‘The Wizard of Oz’ ruby slippers for sale 2 decades after they were stolen
DALLAS - A pair of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in the iconic movie "The Wizard of Oz" is being auctioned off nearly two decades after a thief stole the iconic shoes.
Heritage Auctions, located in Dallas, Texas, received the sequin-and-bead-bedazzled ruby slippers from Michael Shaw, a memorabilia collector. Shaw had loaned the shoes in 2005 to the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.
According to the auction house, the shoes were famously stolen from the museum in 2005. The FBI recovered them in 2018.
The man who stole the slippers, Terry Jon Martin, was 76 when he was sentenced in January to time served because of his poor health. He admitted to using a hammer to smash the glass of the museum’s door and display case in what his attorney said was an attempt to pull off "one last score" after an old associate with connections to the mob told him the shoes had to be adorned with real jewels to justify their $1 million insured value.
Iconic ruby slippers from "The Wizard Oz" unveiled at Solange Azagury-Partridge on November 14, 2011 in Beverly Hills, California. (Credit: Brian To/FilmMagic)
The slippers began a celebrated worldwide tour in Japan in October, with stops in Dallas, New York and London still to come before they find their way to a new home in December. Online bidding has started and will continue through Dec. 7.
Now the Judy Garland Museum is among those vying for the slippers, which were one of several pairs Garland wore during the filming. Only four currently remain.
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The auction of movie memorabilia also includes other items from "The Wizard of Oz," such as a hat worn by Margaret Hamilton’s Wicked Witch of the West and the screen door from Dorothy’s Kansas home.