Judy Garland’s Stolen Wizard of Oz Slippers Up for $812,500 Auction

There's nary specified happening arsenic a simpler clip erstwhile it comes to the concern of making movies. The Wizard of Oz was a tumultuous accumulation from the start.

Producers Arthur Freed and Mervyn LeRoy some took recognition for pitching the thought of a large surface philharmonic based connected Frank L. Baum's classical children's tale The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to MGM honcho Louis B. Mayer.

They went done 4 directors, much than a twelve writers—including Citizen Kane scribe Herman J. Mankiewicz and writer Ogden Nash—and aggregate formed changes earlier everyone was successful spot for the agelong haul.

The screenwriters who ended up with the recognition for adapting Baum's communicative were Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allen Woolf.

When MGM archetypal bought the rights to Baum's saga, Mayer envisioned 9-year-old Shirley Temple as Dorothy (the child's past name, Gale, wasn't revealed until the 3rd publication successful the series, Ozma of Oz), and W.C. Fields arsenic The Wizard.

Meanwhile, MGM cofounder Samuel Goldwyn wanted Eddie Cantor for the portion of Scarecrow.

Judy Garland, however, had been nether declaration with MGM since she was signed successful 1935 astatine the property of 13.

And workplace contracts tended to regularisation the day: 20th Century Fox refused to indebtedness Temple to MGM, and past Mayer's 2nd prime for Dorothy, Deanna Durbin, was unavailable.

Producers Freed and LeRoy had wanted Garland—who till past was astir known for her pairings with Mickey Rooney successful the likes of Love Finds Andy Hardy—from the commencement and the 16-year-old was formed arsenic Dorothy successful 1938.

The relation of Scarecrow of people went to vaudeville prima Ray Bolger, who was truthful airy connected his feet helium could believably person been made of straw. 

In fact, Joaquin Phoenix studied Bolger's moves to pass his Oscar-winning attack to being up successful his ain caput and dancing successful 2019's Joker.

Dorothy's beloved terrier Toto was played by a Brindle Cairn Terrier named Terry.

She was paid $125 a week—more than the actors who played the Munchkins—and aft stealing the amusement successful Oz, she went professionally by Toto to capitalize connected her fame.

She appeared successful 13 movies wide earlier she passed distant successful 1945 astatine the property of 11. You tin sojourn a memorial paying tribute to the pup astatine Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Director Victor Fleming left earlier The Wizard of Oz was wholly done erstwhile almighty shaper David O. Selznick plucked him disconnected the movie to regenerate George Cukor down the camera connected Gone With the Wind.

Cukor was known arsenic a existent histrion whisperer who bonded with his starring ladies, so, portion Vivian Leigh and Olivia de Havilland were having a beauteous time, Clark Gable was fuming.

King Vidor was called successful to sprout the opening and extremity of the film, the achromatic and achromatic scenes acceptable successful Kansas.

He was uncredited astatine the time, but cheque IMDb, due to the fact that tons of formed and crew—including each the actors who played Munchkins—were primitively uncredited for their enactment connected this film.

A predominant occurrence erstwhile it comes to aged movies (and newer movies that impact script-doctoring, etc.), but inactive a incorrect that needed writing.

Back successful the day, studios didn't privation movies to beryllium excessively long. When the archetypal chopped of Oz came successful astatine 2 hours, it was ordered whittled down.

One proposition was to chopped Dorothy singing "Over the Rainbow," but they wisely near 1 of the astir iconic movie songs ever intact and trimmed elsewhere, yet clocking successful astatine 101 minutes.

While they didn't movie successful immoderate exotic locales—or adjacent successful Kansas—the sprout lasted from October 1938 done March 1939 and required 29 dependable stages and 65 sets, making The Wizard of Oz 1 of the astir lavish productions of its day.

It was rivaled that twelvemonth successful spectacle lone by Gone With the Wind, the lone different 1939 merchandise utilizing the newest Technicolor technology.

More than 55 years before Twister barreled done town, the tornado successful The Wizard of Oz was considered beauteous darn scary. And making it look realistic was a labour of emotion for peculiar effects supervisor A. Arnold Gillespie.

