UPDATE
Dec 8, 2024 2:14 PM CST
There's a winning bid for the ruby slippers made famous by Judy Garland/Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz, then stolen and found: $28 million. Heritage Auctions had predicted they'd draw maybe $3 million, but the bidding blew past that in the first few seconds Saturday, the AP reports. Several bidders competing by phone traded figures for 15 minutes before stopping at $28 million. The winner's name was not released. "There is simply no comparison between Judy Garland's ruby slippers and any other piece of Hollywood memorabilia," said Joe Maddalena of Heritage. The auction house said it's the most ever paid at auction for a piece of entertainment memorabilia, per the New York Times.
Nov 6, 2024 11:15 AM CST
They're shoes that are both famous and infamous: A pair of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz, stolen in 2005 and recovered by the FBI in 2018, are now up for auction. People reports the shoes are being sold by Heritage Auctions, which will conclude the auction on Dec. 7; the current bid is $812,500. The slippers are the "cross-matched sister shoes to the pair at the Smithsonian Institution," per the Heritage site.
The shoes, one of four known pairs worn by Garland in the 1939 film, were purchased in 1970 by memorabilia collector Michael Shaw, who's selling them now. They were on loan at Minnesota's Judy Garland Museum when they were stolen by Terry Jon Martin, who used a hammer to break the museum's glass door and the display case that held the shoes. The 76-year-old was sentenced in January to time served due to poor health. His attorney said Martin had wanted to pull off "one last score" and was under the impression the shoes were covered in real rubies, which he'd hoped to sell; they are, in fact, covered in sequins.
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The AP reports the Judy Garland Museum is hoping to emerge as the successful bidder. Grand Rapids, where the museum is located, raised money for the slippers at its annual Judy Garland Festival; state lawmakers set aside $100,000 to contribute to the purchase of the slippers. The auction includes other items from the movie, including a hat worn by Margaret Hamilton's Wicked Witch of the West and the screen door from Dorothy's Kansas home.
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