The Ruby Slippers
The Ruby Slippers
Hello everyone and welcome to "The Ruby Slipper Page". This part of the website basically deals with the magic and mysteries behind Judy Garlands Ruby Slippers from MGM's 1939 classic "The Wizard of Oz." Nobody knows exactly how many pairs of slippers were actually made for the movie. People have mentioned as little as three pairs to as much as seven pairs were made for the movie. However none of the pairs of slippers that are around today wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for a man named Kent Warner. Kent Warner was the "Rescuer" I guess you could say of the slippers. He found all the ones you see on this site except for the ones that were owned by Anthony Landini.
Kent Warner was hired on by MGM to help prepare the costumes and wardrobe for the big 1970 auction. He searched every inch of MGM for the slippers until one day he found them. He came to a rundown building in the studio backlot where many old costumes were stored. "It was hot, smelly, and dark," he latter told friends "But then a ray of sunlight picked up a glimmer of a sequin. I ran over I didn't touch them. I blew the dust from them. Suddenly the sequins began to show and I knew they were the Ruby Slippers." Kent Warner found all of the pairs he thought. Including the Arabian test shoes that were later bought from Kent Warner by Debbie Renold's. But what Kent Warner did next was most intriguing. Rather then turning them over to the auctioneers, he kept them for himself. He took them home with him and began to study them and determine which ones were the pairs used in closeup shots and which pairs were used for medium and long shots. This mattered to Kent Warner and to the history of the Ruby Slippers. Kent Warner also found something very interesting in one of the pairs of slippers. All the pairs of shoes had orange felt on the bottoms of the soles except for one pair of shoes. He determined that the shoes that don't have the orange felt are the shoes that stick out from underneath the house in Munchkin Land.
Kent Warner kept those shoes for himself and latter auctioned them off at Christie's in 1980. Kent Warner also found something else remarkable. Two pairs of shoes, one being the Smithsonian's Ruby Slippers which were the only pair of slippers Kent Warner had turned over to the MGM auction leading the auctioneers to think that those Slippers were the only ones in existence, were auctioned off for $15,000 and the other pair which he sold to a man named Michael Shaw for $2,500 seemed to be crossed matched in both size and stock number. The two shoes must have been mixed up during the sequining process which showed how Hollywood worked sometimes almost haphazardly. You can tell by looking at both sets of shoes. The bow distance on both shoes are placed at different heights proving that these shoes must have been crossed matched somewhere along the line during production.
Imagine how Roberta Baumen felt when the news papers said that a pair of Ruby Slippers sold at the MGM auction for $15,000. The news paper said that the pair of Ruby Slippers worn by Judy Garland sold at the MGM auction for $15,000. Roberta was surprised because she had the Ruby Slippers in her closet and thought that they were the only ones. Soon Roberta's story and picture hit the news wire. Of course when Kent Warner also got the news he had to laugh because he was the only one that knew the whole story behind the Ruby Slippers. Soon what was common knowledge among Hollywood costumers soon became common knowledge to the public that in all motion pictures they have doubles or triples of the same thing.
Roberta Baumen won her shoes in a contest when she was in High School. In High School she belonged to a club "The Photo Play Club" that watched and reviewed movies. She entered a contest where she had to vote on the 10 best pictures of 1939. Her picks were good enough to win second place in the contest. Her prize was the Ruby Slippers. For over forty years Roberta enjoyed sharing her treasure with the public. Then in 1988 she felt that it was time to part with her treasure. She put the shoes up for auction at Christie's East in New York. Christie's estimate for the Slippers was $15,000-$50,000. But When the gavel came down at $150,000 that was the highest price for movie memorabilia ever to be paid. With Christie's commission the final price went to $165,000. The shoes were bought by a man named Anthony Landini who had displayed the shoes in the Disney MGM Theme park for about ten years. I would like to take this time and thank Mr. Landini for being so kind and generous to share his treasure to the world. I have had allot of fond memories of seeing the shoes there myself and have always thought that the Disney MGM Studios was the best home for them. Thanks again Mr. Landini.
Anthony Landini's Ruby Slippers
A couple months after Roberta's shoes were auctioned off , the shoes Kent Warner auctioned in 1980 were up for auction again. They were auctioned off at Christies in a private auction and fetched the same price of $165,000. They were purchased by a man named Philip Samuels and are still in his possession.
Then on May 24th of 2000, Anthony Landini's Shoes were auctioned off once again. This time the shoes had jumped from $165,000 to $666,000! Anthony Landini's shoes were purchased by a man named David Elkouby. He has said that they are going to be displayed in a movie memorabilia museum that is going to be built in California.
Overall if it wasn't for Kent Warner's clandestine actions, many props and wardrobe would have been lost including almost all of the Slippers. Yet nobody knows still how many pairs of Slippers are out there except for Kent Warner and he is gone. Kent Warner died of Aids in the 1980s so we may never know what happened to the other slippers if there are any.
If you would like to learn even more about the Ruby Slippers, Check your local Libraries for a book called The Ruby Slippers of Oz by Rhys Thomas (ISBN: 0-942139-09-7). Or Check your local used book store.
If you are not able to find the book go to A&E.com. They have a show called "Treasure" and the name of one of their documentaries was "The Search For The Ruby Slippers." I believe its available for purchase. I highly recommend it. It has phenomenal photographs and pictures. This is one video on the Slippers that is really worth seeing.
The following information was acquired from The Ruby Slippers of Oz by Rhys Thomas (ISBN: 0-942139-09-7). A TV special that was on the TV show "Treasure" named "The Search For The Ruby Slippers." And lastly The Ruby Slipper Fan Club Website. To go to The Ruby Slipper Fan Club Website just click on the Slippers below.
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