The Original Wizard of Oz Movie Costumes
Lost Wizard of Oz Treasures
If you visit the studios in Hollywood, CA, you can still see Rick's piano from Casablanca (1942) in Warner Brothers prop house, and at Universal Studios, they'll tell you where the original set of the Phantom of the Opera is still stored, and you can see the Cleaver's mailbox. However, if you take the drive to Culver City where Sony Pictures now owns the property that once belonged to MGM, don't expect to see the Ruby Slippers proudly displayed in a case.
1956 marked the year that the Wizard of Oz was sold to CBS to air on a new fad- TV. In a land mark event, the Wizard of Oz was the first motion picture to be shown complete in one evening in prime time. However, while this may seem like a milestone for MGM, it was really the end of an era. Through out the 1950's and 60's, MGM's golden age quickkly came unraveled, and in 1967, a very "in the red" MGM was purchased by Nevada millionaire Kirk Kerkorian. He saw the studio as nothing but real estate, and quickly dismantled the studio, selling off almost all of the studio's 43 years of props, set furnishings, and movie memorabilia at what were likened to huge rummage sales and auctions. While collectors, film preservationists, and actors such as Debbie Reynolds attempted to save some of Hollywood's golden era at MGM, much of it was lost.
Wizard of Oz Costumes Found!
While many of the original costumes may have been lost forever, such as the Tin man's costume, which was largely destroyed, some still remain. One "pair" of ruby slippers (if you look closely, you can see it's not a matched pair at all), and the scarecrow costume are on display at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC. This pair of ruby slippers were donated in 1979, after having been purchased for $15,000 - then the highest price ever paid for a piece of movie memorabilia - however three other pairs of Ruby Slippers still exist. A pair that were sent to New York in 1939 for publicity are owned by David Elkouby. Another pair is often shown in traveling displays, but remains the private property of Michael Shaw. Prior to the 1970 auction, a fourth pair was found by Kent Warner, who removed them without the knowledge of the auctioners. They are now owned by Philip Samuels.
In January of 2007, the original Cowardly Lion Costume was sold on ebay to a private for over $700,000. Made of real lion pelts, it was the only one made for the film. Obviously, even then the lion's costume was rare, since the other actors had several costumes. Like the Ruby Slippers, it had been forgotten in one of MGM's costume warehouses until sometime in the 70's, when it landed in the hands of a collector who had it restored.
At least three of Dorothy's blue and white gingham dresses still exist. One was sold at an auction in London in 2005 for approximately $280,000 (140,000 GBP) to an unnamed phone buyer. Another of the half dozen dresses made for Judy Garland was sold in 1999 for $300,000. The third known Dorothy costume is owned by Debbie Reynolds, who may also have one of the test pairs of ruby slippers.
One of the original Lollypop Guild costumes remains intact - it was originally purchased at the 1970's MGM auction for $1.00 - one dollar amongst the rows of bulk lot costumes being sold that day. It sold for substansially more a few years later.
Other original Wizard of Oz props and costumes to turn up have included the Munchkin Coroner's Hat, which sold on ebay in 2005 for $34,000, the Witches hour glass, which in addition to having appeared in numerous movies, is now on in a touring exhibit. Recently, several reminant pieces, such as fabric from the Wicked Witch's hat, and straw from the scarecrow have appeared on ebay for reasonable prices, but in these cases, the buyer should be cautious, and look for authenticity before purchasing any original Wizard of Oz props, costumes or other original MGM memorabilia.