In brief
Judy Garland's legendary ruby slippers, cherished pieces of Hollywood history, are scheduled to go under the hammer this Saturday, with estimates suggesting a potential selling price of $3 million. The slippers were once stolen from a Minnesota museum in 2005, leading to a mysterious 13-year saga that ended with their recovery by the FBI in 2018. Online bidding for the slippers began a month ago, reaching a current high of $1.55 million as of noon on Saturday, according to Heritage Auctions, which labeled them the "Holy Grail of Hollywood memorabilia."
Garland, who was just 16 years old at the time of filming the 1939 classic "The Wizard of Oz," wore the slippers during her iconic role as Dorothy. The beloved film, now considered one of the greatest movies ever made, was an adaptation of L. Frank Baum's children's book and famously altered the original silver slippers to vibrant red to utilize Technicolor. In this classic tale, Dorothy clicks her heels together three times to return to Kansas, emphasizing the line, "There's no place like home."While several pairs of slippers were used throughout the film's production, only four pairs are known to exist today. One pair is safely exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution, while the slippers being auctioned boast a particularly tumultuous history. The theft of the slippers was carried out by Terry Jon Martin, who believed the slippers were made of real rubies due to their insured value of $1 million. After finding out about the deception, he passed them onto another person, and the slippers remained missing until the FBI's undercover operation led to their recovery. In 2023, Martin, now in his 70s and wheelchair-bound, pled guilty to the theft and served time. The curator of the Judy Garland Museum, John Kelsch, expressed a desire to learn more about the slippers' whereabouts during the years they were missing but emphasized that their true value lies not in gems but their significance as a national treasure. The story of the ruby slippers continues to captivate audiences and collectors alike, highlighting the enduring legacy of both Garland and the timeless film that made them famous.
