Expert Witness Services

Joseph “Joe” Maddalena joined Heritage Auctions as Executive Vice President in January 2021 following an unparalleled 35-year track record of success as the founder of Profiles in History, which he built into the world’s largest auctioneer of coveted Hollywood memorabilia and popular culture keepsakes.  Some of the iconic items he brought to market included Luke Skywalker’s light saber, Dorothy’s ruby slippers, Indiana Jones’ whip and Peter Fonda’s Easy Rider chopper, along with the 2011 Debbie Reynolds auction that was highlighted by Marilyn Monroe’s Seven Year Itch “subway dress” realizing $5.52 million.  

Born into a family of antiques dealers in Rhode Island, Joe learned early on how to turn his passion for collecting historical autographs into a career.  Upon graduation from Pepperdine, he made the decision to become a full-time dealer of historical documents, and opened his first office in 1985.  Profiles in History now owns virtually every Guinness Book record for prices of original screen-used memorabilia.  Joe is a lifetime member of the Manuscript Society and is widely recognized as the nation’s leading authority on entertainment memorabilia and historical documents.  In addition, he starred for three seasons in Syfy’s Hollywood Treasure, which gave viewers an inside look at the world of showbiz and pop culture memorabilia.  

Joe brings deep and long-lasting relationships with major collectors in a myriad fields, as well as an encyclopedic knowledge of multiple categories such as nature and science, rare books and wine. His years of experience in these numerous categories and expansive role at Heritage will allow him to serve clients far more efficiently and effectively than ever.

Zach’s lifelong interest in movie memorabilia began at age 3, when he received an autographed picture from a man dressed up as RoboCop at a Blockbuster Video in suburban Chicago. After undergraduate and graduate studies at UCR and Long Beach State, he joined the team at Profiles in History.   

Some of the noteworthy auctions he curated in that position included premiere collections such as the Culver Pictures Archive, the estate of Marvin Paige, and Hollywood Book & Poster, as well as for celebrity clients such as Liza Minnelli, Debbie Reynolds, and Carrie Fisher. Immersed in the world of movie paper, film production artifacts, and entertainment ephemera for the past eight years, Zach strives to provide collectors with eclectic offerings of rare and exciting material.

Charles Epting joined Heritage Auctions in August 2024 after eight years in the philatelic auction industry, during which time he handled the sale of over $30 million worth of postage stamps. A lifelong pop culture enthusiast, his role as Associate Director of Posters allows Charles to combine his auction house experience with a subject matter that he is innately familiar with and passionate about. He is excited to help collectors engage with these beautiful and important pieces of our past.

Charles is the author of five books, including a biography of the silent film actress Bebe Daniels, and is the former editor of Silent Film Quarterly. The shared passion that Charles and his wife Olivia have for early Hollywood runs so deep that they even named their son Autry after the late, great singing cowboy.