Anna Nicole's diaries sell for $59,750

An unnamed recording company executive from Dallas has paid $59,750 for two diaries written by Anna Nicole Smith in the early 1990s.

The purchase came after the diaries failed to sell at a recent auction, said Doug Norwine, director of music and entertainment memorabilia at Heritage Auction Galleries of Dallas.

They were put up for sale at a minimum bid of $25,000 each, and two people expressed interest in buying them, he said.

"We had two collectors who wanted to buy them, and the Dallas man took time from his busy recording schedule to be the first to send the money," Norwine said

The auction house obtained the journals and other items from an anonymous German businessman who purchased the items on the eBay Web site for more than $500,000 several weeks ago. The German businessman decided to auction the diaries after securing the publishing rights, Norwine said.

Smith's lawyer-turned-partner, Howard K. Stern, has alleged that the diaries had been stolen and should be returned to Smith's estate. Smith, 39, died Feb. 8 from a lethal combination of drugs.

Norwine said he had vetted the history of the journals and believed they were legitimately obtained by a celebrity memorabilia dealer in Los Angeles before going up for sale on eBay.

The diaries, from 1992 and 1994, cover a range of topics, from Smith's love of octogenarian oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II to concerns about her eating.

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