Wizard of Oz mystery: Who stole the ruby slippers?
Forever Ago
The episode investigates the high-profile theft and eventual recovery of the iconic ruby slippers from the Judy Garland Museum in Minnesota.
Key takeaways
- Terry Martin stole the ruby slippers in 2005 under the mistaken belief they were made of real rubies.
- The FBI used a sting operation to help recover the stolen slippers in Minneapolis in 2018.
Main topics
- The Wizard of Oz history
- Ruby Slipper theft mystery
Notable quotes
There's no place like home.
Conclusion
A captivating blend of true crime and fashion history that highlights
Transcript preview
Speaker 2 (0:02) Are you ready for a brand new adventure? Then check out Lions and Legends, the new kids and family podcast featuring fun, fantastical retellings of myths, legends, folktales, and fables from around the world. I'm Rebecca Shearer, former host of Circle Round and the new host of Lions and Legends, inviting you to follow Lions and Legends on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts, and come join the pride. Speaker 2 (0:37) Brains Speaker 4 (0:37) on Universe. Speaker 5 (0:44) It was a day like any other day, see? My co-host, a.k.a. Sidekick, a.k.a. my main chum, Sky, was going to meet me at Forever Ago headquarters where we would discuss which is the cutest, a baby bunny or a baby dog. You know, a puppy. I entered the studio and I couldn't believe my eyes. Speaker 4 (1:05) Joy, you surprised me. I thought you were coming in later. Speaker 5 (1:08) I was going to, but I forgot my favorite bracelet on my desk. What's that on your face? Speaker 4 (1:15) Oh, no. I didn't want to tell Joy that I had a special sandwich made. A sandwich full of ham, cheese, and lettuce. And tomatoes and olives and onions. What's wrong with that, you ask? It was covered in my favorite sauce. A sauce that has been banned from this show. A sauce that I knew would bring Joy Dolo to her knees. Is that mayo on your face? I couldn't help it. I was starving, and the sandwiches were so dry without it. Skye! Gasp! How could you? Don't blow your top, Dolo. Here, I got you one, too, without mayo. Oh, Speaker 5 (1:57) Skye, this is wonderful. Look at the lettuce and tomatoes and onions. Oh, my, my, oh, goodness. Speaker 4 (2:07) Looks like Joy has cooled her jets. Thank goodness I had that spare sandwich. Speaker 5 (2:14) Wait, Skye, are you doing an internal monologue too? Like a 1940s film noir detective? Wait, you Speaker 4 (2:21) can hear that? Speaker 5 (2:22) Yeah, I can, because I'm internal monologuing Speaker 4 (2:25) too. Let's do it together. Speaker 5 (2:27) Turns out Skye was the perfect partner to crack this case because she knew I can't think when I'm hungry, and she makes a mean sandwich. It's Speaker 4 (2:36) true. I do. And now that we're filled up with food, Joy and I can solve our first case. The case of... Where's that saxophone music coming from? Speaker 5 (2:53) You're listening to Forever Ago, part of the Brains On Universe. I'm your host, Joy Dolo, and I'm here today for round two of Oz History with my co-host with the most hosts, Sky from Speaker 4 (3:05) Detroit, Michigan. It's good to have you back again. It's great to be back. Speaker 5 (3:10) So Sky and I explored the history of The Wizard of Oz last week, but there are so many awesome stories wrapped up in that world. I had to invite Sky back to help me with the second Oz episode. This story is a mystery that involves a heist that happened right here in my home state of Minnesota. It's the mystery of the stolen ruby slippers. Speaker 4 (3:36) Okay, sounds fun, Detective Dillo. Let's get to work, Sergeant Skye. Great idea. Speaker 5 (3:44) First, here is the scoop from last week's episode. So last week we learned that L. Frank Baum created the world of Oz out of his brain stems around the year 1900. His book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, was a fresh new fantasy, different from the fairy tales popular at the time. The story went on to become a very popular movie, released in 1939, which inspired another popular adaptation, The Wiz, and it also inspired the novel Wicked, which inspired the Broadway musical Wicked, and that finally inspired the Wicked movies that have taken the world by storm. Speaker 5 (4:21) Lots of inspiration from one story. Great Speaker 4 (4:23) recap, Joy. Today's episode focuses on a prop from The Wizard of Oz, the 1939 movie. A Speaker 5 (4:31) prop is something a character uses in a movie, like clothing or jewelry. This story is about the iconic ruby red slippers. Speaker 4 (4:41) a pair of sequin red heels with little bows on them. In Speaker 5 (4:46) the movie, Dorothy gets tornadoed into the land of Oz and is given the ruby red slippers from Glinda the Good Witch. With the help of her friends, Dorothy has to find a way back home. She learns, spoiler alert, that her ruby red slippers are magic, and she can click her heels three times and say there's no place like home to get her back to Kansas. This episode is about those ruby red slippers. Speaker 4 (5:08) There were several pairs of these slippers made for the movie. And because the movie is so beloved, these Speaker 5 (5:14) slippers have become quite the collector's item. Some pairs have sold for tens of millions of dollars. Speaker 4 (5:22) But before we get to the mystery, let's check out the shoestory. Skye, Speaker 5 (5:27) is that the word shoe and history combined? Yes. Yes, it is. Let's start in the 1920s. Speaker 4 (5:38) This time in America was also called the Roaring Twenties. Rawr. The Speaker 5 (5:44) Roaring Twenties was an exciting time for women, and we were roaring. The recently passed 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote. Speaker 4 (5:52) Rawr. Being a flapper was in fashion. Flappers were women with short haircuts who dared to show off their knees while dancing, while nude dances like the Charleston. Rawr. Speaker 5 (6:04) By the end of the 1920s, the majority of Americans had electricity in their homes. Cars and trains made it easy for women to get around and see more of the world. Speaker 1 (6:13) Rawr! Speaker 5 (6:14) And in one corner of the world, a small town called Grand Rapids, Minnesota, a baby named Frances Ethel Gumm was born. She Speaker 4 (6:22) later went by her stage name, Judy Garland. Rawr! Rawr! Speaker 5 (6:30) Judy's family was full of performers, but Judy was especially talented. She had lots of charisma from an early age. She loved the stage, and she was an incredible singer. Even as a teenager, she sounded like a professional who had been singing for decades. Take a listen. Speaker 1 (6:48) When her Speaker 4 (6:59) family moved to California, she got a deal to work with a movie studio right away. And she was only 13 years old. Speaker 5 (7:08) There were great things about it. She was getting paid $100 a week in 1935. So this was the middle of the Great Depression, a time when a lot of people were struggling to pay for everyday things like food. So the fact that Judy was making $100 every week was a big deal. $100 in 1935 is around $2,400 today. When Speaker 4 (7:30) she was 16, she got her big break playing Dorothy in the film The Wizard of Oz. But Speaker 5 (7:36) Judy faced lots of challenges, too. To film Oz, she had to work long days, going to school early in the morning, doing singing lessons, and then shooting a film at night. Sometimes she'd work until five in the morning. To Speaker 4 (7:49) keep up with this schedule, her mother and the studio gave her medication to keep her awake and to help her sleep. They Speaker 5 (7:56) also wanted Judy to stay a kid forever. They put her hair in braids and outfits that made her look like she was younger.