(Dana Ferguson – Melissa Olson – MPRnews) – 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 sold for a winning bid of $28 million at auction Saturday.
Heritage Auctions had estimated that they would fetch $3 million or more, but the fast-paced bidding far outpaced that amount within seconds and tripled it within minutes. A few bidders making offers by phone volleyed back and forth for 15 minutes as the price climbed to the final, eye-popping sum.
Including the Dallas-based auction house’s fee, the unknown buyer will ultimately pay $32.5 million.
Online bidding, which opened last month, had stood at $1.55 million before live bidding began late Saturday afternoon.
The sparkly red heels 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 smash the glass of the museum’s door and display case.
Their whereabouts remained a mystery until the FBI recovered them in 2018. Martin, now 77, who lives near Grand Rapids in northern Minnesota, wasn’t publicly exposed as the thief until he was indicted in May 2023. He pleaded guilty in October 2023. He was in a wheelchair and on supplementary oxygen when he was sentenced last January to time served because of his poor health.
His attorney, Dane DeKrey, explained ahead of sentencing that Martin, who had a long history of burglary and receiving stolen property, was attempting 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. But a fence — a person who buys stolen goods — later told him the rubies were just glass, DeKrey said. So Martin got rid of the slippers. The attorney didn’t specify how.
The alleged fence, Jerry Hal Saliterman, 77, of the Minneapolis suburb of Crystal, was indicted in March. He was also in a wheelchair and on oxygen when he made his first court appearance. He’s scheduled to go on trial in January and hasn’t entered a plea, though his attorney has said he’s not guilty.
The shoes were returned in February to memorabilia collector Michael Shaw, who had loaned them to the museum. They were one of several pairs that Garland wore during the filming, but only four pairs are known to have survived. In the movie, to return from Oz to Kansas, Dorothy had to click her heels three times and repeat, “There’s no place like home.”
As Rhys Thomas, author of “The Ruby Slippers of Oz,” put it, the sequined shoes from the beloved 1939 musical have seen “more twists and turns than the Yellow Brick Road.”
Over 800 people had been tracking the slippers, and the company’s webpage for the auction had hit nearly 43,000 page views by Thursday, said Robert Wilonsky, a vice president with the auction house.
Among those bidding to bring the slippers home was the Judy Garland Museum, which posted on Facebook shortly after that it did not place the winning bid. The museum had campaigned for donations to supplement money raised by the city of Grand Rapids at its annual Judy Garland festival and the $100,000 set aside this year by Minnesota lawmakers to help the museum purchase the slippers.
Janie Heinz, the director of the Judy Garland Museum, traveled to Texas to bid on the slippers.
“It was insanely fast.” Heintz said. ”It went up so fast we didn’t even get a bid in.”
Heitz said the museum did purchase a painting by Minnesota artist Bill Mack that was auctioned moments later.
“We are so excited about that!” Heitz told MPR News, ”It happened after the slippers and I just thought it was a perfect piece for us.” Heitz said.
Ahead of the auction, Heitz said that she and museum curator John Kelsch hoped to meet with the new owners and discuss featuring them at the museum as part of a traveling exhibit.
The auction also included other memorabilia from “The Wizard of Oz,” such as a hat worn by Margaret Hamilton, who played the original Wicked Witch of the West. That item went for $2.4 million, or a total final cost to the buyer of $2.93 million.
After the slippers sold, the auctioneer told bidders and spectators in the room and watching online that the previous record for a piece of entertainment memorabilia was $5.52 million, for the white dress Marilyn Monroe famously wore atop a windy subway grate.
“The Wizard of Oz” story has gained new attention in recent weeks with the release of the movie “Wicked,” an adaptation of the megahit Broadway musical, a prequel of sorts that reimagines the character of the Wicked Witch of the West.
(Anika Besst – MPRnews) – Even though the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids was unable to top the winning bid for Dorothy’s ruby slippers, a new addition is still making its way to the collection.
The museum’s executive director Janie Heitz flew out to Dallas hoping to bring the slippers back to the museum, but Heitz didn’t have a whopping $28 million to spare at the auction on Saturday.
She had set her sights on the movie’s door to Dorothy’s Kansas home, but when a new piece captured her eye, she knew the museum had to have it.
Joining the lot of Wizard of Oz memorabilia at the museum will be a painting by Minnesota artist Bill Mack.
“I just, I don’t know, I had this gut feeling, and I was like, ‘if we’re going to get a piece, I feel like this is the better piece for us.’ It’s sort of like we get to have the slippers but in a different way,” Heitz said.
The painting features the boney green hands of the Wicked Witch of the West getting shocked by the flashy ruby slippers. It is painted on a metal panel of the original Hollywood sign.
The auction house listed the price as $25,000, including taxes and fees. The museum’s bid was $20,000.
Heitz said the money they used for the bid was from the restitution of the trial after the theft of the slippers. The museum did not expect to see that money, but they received it in full, Heitz said, and wanted to put it towards getting them back.
This is the first time the museum has ever bought anything, as everything they currently have is from donations or loans.
“This is a significant amount of money for us,” Heitz said regarding their purchase.
She and the museum curator, John Kelsch, believe the painting commemorates a journey from having the slippers stolen, fighting to get them back and seeing how much they meant to the community. By getting this painting, a piece of Hollywood and a depiction of the slippers, feels like a “fitting way to spend the money,” Heitz said.
The final bid of $28 million for the slippers is the largest sum spent on a piece of entertainment memorabilia at an auction, Heritage Auction said.
After taxes and fees, the slippers worn by Garland went for $32.5 million.
The hat worn by the Wicked Witch of the West, played by Margaret Hamilton, went for $2.5 million. The total cost to the buyer will be $2.93 million.
Heitz describes the high bids as “insane” and “remarkable.”
“I think it’s a testament to just how iconic and important ‘The Wizard of Oz’ is to world history. I mean, it’s American history, but it’s also the world,” Heitz said. “It keeps Judy Garland’s life and legacy relevant for many more years to come, because of her role as Dorothy Gale in ‘The Wizard of Oz.’”
Prior to the auction, the museum was raising money in hopes of purchasing the slippers. While part of the funding they received included pledges, which will go away, the remaining donations will be used to help the museum.
Heitz says it will be used for a potential “Wizard of Oz” miniature golf course or another type of exhibit.
Heitz says the museum does not know where they will hang the painting yet. She figures the 18-by-24-inch piece will probably go near the original carriage from “The Wizard of Oz” and a test dress.
The museum is hoping to connect with Mack about a possible unveiling event.
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