Kent Warner
Encyclopedia
Kent Phillip Warner was a costume designer, best known for acquiring the ruby slippers
from the film The Wizard of Oz
prior to the 1970 MGM Auction. He is known to have found four pairs used in the film, (of five pairs that have surfaced). One pair he sold to memorabilia collector Michael Shaw in 1970 for $2,500. These ruby slippers
were later stolen from the Judy Garland Museum near Garland's birthplace in Grand Rapids, Minnesota
sometime between August 27–28, 2005. Speculation persists that it was an inside job as the alarms did not sound. They have not been found
Of the several pairs of ruby slippers Warner found on the MGM backlot while assisting to set up the wardrobe auction of May 1970, he later sold all but one of the pairs, keeping for himself the size 5B pair, believed to have been worn by Judy Garland
for static and close up shots, which are in the best condition of the known pairs.
Another pair was offered at the auction and sold for $15,000. They were later donated to the Smithsonian Institution in 1979. A second pair were privately sold by Warner to Michael Shaw for $2500 shortly after the auction, as mentioned above. Warner kept a third pair for himself, since dubbed the "Witch's Shoes." These were later sold at Christie's East in 1981 for $12,000. They were re-sold at Christie's in 1988 for $165,000 in a private sale. Warner also found a 4th pair of slippers, a test pair not used in the film, known as the "Arabian" test pair. Warner sold these to Debbie Reynolds for $300, which she later resold in June, 2011.
Kent Warner died in 1984 of complications of AIDS
. He is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)
.
Ruby slippers
The ruby slippers are the shoes worn by Dorothy in the 1939 MGM movie The Wizard of Oz. Because of their iconic stature, they are now among the most treasured and valuable of film memorabilia. As was customary for important props, a number of pairs were made for the film, though no one knows...
from the film The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
prior to the 1970 MGM Auction. He is known to have found four pairs used in the film, (of five pairs that have surfaced). One pair he sold to memorabilia collector Michael Shaw in 1970 for $2,500. These ruby slippers
Ruby slippers
The ruby slippers are the shoes worn by Dorothy in the 1939 MGM movie The Wizard of Oz. Because of their iconic stature, they are now among the most treasured and valuable of film memorabilia. As was customary for important props, a number of pairs were made for the film, though no one knows...
were later stolen from the Judy Garland Museum near Garland's birthplace in Grand Rapids, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
sometime between August 27–28, 2005. Speculation persists that it was an inside job as the alarms did not sound. They have not been found
Of the several pairs of ruby slippers Warner found on the MGM backlot while assisting to set up the wardrobe auction of May 1970, he later sold all but one of the pairs, keeping for himself the size 5B pair, believed to have been worn by Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
for static and close up shots, which are in the best condition of the known pairs.
Another pair was offered at the auction and sold for $15,000. They were later donated to the Smithsonian Institution in 1979. A second pair were privately sold by Warner to Michael Shaw for $2500 shortly after the auction, as mentioned above. Warner kept a third pair for himself, since dubbed the "Witch's Shoes." These were later sold at Christie's East in 1981 for $12,000. They were re-sold at Christie's in 1988 for $165,000 in a private sale. Warner also found a 4th pair of slippers, a test pair not used in the film, known as the "Arabian" test pair. Warner sold these to Debbie Reynolds for $300, which she later resold in June, 2011.
Kent Warner died in 1984 of complications of AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
. He is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)
Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)
Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills Cemetery is part of the Forest Lawn chain of Southern California cemeteries. It is at 6300 Forest Lawn Drive in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California, on the lower north slope at the far east end of the Santa Monica...
.