The crazy story of the theft of the Wizard of Oz shoes
The thief threw away Dorothée’s shoes two days after stealing them, disappointed to see the absence of rubies on the pair.
Disappeared in 2005, the ruby shoes worn by Judy Garland to travel the iconic yellow brick path of Wizard of Oz (available on FirstMax) were found. The guilty, Terry Jon Martina notable mobster, appeared and delivered his side of the story in October 2023.
“It’s incredible ! We thought they were lost forever” , told Sue Plagemann, representative of the museum which preserved the historic pair of shoes, one of the most recognizable accessories in the history of cinema: the famous red shoes that Dorothy inherits after her house accidentally killed the Wicked Witch of the East. In the film, these shoes are at the heart of an unprecedented feud between the Wicked Witch of the West and Dorothy.
Pursued by the FBI, the thief told a curious version of the story, full of analogies with the film.
According to CinemaBlend, which shares extracts from the complaint, the culprit, now 76 years old, revealed that he had been influenced by a third party who made him believe that he could extract the rubies from the shoes to make a profit. So he decided to rob the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.
However, Terry Jon didn’t seem to be aware that they weren’t real rubies. In fact, to give them this sparkling effect, the shoes are sprinkled with glass. After pleading guilty, Terry Jon Martin admitted to having thrown away his loot two days after stealing it, disappointed to see the absence of gems. The irony of the story is this similarity with the film’s storyline: a deception. The Wizard of Oz does not exist, just like rubies.
The crazy thing about this theft is that the shoes in question may be much more valuable than if they had been studded with rubies. These accessories are true Hollywood heirlooms, the bids are soaring and reaching astronomical sums.
Movie fans spend tens, hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars for costumes and accessories of their idols: the costume of Prince In Purple Rain, for example was sold for 96,000 dollars, the Star-Lord helmet of the Guardians of the Galaxy, was sold to him for $160,000.
One of the pairs of shoes that was used for The Wizard of Oz was thus estimated at 3.5 million dollars! In fact, there are only four examples left in the world, so these precious shoes are kept in different locations, kept secret. In 2012, a Dorothy (Judy Garland) dress was sold for $480,000 at an auction.
At present, Terry Jon Martin is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 29 in Duluth, Minnesota. In poor health, the former mafioso would only have a few months to live. His lawyers hope he will receive release on family grounds. Forgiveness would be an additional point in common with the diegesis of the film, particularly for its third part and the absolution of the man who claimed to be a great magician…
