Way up High: Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers Fetch Record $32.5 Mn

The ruby slippers worn by US actress and singer Judy Garland in the 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz” are pictured on display in London on November 27, 2024. (AFP)
The ruby slippers worn by US actress and singer Judy Garland in the 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz” are pictured on display in London on November 27, 2024. (AFP)
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Way up High: Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers Fetch Record $32.5 Mn

The ruby slippers worn by US actress and singer Judy Garland in the 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz” are pictured on display in London on November 27, 2024. (AFP)
The ruby slippers worn by US actress and singer Judy Garland in the 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz” are pictured on display in London on November 27, 2024. (AFP)

Ruby slippers worn by actor Judy Garland in "The Wizard of Oz" went under the hammer Saturday, and the winning price was over the rainbow -- a record $32.5 million, the auction house said.

The shimmery shoes, among the most famous pairs of footwear ever, soared past the pre-auction estimate of $3 million within moments and by the time the bidding war was complete they had become the most valuable movie memorabilia ever sold at auction, according to Heritage Auctions which oversaw the dramatic sale in Dallas, Texas.

The final bid was $28 million, with taxes and fees pushing the cost to $32.5 million, Heritage Auctions said.

The entire haul for the Hollywood/Entertainment Signature Auction, which also featured the sale of the Wicked Witch's black hat for $2.9 million, set a new record of $38.6 million for an entertainment auction.

But it was the sequin-covered pumps -- one of four surviving ruby pairs worn in the 1939 cult classic -- that stole the show in Texas, as expected.

"There is simply no comparison between Judy Garland's Ruby Slippers and any other piece of Hollywood memorabilia," Heritage Auctions Executive Vice President Joe Maddalena said in a statement.

"The breathtaking result reflects just how important movies and movie memorabilia are to our culture and to collectors."

- Stolen slippers -

The shoes that sold on Saturday have a storied history. They were not just the ones on Dorothy when she began her adventure in Oz, or when she clicked her heels to go home to Kansas: they were stolen nearly 20 years ago.

The shoes, created by MGM Studios chief costume designer at the time, Gilbert Adrian, had belonged to a collector since 1970. They were kept in the Judy Garland Museum in her hometown of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, until they mysteriously disappeared in 2005.

Despite a six-figure reward and the involvement of the FBI, it was not until 2018 that they were finally tracked down.

The perpetrator of the theft, Terry Martin, admitted taking them and said he did so because he believed they were encrusted with real rubies.

Heritage Auctions said the 77-year-old Martin, who confessed in court documents last year to stealing the ruby slippers, had wanted to pull off "one last score." He was given a suspended prison sentence in January.

One pair of ruby slippers was sold in 2012 to Hollywood legends Steven Spielberg and Leonardo DiCaprio, who donated them to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles.

Another resides at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, in Washington, while the fourth pair sold in 2000 for $666,000.

Other memorabilia from "The Wizard of Oz" was also on sale, including Garland's wigs, film posters and photographs, as well as other items such as a wooden game board from "Jumanji" starring Robin Williams.



Pamela Anderson Finally Feels Like an Actress, 32 Years after 'Baywatch'

Pamela Anderson, 57, has been on the awards circuit over the last few months. Ben STANSALL / AFP
Pamela Anderson, 57, has been on the awards circuit over the last few months. Ben STANSALL / AFP
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Pamela Anderson Finally Feels Like an Actress, 32 Years after 'Baywatch'

Pamela Anderson, 57, has been on the awards circuit over the last few months. Ben STANSALL / AFP
Pamela Anderson, 57, has been on the awards circuit over the last few months. Ben STANSALL / AFP

After winning rave reviews for her turn in the film "The Last Showgirl", Pamela Anderson is now dreaming of doing theatre as the 1990s glamour model seeks to reinvent herself again.

The 57-year-old, who shot to global fame as lifeguard CJ Parker in "Baywatch", told AFP that playing a fading showgirl in Gia Coppola's recently released film had made her feel like a real actress for the first time.

"This (role) came to me as a surprise, when I thought it was the end of my career as an actress," she said during a trip to Paris.

"Now I feel like an actress. But I didn't really know if I was before. I was just doing the best I could."

The New York Times said Anderson was "dazzling" in the role, while Britain's The Guardian said it had "single-handedly rewritten the way she is viewed as an actor".

Coppola, granddaughter of "Godfather" director Francis Ford Coppola, pursued Anderson for the role in "The Last Showgirl" after watching a Netflix documentary about her life, "Pamela: A Love Story".

Anderson's late-career bloom echoes the success of another 1990s icon, Demi Moore, who also challenged the entertainment industry's treatment of older women with her brilliant performance in Oscar-nominated "The Substance" last year.

The public endorsements of Anderson's showgirl portrayal -- including a Golden Globe nomination -- have given her the confidence to reveal new ambitions and challenge the perceptions forged by her early career in a swimsuit.

"I think being part of pop culture can be a little bit of a curse because you become famous for one thing," Anderson said.

"But I've always loved cinema. I've always loved theatre. I hope to do a Tennessee Williams play one day. I would love that. Why can't you imagine it? You've just gotta keep surprising people. That's my goal," she added.

'Wasn't boring'

Anderson's personal life has had as many turns as her career, but she said she is now at peace with her "messy" trajectory.

She has been married at least six times -- twice to the same man -- and one union, with movie mogul Jon Peters, lasted just 12 days.

"I have appreciation for my wild and messy life because I have so much to draw from," she told AFP. "And it definitely wasn't boring. Hard at times, and silly at times, ridiculous at times.

"But that's the way you're supposed to live."

She is back living on Vancouver Island in her native Canada, where she grew up, making pickles and working on recipes for her new sideline as a plant-based cooking guru.

She has her own TV cooking show "Pamela's Cooking with Love" and released a cookbook last year.

As well as animal rights activism, she released an autobiography in 2023, insisting publicly that she wrote it herself after rejecting advice from her literary agent that she should employ a ghostwriter.

"I can write, you stupid shit, give me some credit" was her reaction, she told The Times newspaper afterwards.

"And so I wrote it."

It revealed her tumultuous upbringing with volatile parents, as well as childhood sexual abuse.

"I don't really know what's next. There's a lot of opportunity out there, but I'm okay with living in the mystery of what's next," she told AFP.