Tillie, the HOV dummy, emerged as a $15,000 glamour doll Thursday.
Born out of one man’s desire to beat rush-hour traffic, the mannequin’s Internet auction became a hit this week before a Lakewood company ended the bidding with a $15,000 pledge.
Quite a payoff, given that Tillie was made from $10 worth of spare parts.
Video Professor, which produces home-computer tutorials, vows to keep Tillie on the straight-and-narrow and away from the type of infamy that has surrounded her since January.
“We’ve rescued Tillie from a life of crime, and we hope to rehabilitate her so she can be a contributing dummy to our society,” said Brian Olson, spokesman for Video Professor, the winning bidder. “We believe in starting over in life. After all, this is America.”
The proceeds from the winning bid – following a three-day auction on eBay – will be donated to Alive at 25, a group sponsored by the Colorado State Patrol that teaches responsible driving to Colorado teenagers.
Tillie’s sale was part of a sentence handed down by a Westminster municipal judge. Her creator – 54-year-old Greg Pringle of Broomfield – also was ordered to spend four hours at a highway intersection with a sign that read “HOV LANE IS NOT FOR DUMMIES.”
Pringle fabricated Tillie about a year ago and placed her in the passenger seat of his car so he could gain access to the high- occupancy vehicle lane on U.S. 36.
Only vehicles with two or more people aboard, motorcycles and hybrids can use an HOV lane.
A police officer noticed that Tillie was no ordinary passenger and cited Pringle.
Tillie joined Pringle as he served the first part of his sentence March 14 at the southwest corner of Sheridan Boulevard and U.S. 36.
Pringle’s final restitution came Thursday at KOOL-105. The radio station’s morning crew of Rick “The Coach” Marshall and J.J. McKay lobbied for a week to get people to bid for Tillie.
And the publicity worked: The eBay site for Tillie received about 30,000 hits.
“This is just incredible,” Pringle said. “I never imagined we could raise so much, and it’s for such a good cause.”
Tillie was perched on a stool near the deejay console, sitting stone-faced while TV cameras and photographers captured her image. Pringle then said his final good-bye to the dummy that gave him his 15 minutes of fame.
“She’s so beautiful; she was a great traveling companion,” Pringle said. “I’m sure whoever gets her will treat her better than I did. She won’t have to ride in my trunk again.”
Meanwhile, John Anderson, program manager for Alive at 25, said the money raised from Tillie’s sale will bolster classroom programs at high schools.
“This is a whole heck of a lot of money, and we can do a lot with it,” he said.
Video Professor said it plans to make sure Tillie remains a positive contributor to society. She will be used to raise money for other charities and could be resold, Olson said.
No matter what, Tillie can expect to be pampered, he said.
“We’ll dress her better and keep her in the best possible company,” he said. “If we can teach her computing, we’ll be home free.”
Staff writer Monte Whaley
can be reached at 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com.
