Nicolas Cage Loses Two Homes in New Orleans

Cash-crunched actor Nicolas Cage's two homes in New Orleans were auctioned off this week, and movers carted away some of the "National Treasure" star's treasured doodads.

Photo: Nicolas Cage Loses Two Homes in New Orleans

Nicolas Cage Loses Two Homes in New Orleans

Carpets and a stained-glass window were among the items removed from one house, according to TMZ.com.

The two Big Easy properties, in the French Quarter and Garden District, went under the hammer Thursday after a local lender foreclosed for unpaid mortgage debts. Cage, whose father died last month, did not attend the auction, reported the New Orleans Times-Picayune's site Nola.com.

The Oscar winner and extravagant shopper -- he has owned at least two castles and two Bahamian islands -- is currently mired in a money meltdown, with the IRS claiming he owes around $6 million in unpaid taxes.

There were reports yesterday that Johnny Depp would come to his pal Cage's fiscal rescue. Cage had jump-started a young Depp's career by directing him to his own agent.

"Johnny called Nic and basically told him not to worry, and he'd help him and sort everything out," London's Daily Express said, quoting an unnamed friend, New York Post reports.

According to Benzinga, Regions Bank purchased Nicolas Cage's 1140 Royal Street property in the French Quarter appraised at $3.5 million for $2.3 million. The bank paid $2.2 million for Cage's 2523 Pataniya Street property appraised at $3.3 million in the Garden District. No other bids were made on the homes.

Cage owed $5.5 million in mortgage payments and $151,730 to the City of New Orleans in real estate taxes, according to records.

Last month, Cage filed a lawsuit against his previous business manager, claiming that he caused the actor to lose more than $20 million since 2001.