DALLAS (AP) — A pair of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in “The Wizard of Oz” are on…
DALLAS — A pair of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in “The Wizard of Oz” is up for auction nearly two decades after a thief stole the iconic shoes, convinced they were adorned with real jewels.
Online bidding has begun and will continue through Dec. 7, Heritage Auctions in Dallas announced in a news release Monday.
The auction company received the sequined and beaded slippers from Michael Shaw, the memorabilia collector who originally owned the shoes at the heart of the beloved 1939 musical. Shaw had loaned the shoes in 2005 at the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.
That summer, someone broke down a window and stole the slippers. Their fate remained a mystery until the FBI recovered them in 2018.
Today, the museum is among those vying for the slippers, which were one of many pairs Garland wore during filming. There are only four left.
Grand Rapids money collected for slippers at its annual Judy Garland Party. The funds will supplement the $100,000 set aside this year by Minnesota lawmakers to purchase the slippers.
The man who stole the slippers, Terry Jon Martin, was 76 years old when he was sentenced in January to prison due to his poor health. He admitted to using a hammer to break the glass of the museum’s door and display case, which his lawyer called an attempt to score “one last score” after a former associate with Mafia ties told him said that shoes should be decorated. with real jewelry to justify their insured value of $1 million.
The movie memorabilia auction includes other “Wizard of Oz” items, such as 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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