The Wizard of Oz
Silver Screen/Getty Images CollectionThe ruby slippers from 1939 The Wizard of Oz are now the most expensive movie memorabilia in history.
The shoes worn by Judy Garland like Dorothy in the favorite movie, sold at auction in Dallas for $28 million — $32.5 million, including taxes and fees — on Saturday, Dec. 7, Heritage Auctions announced. They are now considered the most valuable piece of movie memorabilia.
One of four surviving pairs worn by Garland in the classic film, the slippers sold for well over $10 million, which the auction house’s executive vice president, Joe Maddalenaoriginally expected. The auction house did not immediately reveal the buyer’s identity.
“There is simply no comparison between Judy Garland’s ruby slippers and any other piece of Hollywood memorabilia,” Maddalena said in a press release. “The breathtaking result reflects how important movies and movie memorabilia are to our culture and to collectors. It was a privilege for all of us at Heritage to be a part of the slippers’ epic journey over the rainbow and heading to a new home.”
After nearly 10 years in development, the long-awaited film adaptation of Broadway’s Wicked is finally on its way. A film version of the musical, a theater staple since its Broadway debut in 2004, has been in development since 2012. Wicked, based on the 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of (…)
Breaking records the ruby slippers were known to be stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, in the summer of 2005. and recovered 13 years later by the FBI. They have been returned to the owner Michael Shaw earlier this year before handing them over to Heritage for inclusion in the Dec. 7 Hollywood/Entertainment Signature Auction, which attracted more than 1,800 bidders worldwide.
Judy Garland
JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty ImagesThe single pair of shoes helped Heritage set the entertainment auction record: $38,615,188. That beats the $22.8 million realized during the 2011 Debbie Reynolds auction held by Maddalena.
The sale was also the largest amount spent at auction for a piece of entertainment memorabilia, surpassing the previous record holder, Marilyn Monroethe subway dress from the 1955 movie The Seven Year Itchwhich was sold in 2011. for $5.52 million with fees, the auction house said.
Judy Garland
Screen Archive/Getty ImagesDuring the auction that was it is reported sprinkled with Evil and The Wizard of Oz references and puns, the auctioneer excitedly assumed a crouched position à la the Wicked Witch of the West as he pointed bidders around the room.
Other parts were also included in the auction The Wizard of Oz memorabilia, including a Wicked Witch of the West hat worn by the actress Margaret Hamiltonwhich was sold for nearly $3 million, the auction house said.
Other items included in the auction: maker Mervyn Leroya copy of the script from MGM’s art department that sold for $50,000; the screen door from Dorothy’s Kansas home that sold for $37,500; Garland’s “Dorothy Gale” wig from the first week of filming, which won $30,000; and the MGM contract signed by the “Over the Rainbow” songwriters. Harold Arlen and EY Harburgwhich retails for a final price of $23,125.
