Piano From 'Casablanca,' Possibly With Humphrey Bogart's Gum On It, Sells For $3.4M

The piano from Casablanca, an immortal icon of the Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman film, is up for auction at Bonhams in Manhattan as of last week, reports The New York Times.

It is one of two pianos that appeared in Casablanca, and it is the one on which Bergman's character, upon walking into Rick's Café Américain, requests of the pianist, "Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By.'"

And although its true owner has never been confirmed, the infamous piano also has a piece of gum under the keyboard, which might well belong to Bogey himself, or Bergman, or Dooley Wilson (Sam), though that's all pure speculation. The piano's previous owner, a Los Angeles dentist named Gary Milan, told The New York Times that the gum had "mummified over the years."

At one point in time, Milan was actually in possession of both pianos from the film — the other one appears in the flashback scene — but he sold it some years ago, telling The Los Angeles Times, "Nobody should have both pianos from Casablanca."

Update: The piano has been sold at auction for $3.4 million. Bonhams has not identified the buyer.