‘Judy Garland’s Hometown Seeks to Purchase Iconic Red Slippers She Wore in The Wizard of Oz: A Priceless Tribute’
Judy Garland’s stolen red slippers from The Wizard of Oz may be returning to the Judy Garland Museum! The actress’s hometown is fighting to retrieve the prized footwear, and the Heritage Auctions executive says it would be “a fantastic story” if they succeed!
Judy Garland’s hometown raises funds to buy Wizard of Oz slippers
Wizard of Oz is an iconic film that transports the audience into a mystical and magical land. Judy Garland wore glittery red slippers that earned their own fan base. Unfortunately, the prized footwear was stolen and returned to an auction company.
Now, the late actress’s hometown of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, where she was born in 1922, is organizing a fundraiser for its annual Judy Garland festival to acquire them in memory of Garland and her legacy. The fundraiser kicks off on Thursday, June 17.
“They could sell for $1 million, they could sell for $10 million. They’re priceless,” Joe Maddalena, Heritage Auctions executive vice president, told Minnesota Public Radio. The town will be soliciting donations to get the slippers back before the auction company offers them to potential buyers.
How were the red slippers stolen?
Dallas-based Heritage Auctions received the prized slippers from memorabilia collector Michael Shaw, who originally owned them. In 2005, Shaw loaned them to the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, where they were stolen.
The thief smashed through the museum window that summer and stole the bedazzled slippers. The thief, later identified as Terry Jon Martin, 76, wanted to pull off “one last score” before leaving theft for good.
He pleaded guilty to theft of a major artwork in October and was sentenced to prison in January. A few months later, his accomplice, 76-year-old Jerry Hal Saliterman, was also charged in connection to the robbery. Garland, who died in 1969, wore those slippers as Dorothy Gale while dancing down the Yellow Brick Road.
She wore multiple slippers throughout the film, but only four remain. Maddalena informed that Leonardo DiCaprio and a group of the actor’s friends purchased one of the pairs for the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences.