Oz in the News 6.13.24

The Wizard of Oz Museum relocating more than 2,000 items to Orlando

The Wizard of Oz story was told to museum founder Fred Trust in the former Soviet Union, and he was unaware at that time it was an American story. Since then, he has been collecting Oz memorabilia for over 35 years.

Fred opened the museum in February of 2022, displaying over 2000 items, including several original movie props from the 1939 movie, as well as two immersive experiences that have increased popularity. It took Fred and his team almost nine years to create their original immersive Oz experience and the immersive Van Gogh experience.

“Don’t judge a book by its cover,” said Fred Trust, owner of The Wizard of Oz Museum.

Fred recognizes the exterior of the building and parking lot could be more welcoming, but what is inside is what is essential. Although he likes the location, he is moving his museum to Orlando within approximately a year and a half. The land has been purchased, and plans are being drawn up.

“There is nothing wrong with Brevard County, but the building we currently lease in Cape Canaveral is being torn down to build condos. We pay to be closer to the beach, but we will pay more in Orlando to have more tourism. Now is the time locals can visit the museum without having to drive to Orlando,” said Trust.

The collection includes an original “Dorothy” dress by Judy Garland, an Emerald City Townsman jacket, and a spearhead carried by the Wicked Witch of the West’s evil henchmen.

Judy Garland Museum receives grant aimed at bringing ruby slippers back to Grand Rapids

There’s no place like home for the ruby slippers.

The Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids just received a $100,000 grant from the state of Minnesota to bring the slippers back to the museum.

They were stolen from the museum in 2005, recovered by the FBI in 2018, and then returned to the owner and collector Michael Shaw.

Shaw then turned the slippers over to the Heritage Auction House to be auctioned in December this year.

The slippers are currently valued at $3.5 million.

Janie Heitz, Executive Director at the Judy Garland Museum, believes that the shoes should be returned to the museum due to Garland’s history in Grand Rapids.

“We just feel that Judy Garland was born here in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. She’s the one that made those slippers famous,” said Heitz.

The Judy Garland Museum will be hosting its Judy Garland Festival from June 20-23.

For more information click here.

Oz in the News 6.8.24

Hollywood Heritage Museum Will Celebrate Pride With Judy Garland Event

Join in at the Hollywood Heritage Museum (2100 N Highland Ave) for “End of the Rainbow,” a special PRIDE celebration honoring Judy Garland‘s 102nd  birthday, 85 years of MGM’s “The Wizard of Oz,” and global launch of Vince Spinnato’s latest fragrance, “Judy in Oz.”

This exclusive event also serves as the closing party for the “Meet the Stars: 100 Years of MGM Studios and the Golden Age of Hollywood” exhibit. Attendees will have the rare opportunity to view “Wizard of Oz” artifacts from private collectors and a Joseff of Hollywood tiara worn by Judy for an “Annie Get Your Gun” costume test.

In celebration of Judy Garland and PRIDE, Vince Spinnato, the creator of the official “Judy” eau de parfum, will be hosting the global launch of his new “Judy in Oz” body mist. Guests will be the first to experience this new fragrance, available for purchase during the event in the Hollywood Heritage Museum Shop. 

Special guests Joey Luft and Vanessa O’Neill of the Garland family will join the celebration, along with Sid Krofft, appearing after his live Instagram session onsite. Sid toured with Judy for “Miss Show Business.”

Tickets start at $50 online at HollywoodHeritage.org and help the Museum with much needed funds to support restoration of the over 110 year old Museum structure, “The Barn,” which serves as a historical landmark destination to educate the public about the origins and namesakes of the industry that made Hollywood the “Entertainment Capital of the World.”

The event is within walking distance of the HOLLYWOOD PRIDE parade. Attendees are encouraged to dress in PRIDE, “Judy,” “Wizard of Oz,” 1920’s, or Hollywood-themed attire.

Listen to ‘Be a Lion’ and ‘Home’ From The Wiz‘s Upcoming Broadway Revival Album

Broadway’s revival of The Wiz, currently running at the Marquis Theatre, is welcoming us into the weekend with a surprise release of two tracks from its upcoming cast album, due to digitally release June 14 from Immersive/Interscope Records. Hear Nichelle Lewis, Kyle Ramar Freeman, Avery Wilson, and Phillip Johnson Richardson sing “Be a Lion” Also out for early listening: Lewis’ climactic “Home.” 

