Huskcharmer makes ruby slippers!

Ta-Da!

It's one of them at least...I ran out of materials.

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Another picture!

Yea, I am toying with the idea of cutting off the strap...I don't really need it.

I took a few liberites (the real shoes are solid red, no white gems), but meh.


How I Did It

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besty-
I've always been suspicious of that theft. The fact that they were on display without an alarm system attached? Or sealed away at night? Sounds fishy to me.

How many pairs do we still know exist? There are:
1. Debbie Reynolds' test shoes
2. Roberta Bauman/Smithsonian
3. Michael Shaw
4. Disney's pair (Isn't a pair on display at Disney-MGM Studios?)

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Actually something similar happened in that awful Quinten Crisp film, but I never finished it to know if it came into play later at all...what was it...Homo Heights?

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Googling around, I found an entire Web site devoted to the Ruby Slippers!

Who knew? Okay, maybe YOU knew.

Re: Michael Shaw

I definitely think it was an inside job done by someone connected with that museum. I don't think Michael had anything to do with it. He had been offered outrageous sums of money for them before (way more than they were insured for), and he turned them down. Michael liked being known as an owner of the Ruby Slippers. And he liked loaning them out and showing them off at personal appearances, benefits, etc. (for a fee, of course!) In fact, he has one of the most incredible collections of old Hollywood memorabilia I've ever seen. (Second only to Debbie Reynolds.) In addition to the slippers, he also owns one of Judy's gingham dresses from Oz, Margaret Hamilton's black witch hat and shoes, and one of the marching Munchkin soldiers' uniforms. The Maltese Falcon statue (yep!), 4 of the 8 Oscars won by Edith Head, Claudette Colbert's headdress from Cleopatra (1934) and Elizabeth Taylor's scepter from Cleopatra (1961). He owns Cyd Charisse's green-spangled flapper dress from Singin' in the Rain (in perfect condition), the photo and frame of Jane Seymour used in Somewhere In Time, the iconic, haunting painting of Gene Tierney as Laura from "Laura," as well as the grandfather clock from that film (where the murder weapon is hidden). Also, John Travolta's black T-birds jacket from Grease, the genie bottle from I Dream of Jeannie (both B&W and color versions, which are different), a one-of-a-kind Charlie Chaplin poster (valued in the hundreds of thousands), and... Scarlett O'Hara's curtain dress and hat from Gone With the Wind. And that's not even everything!

He let me take pictures of these treasures, and I have them in a scrapbook. He is a guy who defines himself a bit by these wonderful objects, but he also greatly enjoys sharing them with other people. I don't believe for a minute that he had anything to do with the theft of his Ruby Slippers. In fact, I'm sure it devastated him far worse than you can imagine (think of it has having your "identity" stripped away), and it's something he's likely not recovered from very soon. I haven't seen him since that day at his place (roughly about 5 years ago), but it was incredibly memorable for me, as you can tell by my recounting!

Oh... And here's a link about the pairs of shoes that are known to exist from that site I found!
Ruby Slippers

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Glinda's dress is the only costume that wasn't built from scratch for The Wizard of Oz. It was a ball gown originally made for Jeanette McDonald in the MGM biggie "San Francisco." She sings "After the Ball Is Over" wearing it... and aside from the puffy sleeves and extra sparkles, you can definitely tell it's the same dress.

Consequently... after the filming of Oz, it was put back into circulation for use in other movies... so it was rebuilt (most likely), or dyed or taken apart, etc.

In other words... it doesn't exist as "Glinda's dress" anymore, if it even exists at all.

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I'd put money on some MGM wardrobe master having stolen it.

He's probably 90-something and still dresses up and waves his wand around asking, "Are you a good witch or a bad witch?"

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The bow was all in red, but the inside of the bow was not crystals, but bugle beads.

I've got a copy of the original 'blueprints' somewhere in my files...

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I got mine from some archive years ago. I wish I knew where I filed them.

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I finally got around to finding these for you!

Here's "Glinda's dress" in its first incarnation for "San Francisco." I had the song wrong. Jeanette is singing "Sempre Libera" wearing the costume. It was designed by Adrian and built for this movie in 1936...





And of course, here's how they adapted it in 1939...

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...one ruby slipper...

Oh, there is a Totie Fields joke in there somewhere.

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wasnt sure what to expect with this thread... but Best, the Michael guy you are describing sounds really cool! Must be awesome to get to see so much movie memorabilia up close. as a big movie buff myself, and a big fan of old movies, sounds awesome.

as for the ruby slippers, i'm no expert, but living in DC i remember there was a pair at the Smithsonian, and i also remember seeing a pair at MGM growing up in Florida.