Eddie Props and Details
Last updated: 12/20/06
{For bigger photos of Eddie, click
here
for a full body shot,
and
here
for a close front view
of his jacket.}
- Sleeveless black leather jacket
Completely lined with leopardskin.
Spots are solid oval-type spots, not hollow. (Technically, it's cheetah, not leopard. But that's liable to get you blank looks at the fabric store). Lining is not stitched in at armholes.
Jacket should be short. Vertical center backseam. Attached belt at
front waist (unfastened). The hanging end (with silver grommets) is on Eddie's left; the hollow-rectangle-shaped buckle is attached by a loop on his right.
- Front:
- In addition to the lining, there is leopard trim on jacket's lower lapels, which are very wide. Leopard trim on lapels extends only to the seam ~1/4" from the edge.
- A row of round silver studs at chest line outlines slightly above the front yoke on either side of the jacket. Silver skull and cross bones pin on left chest, with a small silver scroll (like for a motto) draped over the lower bone ends. We've had a couple of people suggest it's a British regimental badge, and while we can't confirm, it's a close match. (The 17th/21st lancers, whose banner reads "Or Glory." See the
links page.
There is a small silver star-shaped stud on either side, left and right. 4 star-shaped studs run down the left side (becoming 3 later in the scene when one falls off). Small star stud at the corner of both top lapels. Sheriff's silver star on right breast, above the yoke studs.
- A large star with a central pin (like the stars on the jacket back) is at the top front shoulder on either side. A row of small star-shaped studs runs along the top of the shoulder seam (where the epaulets would be) on either side. The number varies during the scene; at first there are 2(?) on the right shoulder and 3 or 4 on the left shoulder; by the end of the song there are 5 on either side.
- Back:
For a black and white photo of the back of the jacket taken years later (WARNING! The broken chain seen in the film has been fixed in this photo), click
here. Thanks to Larry Viezel for the image. Or if you'd rather see it in color, Meat Loaf shows it off on disc 2 of the 25th anniversary DVD. Gorgeous.
-
There are two horizontal epaulet-type fastenings at the waistband level, extending from the sides of the jacket to a black plastic button at either side of the back. (I believe the waistband is a "kidney strip.") Above a central rectangular patch in the waistband (leave waistband belt strip blank), paint
gold half-circle with 5 wavy red rays (rising sun) on back with "BABY" in red flaming letters above it. There are 3 flame tongues extending to the left of the base of the second B; there are 2 flame tongues extending to the left of the base of the Y. The red letters are not painted on; when he lifts Columbia onto his bike you can see they're peeling off slightly.
-
There are small plastic(?) bone-colored (think dirty ivory) charms of bones (with jumpring-type tops for fastening--stitched on) on the letters. Larry Viezel has provided a photo
here. Meat Loaf confirms they are from a "skeleton keychain" on the DVD, almost certainly from the same keychain Eddie wears on his slingshot.
There are two short thin bones placed one above the other (like a broken vertical line) on the straight back of the first "B," a horizontal piece on the crossbar of the "A," and two tiny ones positioned like a "V" on the crook of the "Y."
- Below "BABY," trim with silver-toned chain by the foot from hardware store. 4 loops of chain--2nd from left is broken.
- 3 large silver stars below "BABY": they are 3-D (the cross-section of each "arm" of the star is a triangle--look at the
photo). 1 star is above the point where the chain is first attached on the left side of the jacket; the other two stars are above the two attachment points of the chain loop on the jacket's far right. Each star is attached with a central circular rivet. There is a rivet below the "B" where you'd expect a star to be; Meat Loaf confirms on the DVD that there was a star there originally but that it was broken off during filming.
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The yoke whose edge you see above the silver chain is Western-styled; it dips down below the 4th star and also where the second star would be. The jacket has a central seam from the waistband up to this yoke; the sun is painted over it.
- Rounded Y-shaped silver slingshot on white lace/elastic band around neck
The final evidence convincing me this was a slingshot, not a wrench, turned up in a letter at
http://www.slingshots.net. The shape and the logo are exact. There is no thumb depression visible on Eddie's, but this probably just means he's wearing it backwards. (Larry Viezel has bought an actual MILBRO slingshot, and he let me examine it. One side is smooth, like Eddie's, with no thumb depression. They now go for hundreds of dollars on eBay.) Have a look at Eddie's for yourself
here (also has a good view of the skull keychain mentioned below).
Lacing is attached through a hole in the tip of each of the rounded "branches" of the Y. The circular metal part of a silver keychain hangs on the right branch of the Y-- attached to this is a smooth silver chain, from which hangs a small white skull with painted black lines and faceted red stone eyes. The skull was probably originally part of a skeleton keychain (probably the bones on the word "BABY"): there is a metal eyelet sunk into the neck. (See the
links page for skeleton keychains.) The word "MILBRO" is cast sideways onto the slingshot, with the M at the base. Make out of cardboard or plastic to avoid injuring Columbia. (I've seen an extremely convincing plastic cast of a Milbro.)
