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  • Judy Garland ‘Wizard of Oz’ Ruby Slippers Stolen; Fan Offers Huge Reward

    Judy Garland is making headlines? Over 45 years after her death? Well, Judy Garland’s shoes are. The ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz have been missing for almost 10 years, and a friend of Judy thinks it’s time they come back home.

    The Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota said the shoes were stolen from the museum 10 years ago. They were owned by collector Michael Shaw, who would deliver them to the museum once a year for display in a plexiglas case. Ten years ago, as Hurrican Katrina raged and no one was watching, police believe some youths did a smash-and-grab, taking the slippers.

    A reward was offered, places were searched, including homes of other collectors. Judy Garland’s shoes never turned up.

    When a fan realized the anniversary of the theft was coming up, they offered a reward of $1 million to get them back.

    The reward specifies that the exact location of the slippers and the name of the person who stole them be divulged. Perhaps the hope is that, over the past 10 years, someone has gotten loose-lipped about having stolen the slippers. All it takes is for a former acquaintance of the thief to want to cash in and the theft could finally be solved.

    John Kelsch, executive director of the Judy Garland Museum says the donor is a Judy Garland fan from Arizona.

    “We didn’t think the offer was legitimate at first,” said museum spokesman Rob Feeney. “They wanted to remain anonymous. They only wanted to share that they are a huge Wizard of Oz fan, based in Arizona.”

    There are three other pairs of the slippers used in the film. One pair is in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. Another is now owned by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences for its planned Oscars Museum.

    Trivia: In the original Frank Baum book, the slippers worn by Dorothy are silver, not ruby.

    Kelsch says the shoes were insured for $1 million, but could be worth $2 or $3 million now. It is unclear if the museum or original collector must give back the insurance money collected at the time of the theft if the shoes are recovered.

    Apprehending the thief could be difficult, given the teleportation powers of the shoes.

  • Cowardly Lion Costume Sells For $3 Million

    The Cowardly Lion costume from the iconic 1939 film The Wizard of Oz has sold for over $3 million at auction.

    During the Bonham Turner Classic Movies auction, a buyer purchased the costume, which was worn by Bert Lahr in the film and was owned by Los Angeles TV museum founder James Comisar, for a whopping $3,077,000. That price included a buyer’s premium of $477,000.

    As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, the costume was found by a junk collector in an old MGM building.

    Cosimar purchased the costume and had it analyzed, which proved that it was worn on screen by Lahr. Cosimar later had the costume, which is made out of real lion’s fur, preserved by professional museum curators.

    According to the auction’s website, the costume was “designed by Adrian and constructed of lion skin and fur, featuring a hidden zipper front and an attached tail verso, now displayed on a custom figure featuring a photo-realistic head sculpture cast directly from actor Bert Lahr’s son replete with optical glass eyes and Italian human hair wig & mane and footwear constructed out of lion pelt.”

    Another item that fetched over $3 million at the auction was the piano that Dooley Wilson played in the classic film Casablanca. The very unique item, likely built in 1927, sold for $3.4 million which included a buyer’s premium of $513,000.

  • Ruth Duccini: Second-to-last Surviving “OZ” Munchkin Dies at 95

    One of the original Munchkins of the 1939 film “Wizard of Oz” has passed away.

    At 95-years-old, Ruth Robinson Duccini died from natural causes on Thursday in Las Vegas’ Solari Hospice Care Center.

    Stephen Cox, the author of “The Munchkins of Oz” and an adamant follower of the film’s little people, confirmed her death.

    Duccini was born on July 23, 1918 in Rush City, Minn. Growing up she felt out of place and was never aware that there were other small people like her. However, everything changed for her after joining a dwarf entertainment company at the age of 20.

    At just 4-feet-tall, Duccini started her career as part of a little people company that eventually decided to travel to California to star in the magical film, “The Wizard of OZ.”

    Over the years she saw a lot of her close friends and film colleagues pass away, which was the most painful part of her experience as a Munchkin; especially when she would watch the film.

    However, she enjoyed being apart of such a timeless musical film.

    “It was long hours and heavy costumes. We didn’t have much time for ourselves. It was all new to me then, and I loved being a part of what is now a classic,” she once told Cox in a statement. (image)

    Although it was one of her most memorable achievements, it wasn’t what she believed to be her most honorable achievement.

    Duccini was also an aircraft riveter during World War II at Douglas Aircraft in Santa Monica. Her size became an asset during the war, allowing her to squeeze through tighter and smaller spaces that taller adults couldn’t do otherwise.

    “I’m very proud of my work during the war, maybe more proud of that than being in the movie,” she told Cox.

    Duccini was the last surviving female Munchkin, but one other male actor, 93-year-old Jerry Maren, still remains alive from the original casting crew of 124.

    She leaves behind her son, daughter, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

    Here’s a very short interview with Duccini:

    Images via Youtube, Youtube