The accordion that Vlasta Krsek, the Berwyn musician who was known as the “International Queen of Polka,” played in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” has been sold for $12,500 at a Hollywood auction.
Krsek, who died of cancer last year at 83, performed “Twist and Shout” and “Danke Schoen” on the instrument while riding on a float with “Ferris” star Matthew Broderick in the exuberant parade scene in the 1986 John Hughes movie.
The accordion, which Krsek kept for years at her Berwyn home, was custom-made by Baldoni, a company long based in Wisconsin.
A collector of film memorabilia bought it at a weekend sale of Hollywood movie artifacts handled by Julien’s Auctions at which the top price, $437,500, went for a Sylvester Stallone noebook with his handwritten ideas for his 1976 movie “Rocky.”
A World War II refugee from Czechoslovakia, Krsek immigrated to Chicago and worked at General Electric, as well as composing polkas and performing. Her performances included playing on Johnny Carson’s and David Letterman’s late-night TV shows and for politicians including President Ronald Reagan and Mayors Harold Washington, Jane Byrne and Richard M. Daley.
