![]() ![]() ![]() These slippers are a mismatched pair, indicated by the use of different base shoes and markings that read “#1 Judy Garland” on the right shoe and “#6 Judy Garland” on the left. Several pairs of Ruby Slippers were made for the movie, a common practice with important costumes and props. ![]() Over the years, they have become one of the most iconic parts of the film and of American culture. In the movie, Dorothy is gifted the slippers from Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, to keep them safe from the Wicked Witch of the West and to help her return home to Kansas. They were created by Gilbert Adrian (1903-1959), MGM Studios’ chief costume designer at the time. To take advantage of new Technicolor technology, the slippers were changed from the book’s silver to an iridescent red hue. The story had previously been adapted into a cartoon, stage musical, and several silent motion pictures. Frank Baum (1856-1919) and produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, this fantasy tale set in a magical land is recognized for its extensive use of Technicolor and has endured to become an American classic. Based on the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Since then there has been so much mystery surrounding their whereabouts and the owners that they were the subject of a 2008 documentary, The Slippers, by film-maker Morgan White.The Ruby Slippers were made famous by Dorothy Gale, a character portrayed by Judy Garland (1922-1969), in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. Warner died in 1984, having quietly attempted to auction most of the pairs in the years before his death. He told the studio there was only one pair of slippers and presented them to the auctioneer, before filling a duffel bag with the other pairs and leaving the lot. ![]() Warner acquired the slippers after he was put in charge of cataloguing and preparing an auction of MGM props. He was known for screening classic films in his home while parading around in original dresses from the sets. For a time, most of the pairs belonged to Kent Warner, a movie-lover and eccentric who filled his home with purloined movie memorabilia from his time working in costumes in Hollywood. There are thought to be as many as seven pairs created for the film and worn by Garland. Photograph: Allstar/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayerĭorothy’s slippers hold a near mythical status in the world of movie memorabilia. Garland, Ray Bolger and Jack Haley in The Wizard of Oz, 1939. The museum hired a private investigation firm in 2013 to continue working on the case, although it appears it was the FBI who finally made the breakthrough. On numerous occasions volunteers dove into the Tioga Mine Pit, a deep-water lake near the museum, where it was believed a nervous thief may have got rid of the shoes. Shortly afterwards, an anonymous donor offered a further $1m for anyone who could provide the location of the slippers and the name of the person who stole them. Police initially offered a $250,000 reward for any information leading to their return. In the following years, there have been numerous attempts to try to locate the slippers. We were literally crying,” museum co-founder Jon Miner told local station KQDS shortly after the robbery. “The biggest thing that ever happened to our museum was getting the slippers stolen. An alarm had been tripped yet had apparently failed to notify police as it was programmed to do. One morning in August 2005, museum staff found the slippers gone, the case containing them smashed. Shaw rejected the offer he didn’t want people handling the valuable slippers daily and was sure the museum’s general security would suffice. The museum suggested to Shaw that they store the slippers in a vault each night. The slippers were loaned to the museum in 2005 by movie memorabilia collector Michael Shaw. He added that multiple suspects have been identified but that law enforcement “are still working to ensure that we have identified all parties involved in both the initial theft and the more recent extortion attempt for their return”. Special agent Christopher Dudley, who led the investigation from the FBI’s Minneapolis division, explained that “our top priority was the safe recovery of the slippers”. ![]()
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