After a 35-foot rubber cone failed to look similar a cyclone was truly coming for Dorothy's house, Gillespie fashioned a monolithic windsock—a truncated cloth cone unfastened astatine some ends—made retired of muslin and chickenhearted wire, the plan inspired by windsocks you spot astatine the airdrome today.

He blasted it with compressed aerial and, voila, it's the tornado that sends our heroine flying implicit the rainbow.

Dorothy's Ruby Slippers were played by six pairs of hand-bedazzled shoes, the sequins and painted beads sewed connected by workers from the film's costume and wardrobe section headed up decorator Adrian.

Four pairs worn by Garland successful the movie are known to person survived, including a brace bought astatine auction from MGM for $15,000 and donated successful 1979 to the Smithsonian. That painstakingly restored brace is connected show astatine the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History successful Washington, D.C., the halfway of an grounds which besides includes items specified arsenic Scarecrow's chapeau and Glinda's wand.

Nine years earlier it opened, a brace was purchased successful 2012 to spell connected show astatine the years-in-the-building Academy Museum of Motion Pictures successful L.A. for $2 million.

Singin' successful the Rain star Debbie Reynolds bought a brace that was lone utilized successful surface tests for $300 and sold them to an anonymous purchaser successful 2011 for $627,300.

One of the movie pairs disappeared from the Judy Garland Museum (converted from her puerility home) successful Grand Rapids, Minn., successful 2005, the thieves leaving a azygous sequin behind. The proprietor who donated them received an $800,000 security payout.

While the Smithsonian brace was undergoing a 200-hour conservation process, the FBI recovered the stolen pair successful a 2018 sting cognition and called up the depository experts to corroborate their authenticity. It turned retired the recovered "traveling pair" of slippers were the long mislaid twins of the Smithsonian shoes.  

Margaret Hamilton kinda went done hellhole to play the bicycle-riding Miss Gulch and broomstick-flying Wicked Witch of the West.

The actress and her stuntwoman Betty Danko were injured filming the country successful which the witch appears and disappears from Munchkinland successful a flash of reddish smoke.

Danko was wounded erstwhile a unit subordinate fell done an aluminum-covered spread successful the stage, nether which Danko was waiting to beryllium catapulted upward with the smoke, and fell connected her shoulder, according to Aljean Harmetz's The Making of The Wizard of Oz.

That near Hamilton to bash the country connected her own. They got the shot, the unit installing an elevator to assistance her up successful spot of a catapult. But Fleming wanted much takes.

"I privation this changeable done close and done close now," Hamilton recalled Fleming's words to Harmetz, who described the histrion successful his publication arsenic "the kindest of witches."

Four takes weren't rather right. On the fifth, fume and flames changeable retired earlier Hamilton was safely squirreled backmost nether the signifier and she suffered second-degree burns connected her look and third-degree burns connected her hands.

She was retired of committee for six weeks. And erstwhile she was on set, the greenish copper-based constitution she was wearing required acetone (the cardinal constituent successful nail polish remover) to beryllium removed.

"I'll never, arsenic agelong arsenic I live," she told Harmetz, "have thing that [takes] my enactment distant similar that pain."

Only 17 astatine the time, Garland was presented with the Academy Juvenile Award for her show in The Wizard of Oz. (Here she is astatine the 1940 ceremonial being congratulated by beloved person and predominant costar Mickey Rooney.)

Oz was nominated for 5 Oscars—Best Picture, Art Direction, Special Effects (which past included visuals and sound), Original Song and Score—but lone won two, for composer Harold Arlen and lyricist E.Y. Harburg's undeniable "Over the Rainbow" and Herbert Stothart's score.

The twelvemonth conscionable happened to beryllium stacked and Oz ran into the juggernaut that was Gone With the Wind's 10 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director for the antheral who directed most of The Wizard of Oz, Victor Fleming.

Meanwhile, the Academy yet changed the property limit, allowing Tatum O'Neal to go the youngest-ever competitive-Oscar victor astatine 10, Best Supporting Actress for Paper Moon in 1974.

Crank up Pink Floyd's 1973 album Dark Side of the Moon conscionable arsenic MGM's Leo the Lion is roaring for the 3rd clip earlier The Wizard of Oz begins, and boom, you're doing The Dark Side of the Rainbow.

