‘Wizard of Oz’ ruby slippers up for auction two decades after they were stolen in a mob heist

A piece of cinematic history is up for grabs as the iconic ruby slippers from 1939’s The Wizard of Oz go up for auction. Worn by Judy Garland in her legendary role as Dorothy Gale, the magical shoes are famous for transporting her back to Kansas with just three taps of her heels. 

Interested buyers can place their bid on Heritage Auctions, the world’s largest collectibles auctioneer based in Texas. Currently, the highest bid is at $812,500 but with the additional Buyer’s Premium, the fee goes up to more than a cool $1 million. Per the item’s description, the shoes are a vintage pair from the Innes Shoe Co. with “red silk faille heels with uppers and heels covered with hand-sequined silk georgette…” created by Gilbert Adrian, the chief costume designer at MGM.

Not many know that the slippers Dorothy wore in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz — the novel the movie was based on — were not red but instead, silver. However, MGM wanted to make the most out of the new Technicolor technology back then and decided to use a vibrant red color. As is common practice, several pairs of the ruby slippers were made, but only four pairs — that are known — survive to this day. This particular pair the auction house is selling has an interesting history that involves a mobster and the FBI.

The ruby slippers were stolen in 2005

In 1969, MGM was sold to financier Kirk Kerkorian. He wanted the studio’s lot cleared and auctioneer and liquidator David Weisz purchased everything in storage for $1.5 million. Weisz then hired costume designer Kent Warner to sort and catalog 350,000 items to prepare them for auction, and he found a few pairs of Dorothy’s ruby slippers. One pair was purchased by a private collector named Michael Shaw for $2,500.

Throughout the years, Shaw showed off the ruby slippers on a traveling tour and occasionally lent it to the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. However, the slippers went missing from the museum in 2005. There was broken glass on the scene and the only thing left from the slippers was one piece of sequin. Many speculated that it was an inside job, while others pointed the finger at Shaw. After all, he got an insurance settlement amounting to $800,000 a year after the heist.

In 2018, the FBI announced that they had recovered the missing slippers and revealed the person responsible for the theft was Terry Jon Martin, an ex-mobster. In 2005, Martin hadn’t been involved in a crime in nearly a decade but was approached by a former mob associate and was told about the ruby slippers. The plan was a smash-and-grab heist, and while Martin initially declined the job, he eventually agreed to one “final score“ believing that the slippers were encrusted in real rubies and they’d have a big payday. As he soon found out, the “jewels” were actually made of glass, and he got rid of the slippers a couple of days after the heist. “Terry had a criminal relapse,” his defense lawyer said in court.

Martin pleaded guilty in Oct. 2023, and in Jan. 2024, he was sentenced to time served due to his poor health; the ex-mobster was in hospice and had a life expectancy of six months. Interested parties may bid on the red slippers until Dec. 7.