A pair of iconic ruby slippers that were worn by Judy Garland in “The Wizard of Oz” — and stolen from a museum nearly two decades ago — were sold for $28 million at an auction Saturday.
Robert Wilonsky, vice president of the Dallas-based auction house, told CBS News in an email that with buyer’s premium — a commission the buyer pays — the slippers sold for a total of $32.5 million.
Heritage Auctions had estimated the slippers would fetch $3 million or more. Online bidding began last month and reached $1.55 million on Friday, or $1.91 million including the buyer’s premium, Wilonsky said. More than 800 people were following the slippers and the company’s web page for the auction had reached nearly 43,000 page views as of Thursday, he said.
Reed Saxon / AP
As Rhys Thomas, author of the book “The Ruby Slippers of Oz,” says, the sequinned shoes from the beloved 1939 musical have had “more twists and turns than the yellow brick road.”
They were on display at the Judy Garland Museum in her hometown of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, in 2005 when Terry Jon Martin used a hammer to break the glass of the museum’s door and display case.
Steve Karnowski/AP
Their fate remained a mystery until the FBI tracked them down in 2018. Martin, now 77, who lives near Grand Rapids in northern Minnesota, has not been publicly revealed as the thief until he is indicted in May 2023. He pleaded guilty in October 2023. Martin admitted to using a small hammer to break into the museum. He then used the tool to break the case the slippers were in and take them. He said he didn’t hear any alarms. He left in his car and kept them in a trailer adjacent to his home.
He was in a wheelchair and on supplemental oxygen when he was sentenced to prison last January due to his poor health.
His lawyer, Dane DeKrey, explained before the sentencing that Martin, who had a long history of burglaries and receiving stolen property, was trying to make “one last score” after a former associate with ties to the Crowd told him that the shoes had to be adorned with real jewelry to justify their insured value of $1 million. But a receiver — a person who buys stolen goods — later told him the rubies were just glass, DeKrey said. So Martin got rid of the slippers. The lawyer did not specify how.
The alleged rector, Jerry Hal Saliterman, 77, of Crystal, a Minneapolis suburb, was indicted in March. He was also in a wheelchair and on oxygen during his first court appearance. His trial is scheduled for January and he has not pleaded guilty, although his lawyer has said he is not guilty.
The shoes were returned in February to memorabilia collector Michael Shaw, who had loaned them to the museum. They were one of many pairs Garland wore during filming, but only four pairs are known to survive. In the movie, to get back from Oz to Kansas, Dorothy had to click her heels three times and repeat, “There’s no place like home.” »
Among the candidates was the Judy Garland Museum. The city of Grand Rapids raised money for the slippers during its annual Judy Garland Festival to supplement the $100,000 set aside this year by Minnesota lawmakers to help the museum purchase the slippers.
The “Wizard of Oz” story has gained new attention in recent weeks with the release of the film.Wicked“, an adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, a sort of prequel that reinvents the character of the Wicked Witch of the West.
The auction also included other “Wizard of Oz” memorabilia, including a hat worn by Margaret Hamilton, who played the original role of the Wicked Witch of the West.
