick | March 3, 2026
The dream had always been to build a museum to house his sweeping collection of mid-20th-century television memorabilia featuring screen-worn costumes, production-used props, set pieces, and original artwork from iconic shows such as Batman, The Honeymooners, The Munsters, I Dream of Jeannie, and Star Trek. He had purchased a site for the museum, gotten plans approved by the town, leveled the ground, and was just about to start pouring concrete when the unthinkable happened. Dr. Stewart Berkowitz, 64, a cancer radiologist and ardent television enthusiast, unexpectedly passed away. His death not only devastated his family and friends but left his massive collection of more than 300 lots from television’s golden age — including Jackie Gleason’s Honeymooners bus driver uniform, Henry Winkler’s leather Fonzie jacket from Happy Days, and the complete costumes worn by Adam West and Burt Ward as Batman and Robin — gathering dust in multiple warehouses.
“After my dad passed, I kept the idea alive of not just having a museum, but building his museum on the site he purchased,” says Dr. Berkowitz’s eldest son, Jordan Meddy, an attorney on Staten Island, New York. “It didn’t take long before the reality set in that it wasn’t going to be possible, especially because the collection was the primary asset of the estate. I think my dad expected, and probably wanted, that if something like this happened, we would sell the collection.”
Among the many treasures in Berkowitz’s collection were these original costumes Adam West and Burt Ward wore as Batman and Robin in the 1960s TV series ‘Batman.’ The costumes realized $575,000 in Heritage’s Stewart Berkowitz Television Treasures auction held October 24, 2025.
But where do you begin? How do you dismantle a beloved collection that had been painstakingly curated over the course of a lifetime? “There was no blueprint left behind,” Meddy says. “This was not my world.” Perhaps without even realizing it, Dr. Berkowitz took the most important step in creating a successful succession plan: He let his son know how much he loved his collection and frequently shared his plans for exhibiting it.
“The first thing a collector needs to do is have a discussion with their heirs,” says Elyse Luray, who works in Business Development and Trusts & Estates at Heritage Auctions. “It’s vital to have communication with the people who are going to be trustees of a collection — first, to let them know what your wishes are and secondly, to find out if they are willing to take on the task, because managing collections can be burdensome.”
“The only way I was able to get through the process was with the help of my family, who were involved with every decision, and the professionals who were able to connect us with the best people in whatever niche we were dealing with at the moment,” Meddy says. “The Trusts & Estates team at Heritage made the process fairly simple. The other thing that helped me manage the collection more efficiently was that my dad was very organized. He held on to every piece of paper.”
Buried within Dr. Berkowitz’s decades-long accumulation of paperwork were the invoices, receipts, and records of where and when he purchased the memorabilia — essential information to help begin the process of conducting estimates and evaluation.
The Paley Center’s Berkowitz exhibition included costumes from ‘The Love Boat,’ ‘The Andy Griffith Show,’ and ‘The Flying Nun.’ Also on view was the complete set from ‘The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,’ which Berkowitz’s family donated to the museum. Photo courtesy The Paley Center.
“When Jordan first came to us, he was very clear that his father wanted to create a museum,” Luray says. “Although there was no documentation in any type of legal trust or will, he knew that was his father’s ultimate dream. We were determined to help him accomplish that however we could. The most important aspect of what we do is listen to and fulfill our clients’ needs. We look at every collection holistically and then see how we can execute the goals of the client.”
“We’re the only major auction house that will ‘white-glove’ an estate’s entire contents,” adds Roberta Kramer, Heritage Auctions’ Senior Vice President of Business Development, Appraisal Services, and Trusts & Estates. “We will never cherry-pick through a collection. If there are lower-value items, we will arrange for a third-party operation to sell or donate them. And we treat each collection and estate with the utmost care. You don’t have to be a household name for us to take your loved one’s legacy seriously.”
The first step in managing Dr. Berkowitz’s estate was the appraisal. “I’ll never forget when [Heritage] came to do the appraisal, our first inventory, and our first attempt at a complete listing. They were so knowledgeable. They were able to look at a piece of clothing and determine whether it was original or not,” Meddy recalls.
Next, Luray and her team presented Meddy with a three-tiered plan: 1) an October 2025 auction complete with worldwide previews, 2) arranging for a third party to sell the lower-value items, and 3) creating a legacy program to honor Dr. Berkowitz. The latter step included donating one of the centerpiece items in his collection — the set from The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson — to The Paley Center for Media in New York City.
Dr. Berkowitz’s eldest son, Jordan Meddy, stands next to a photo of his father during the Beverly Hills preview of Heritage’s Stewart Berkowitz Television Treasures auction.
“The legacy aspect was extremely important for Jordan,” Luray says. “We created a special hardbound catalog, a special mailing, had multiple viewings from coast to coast and then a worldwide viewing including in London and Tokyo. And lastly, we were able to coordinate with Jordan’s personal art advisor to donate Johnny Carson’s desk and set to The Paley Center. When all was said and done, Jordan helped make his father’s dream come true.”
Last spring, during an exclusive exhibition, which included iconic costumes from Dr. Berkowitz’s collection, The Paley Center invited visitors to step onto Carson’s iconic set. “I love that people visited and sent me photos of them sitting at [Carson’s] desk and holding his mug,” Meddy says. “And I love that it’s in New York, where I grew up, in a place I visited when it was called The Museum of Television & Radio.” While the desk and set are not currently on display, they’re part of The Paley Center’s permanent collection and most likely will be displayed again.
“In the end, I’m very pleased with how everything was handled. It was everything we wanted, everything we hoped we could do for my dad that he couldn’t do himself,” Meddy says. “I miss and love my dad so much. I wanted to make him proud, and I feel like I did. The best part of the experience was actually seeing people look at my dad’s collection when we were touring with it and watching their reactions. People really love this stuff. My dad didn’t collect any of this for money. He never planned to sell. He collected it because he got enjoyment out of it and because he saw that other people did, too.”
On the last night of the auction preview in Beverly Hills, Meddy took a moment alone with his dad’s collection. “I had the realization that after about a year and a half of really close involvement with these artifacts, this would be the last time I would ever see them in person,” he says. “I did a lap around the gallery and slowly took in every item. Heritage had blown up a photo of my dad and hung it on a wall. For a moment, it felt like I got to put my arm around my dad again, like it was just the two of us in the room and we were looking at his collection together for one last time.”