Oz in the News 3.29.24

Stolen ruby slippers were buried in suspect’s backyard for seven years

A woman with ties to an organized retail theft ring has told federal investigators that Jerry Hal Saliterman, the second man accused of stealing ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in “The Wizard of Oz,” had the famous shoes buried in his backyard for at least seven years. The unnamed woman, who is described as a “cooperating defendant,” saw the slippers in a grocery bag, according to court documents. Instead of anonymously returning them — like she said she asked — they were put in a clear plastic container with a white lid and buried near a shed on the south side of Saliterman’s lawn in Crystal. They were treated in an ultraviolet sanitizer cabinet, the woman told authorities, to remove traces of DNA.

Land of Oz Theme Park to Host 2024 Autumn at Oz Festival, Marking 85th Anniversary of “The Wizard of Oz”

The Land of Oz theme park, located on Beech Mountain, North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, has announced its plans to host the 2024 Autumn at Oz Festival. The event will celebrate the 85th anniversary of the classic MGM film, “The Wizard of Oz,” and is scheduled to take place over three weekends in September: 6th-8th, 13th-15th, and 20th-22nd. The festival, known as the largest “Wizard of Oz” festival, promises to offer visitors an immersive experience in the world of Oz.

Oz in the News 3.18.24 Special Alert

Judy Garland’s Recovered Ruby Slippers From ‘Wizard of Oz’ Going On Tour

Collector Michael Shaw, who owned the slippers when they were stolen, was reunited with the priceless piece from the 1939 film on Sunday during a private ceremony at the Judy Garland Museum. He had loaned the pair to the museum in August 2005 for what was meant to be a 10-week viewing tied to the annual Judy Garland Festival, but the shoes were swiped a week later.

Upon receiving the sequin-covered shoes nearly 20 years later, Shaw has decided to hand them to Heritage Auctions, which will take the famed slippers on a world tour, including stops in Los Angeles, New York City, London and Tokyo. Afterwards, the shoes will go up for auction in December.

“You cannot overstate the importance of Dorothy’s ruby slippers: They are the most important prop in Hollywood history,” Heritage Auctions executive vice president Joe Maddalena shared in a statement. “This pair is precious as it hails from the legendary collection of Michael Shaw, and we are honored he has partnered with Heritage. As TCM host Ben Mankiewicz once said, these slippers ‘symbolize hope,’ and we’re thrilled they will journey down the yellow brick road to the auction block to a new home.”

This pair of slippers is one of four surviving pairs from the film. The others are held by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Smithsonian Museum of American History and a private collector. However, as Forbes noted in 2008, the soon-to-be-auctioned shoes owned by Shaw are “of a higher quality than the pair now residing in the Smithsonian.”

Oz in the News 2.7.24

‘Wizard of Oz’ Ruby Slipper Heist Tarnished the Judy Garland Museum’s Reputation. Now It’s Making a Comeback

“I think there was just, everything was going to be fine. And we had a safe and we had a security, a bank, a local bank loaned us a huge safe that we could put the slippers in, and it sat there the whole summer. But the owner (of the museum) didn’t want the staff of the museum or John to be handling them that much,” she says. “So they stayed out of the safe on a pedestal…there’s tons of things you could have changed, but it happened and there’s nothing we can do about it at this point.”

“We just have to be better going forward,” she says.

“I’m certainly not the expert on the value of items, but I believe I’ve heard that they are worth more now,” Heitz says. “And that’s coming from people in the industry [like] auction houses…I mean they’re going to be worth more because of the intrigue of it.” 

And moving forward, the Judy Garland Museum wants to capitalize on that intrigue as well. 
“I think this story is just part of our museum’s history now, and we have to commemorate that and own up to our mistakes. But embrace, to be honest, publicity is publicity, whether it’s good or bad,” Heitz says. “Unfortunately we’ll always be known infamously of the museum of where the ruby slippers were stolen. We have to find that fine line of sharing that story, but also remembering that we are the Judy Garland Museum, and we’re here just to share her life and legacy, which is very fascinating in and of itself.”