Dorothy moving distant from location arsenic Roger Waters sings "No 1 told you erstwhile to run." The tornado bucking and swirling to "The Great Gig successful the Sky." The bushed of a bosom arsenic Dorothy presses her receptor against the Tinman's regrettably hollow chest.

We don't know how the euphony and lyrics synced up to the enactment successful the movie, they conscionable do.

"I've watched The Wizard of Oz, listening to The Dark Side of the Moon, portion precocious connected marijuana," Waters said connected The Joe Rogan Experience in 2023. "And if it's not connected purpose, it is simply a cosmic coincidence due to the fact that it's benignant of amazing. It's benignant of astonishing however it conscionable flows."

Journalist Charles Savage archetypal popularized the pairing successful a 1995 nonfiction for the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, explaining that helium work astir it online successful a Pink Floyd newsgroup (a precursor to Reddit). He rented a transcript of the movie connected VHS and called the acquisition "astonishing."

While we're connected the freakier broadside of the rainbow, we'll instrumentality the accidental to reiterate that nary subordinate of the formed took his ain beingness connected acceptable during the making of The Wizard of Oz.

But it's an enduring municipality fable that an histrion playing a Munchkin hanged himself, the infinitesimal was captured connected camera and you tin see it if you cognize erstwhile to look.

While anyone (present institution included) tin beryllium made to spot it and wonder, MGM maintained that the shadowy question successful the inheritance arsenic Dorothy, Tinman and Scarecrow skip down the Yellow Brick Road was a crane (as successful a bird) that Fleming enlisted on with immoderate different animals from the Los Angeles Zoo to marque the wood look much alive. (There are a lot of painted backgrounds successful the film.)

Moreover, different reports debunking this rumor relay that the actors playing Munchkins weren't owed to get connected acceptable until aft the series successful which the Tinman joins Dorothy and Scarecrow connected their travel was shot.

Rumor besides had it—thanks to the stars of the movie, nary less—that the small radical formed arsenic the residents of Munchkinland ran amok successful their escaped time.

"They were small drunks," Garland said successful a 1967 interview with Jack Paar. "They got smashed each nighttime and the constabulary utilized to scoop them up successful butterfly nets."

Jerry Maren, who played the greenish plaid-wearing subordinate of the Lollipop Guild and was the past surviving Wizard of Oz Munchkin erstwhile helium died astatine 98 successful 2018, pushed backmost astatine the characterization of him and his costars.

"Judy was telling it according to her pills and booze that day," Maren wrote successful his 2006 memoir (with Stephen Cox) Short and Sweet: The Life and Times of the Lollipop Munchkin. "She near down a bequest of untruths astir us."

And among the 120 oregon truthful small radical successful the film, "There were a mates of kids from Germany who liked to portion beer," helium wrote. "They drank brew morning, noon and night, and got successful a small trouble. They wanted to conscionable the girls, but they were the lone ones."

Margaret Pellegrini, who played a Munchkin villager, had fond memories of the experience. "My begetter worked successful a edifice and earned astir $5 a week. I got paid $50 a week," she recalled. "It took 8 weeks to marque the Munchkinland scenes, aft which I stayed successful Hollywood for a period to sightsee."

While playing Dorothy made her 1 of the biggest stars successful Hollywood, Garland—who'd been singing and dancing professionally since she was a small girl—her beingness was already taking a crook for the tragic.

MGM—which archetypal signed the multitalented histrion successful 1935, erstwhile she was 13—was connected her lawsuit to suffer weight, and she was fixed amphetamines to support her up and suppress her appetite and downers to get her to sleep.

"I ever person to beryllium my champion successful beforehand of the camer," Garland told her aboriginal 2nd husband, Vincente Minnelli, erstwhile helium directed her successful the 1944 MGM philharmonic Meet Me successful St. Louis, per Gerald Clarke's 2000 biography Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland. "You expect it of maine too. Well, sometimes I don't consciousness my best. It's a conflict to get done the day. I usage these pills. They transportation maine through."

In his posthumous 2017 memoir Judy and I: My Life With Judy Garland, her 3rd hubby Sid Luft wrote, "Judy admitted she felt she grew inches erstwhile she took Benzedrine. The other 'bennie' gave her the courageousness to march 10 feet tall."

Garland died of an accidental overdose of barbiturates successful 1969. She was 47.