Ricki Lake Lost All of Her Movie Memorabilia in the L.A. Wildfires. Then, an ‘Old Friend’ Came to the Rescue

Ricki Lake is grateful for her old friends.

In January, the harrowing wildfires that tore through Los Angeles claimed the Pacific Palisades home that the actress and former talk show host, 56, shared with husband Ross Burningham. The loss of the “dream home,” where the couple tied the knot in 2022, is “immeasurable,” Lake wrote on Instagram at the time.

“It was our heaven on earth,” she wrote of their L.A. home. “The place where we planned to grow old together.”

Along with the home, Lake — who has since moved to New York City — lost everything in it, including memorabilia amassed throughout her acting career. Among the items was a T-shirt from 1988’s Hairspray, which marked the star’s film debut — plus, the beginning of her personal and professional relationship with writer-director John Waters.

Lake loved the vintage tee, which featured a heart-shaped graphic of herself as Tracy Turnblad and the late Divine as her on-screen mom, Edna Turnblad. She previously touted it in a selfie on Instagram. “Brought out my OG #hairspray shirt from circa 1987 for my chat with #johnwaters today,” she wrote in 2022.

Less than three years later, the shirt was gone, along with Lake’s entire collection of memorabilia. Then, she got a message from an “old friend.”

On Aug. 5, the actress shared a post thanking longtime pal James Baggett — whom she said she first met in 1987, the year before Hairspray released — for his kindness. Baggett, the former editor of teen magazine Splice, not only sent Lake a new Hairspray T-shirt, but also a “publicity” shirt for another Waters film, Cry-Baby (Lake starred in the 1990 musical and camp classic alongside Johnny Depp).

“Ricki — Finally got these mailed so you can add them to your archives,” the former magazine editor said in a handwritten letter, which Lake photographed next to the shirts.

“These mean the world to me, as I lost all my memorabilia in the Palisades fire,” the star wrote alongside photos of the vintage tees. “Thank you James,” she added, “and it’s a bonus that the shirts are XXXL, big enough to fit my biggest fan, my giant husband.”

And Burningham fit the shirts, alright — Lake shared a snap of him rocking a wide smile in the Hairspray tee in her post.

After the Palisades fire, Lake relocated to N.Y.C., and has since opened up on Instagram about the different “blessings” she’s experienced in its wake, from rebuilding her art collection to spending more quality time with her kids. She shares Milo, 28, and Owen, 24, with ex-husband Rob Sussman.

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“These days, since moving back to NYC, I am so grateful to be able to spend more quality time together,” she wrote in Owen’s birthday tribute in June. “One of the many blessings to have come out of the fire.”