Judy Garland Museum Launches Fundraiser to Acquire Pair of Ruby Slippers From THE WIZARD OF OZ

The Judy Garland Museum in Minnesota has launched a fundraising campaign to acquire one of the pairs of Ruby Slippers worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz.

In 2005, the slippers- on loan from collector Michael Shaw- were on exhibition at the museum when they were stolen. The slippers remained missing for decades. In 2018, the Grand Rapids Police Department and the FBI discovered the slippers, but it took another five years to discover who had stolen them. In 2023, the FBI announced a suspect, Terry Jon Martin, who was sentenced in January 2024. A second arrest was made of Jerry Hal Saliterman in March, 2024 with sentencing scheduled later this year.

Collector Michael Shaw has been reunited with the slippers, and with Heritage Auctions, will be touring them to Los Angeles, New York, London and Tokyo. Heritage will put the slippers up for auction in December.

Minnesota's Judy Garland museum is aiming to bid on the Ruby Slippers, which are valued at $3.5 million.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed a bill that will provide the museum a $100,000 grant for the return of the slippers to Minnesota.

The museum is accepting donations HERE!

There are currently three other surviving pairs of Ruby Slippers from the iconic film The Wizard of Oz; one is on display at The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., the other is displayed at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, California. The fourth remaining pair is owned by a private collector.

The Judy Garland Museum is now offering a Ruby Slipper Theft Guided Tour.