The excitement surrounding the musical Wicked continues to grow, as The Wizard of Oz remains a beloved classic, especially after the sale of Dorothy’s iconic ruby slippers for an unprecedented sum.
Judy Garland’s original slippers from the 1939 film have set a new record for movie memorabilia sales, fetching a price that is ten times higher than anticipated.
Heritage Auctions had estimated that the famous shoes would go for about $3 million, but the final bid far exceeded expectations.
Often referred to as the ‘Holy Grail of Hollywood memorabilia,’ these glittering shoes are one of only four known pairs remaining, with Garland wearing various pairs during the production of the legendary movie.
The total amount reached by the shoes was an astounding $28 million.
In the film, the red slippers are crucial to the storyline, allowing Dorothy to return to Kansas by clicking her heels three times and saying ‘there’s no place like home.’
Another surviving pair is showcased at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, while the recently sold pair has a fascinating history of its own.
In 2005, these slippers were taken from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, where they were on loan from collector Michael Shaw.
A man named Terry Jon Martin used a hammer to break into the display and seize the coveted shoes, mistakenly believing they were adorned with real gems.
Upon discovering they were merely made of glass, he surrendered them to a middleman who also dismissed their value.
The slippers’ location remained a mystery for 13 years until they were recovered by the FBI in a 2018 operation.
In 2023, Martin, now in his 70s and wheelchair-bound, confessed to the theft and received a sentence of time served.
Reflecting on the case, John Kelsch, the curator of the Judy Garland Museum, told CBS: “There’s some closure, and we do know definitely that Terry Jon Martin did break into our museum, but I’d like to know what happened to them after he let them go.
“Just to do it because he thought they were real rubies and to turn them over to a jewelry fence. I mean, the value is not rubies. The value is an American treasure, a national treasure. To steal them without knowing that seems ludicrous.”