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Oz in the News 1.29.24

Dying thief who stole ‘Wizard of Oz’ ruby slippers from the Judy Garland Museum gets no prison time

A dying thief who confessed to stealing a pair of ruby slippers that Judy Garland wore in “The Wizard of Oz” because he wanted to pull off “one last score” was given no prison time at his sentencing hearing Monday.

Terry Jon Martin, 76, stole the slippers adorned with sequins and glass beads in 2005 from the Judy Garland Museum in the late actor’s hometown of Grand Rapids, Minnesota. He gave into temptation after an old associate with connections to the mob told him the shoes had to be adorned with real jewels to justify their $1 million insured value, his attorney revealed in a memo to the federal court ahead of his sentencing in Duluth.

Martin showed little emotion as the judge handed down the sentence and was physically unable to fully rise from his chair as the judge adjourned the hearing. He declined to address the court. But defense attorney Dane DeKrey said the resolution of the case should bring a measure of closure to the government, the museum, the slippers’ owner and to Martin himself.

Oz in the News 1.21.24

How It Went Down: The Judy Garland Ruby Slipper Theft

“Terry got to work casing the museum, meaning looking for the perfect way to steal the slippers. In short order, he found a major weakness in the museum’s security: only a single, small enclosure protected the slippers, and worse, they were on display within an arm’s length of an emergency exit. The job felt almost too easy. A prototypical snatch-and-grab. Terry relayed this information to his associate, who greenlighted Terry’s plan. Terry stole the slippers on the evening of August 27, 2005. He waited until the museum closed and the parking lot emptied, and then went to work. He entered the museum “by breaking a hole in the glass window section” of an exterior door. He then “broke into the plexiglass enclosure, in which the slippers were displayed,” took them, “and left.” He accidentally left a single red sequin at the scene, but no fingerprints or other identifying marks. Just like that, the job was complete.

Slippers in tow, the issue now was how to unload them. It was obviously impossible to simply sell the rubies to a jewel wholesaler, so Terry instead had to use a “fence”—someone who dealt in buying and selling stolen goods. The plan was to keep the slippers at Terry’s home long enough for the fence to arrive, the fence would examine and value the rubies, and then the fence would take the rubies and sell them. The whole thing lasted less than 48 hours, meaning Terry possessed the slippers for just under two days. That’s because when the fence arrived, he delivered a crushing blow to Terry: the rubies on the slippers were not real; they were replicas. Meaning they were worthless. Unaware of the cultural significance and value of the slippers themselves, Terry angrily decided to simply cut his losses and move on. He gave the slippers to the associate who had recruited him for the job and told the man that he never wanted to see them again.“

Update Given on ‘The Wizard of Oz’ Remake, Promises To Modernize the Classic Film

“The original ‘Wizard of Oz’ took place during the Great Depression and it was about self-reliance and what people were going through,” Barris said. “I think this is the perfect time to switch the characters and talk about what someone imagines their life could be. It’s ultimately a hero’s journey, someone thinks something’s better than where they’re at, and they go and realize that where they’re at is where they should be. I want people to be proud and happy about where they’re from. But I want the world to take a look at it and I hope that will come through.”

Remembering Syfy’s Wild, Ambitious Wizard Of Oz Miniseries Tin Man

The world building is at its best in the smallest details, especially when it comes to character creation and costumes. Tin Man won a 2008 Emmy (after racking up nine total nominations) for best non-prosthetic TV-movie makeup, a feat that’s easy to grasp once you’ve seen the obvious creative care that went into adorning even its most ancillary characters. From carnival dancers to a creepy cave witch to the flying “mobat” minions that serve as this series’ version of Oz’s winged monkeys, it’s a marvel to look at, even when the leisurely story paces by at an unhurried stroll.

Tin Man is also far more mature and, at times, even violent than its ruby-slipperred big-screen predecessor. People get shot, shocked, stabbed, sliced, and bludgeoned to bloody pulps, in between the occasional flurry of four-letter words and mildly racy scenes. The horror moments are sparse but effective when they come; that aforementioned cave witch provides one of the series’ biggest jump scares, alongside some genuinely devastating freaky deeds from the tips of the evil Azkadellia’s magic fingers.