Ultimate Star Wars collector Guz Lopez is set to appear on MeTV’s Collector Call, hosted by Lisa Whelchel, on May 5th at 6:30pm EST | 5:30p CST, in celebration of Star Wars Day (May the 4th).
On MeTV’s “Collector’s Call,” host Lisa Whelchel (“The Facts of Life”) travels the country meeting collectors of pop culture ephemera and, along with an expert in each collection, tempts collectors to trade an item they have for an elusive gem they might want.
Gus Lopez of Capitol Hill has one of the largest private “Star Wars” collections in the world, including Han Solo’s jacket from “The Empire Strikes Back,” Princess Leia’s “Return of the Jedi” bikini, a shooting model of the Death Star and an almost complete C-3PO costume, which all get a moment in the spotlight during Lopez’s “Collector’s Call” episode (6:30 p.m. May 5).
Lopez, 58, is a recently retired Amazon vice president who started collecting seriously in the early ’90s, but even as a kid he dabbled in rudimentary “Star Wars” collecting, including trading cards and action figures.
During filming, cameras found “Star Wars” costumes and cereal boxes in display cases and on shelves throughout Lopez’s home.
“If I have stuff I can’t see, I sort of question what’s the point of owning it if I can’t enjoy it,” he says. “I do have some things on loan to different places, including MoPOP,” which currently has Lopez’s “Empire Strikes Back” Hoth gear, including a special effects model of an AT-AT walker, a Rebel soldier snow costume and a special effects miniature of Solo riding a tauntaun.
Lopez says his wife, Pam Green, has her own collection of Funko! Pop figures made by the Everett-based company.
“She’s got four rooms [of our house] dedicated to that stuff,” Lopez says. “We both collect, so she understands.”
