Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Debbie Does Dollars

Eric and Dorothy and Me.
Last weekend Eric and I drove up to Beverly Hills to see the preview for Debbie Reynolds's auction of her vast - and utterly amazing - collection of Hollywood costumes and memorabilia.

The highlight for Oz folk is a chance to see the legendary - if unusual - pair of Ruby Slippers owned by Reynolds. The so-called "Arabian Test Pair" one of several unused slipper designs. Also on display is Dorothy's plain non-gingham dress, as well as a jacket worn by one of the Emerald Citizens. This dress was used during the first two weeks of filming under Director Richard Thorpe. When Thorpe was replaced by George Cukor, all that footage was scrapped and Dorothy (and her dress) got a make-over.

If you like old movies and can get to the preview, do! It's a walk through Hollywood history. You can see Charlie Chaplin's bowler hat, Harpo Marx's wig, Marilyn Monroe's subway-blow dress from The Seven Year Itch, costumes and props from Ben Hur, My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music, Planet of the Apes, Casablanca . . . and more and more and more.

You can download the sumptuous catalog for free - it's a real treat!

Eric Shanower and Shirley Temple's dress from LITTLEST REBEL and the Oz Costumes.

5 comments:

Vincent Desjardins said...

I haven't lived in Los Angeles since '93, but hearing about this auction makes me wish I were living there now so that I could go to this preview. Did you take more pictures? I'd love to see more if you have them.

Sam said...

Actually Judy garland DIDN'T wear the Arabian Ruby Slippers during her time with Richard Thorpe, just a different pair of Ruby Slippers (without the bow/s, if I recall correctly) - those Arabian Slippers were just tested in photos, not actual filming (as far as I know).

And the gingham gown shown is Richard Thorpe's "fancy schmancy" Kansas dress, which is and was not appropriate for a farm girl's journey in a magic land.

But still GREAT PHOTOS and I'm sure it'd be great to see if I could be there . . . !

David Maxine said...

@Sam - that will teach me to blog from memory ;) I have corrected the original blog post now. Thanks.

Sam said...

Oh, You're Welcome!

Glad to be of service, even just a comment.

Anonymous said...

Boy, do I feel stupid.

I was up in Beverly Hills a couple of weekends ago for an event. I'd forgotten to bring a belt and I was walking all over trying to find a store that would have one--cheap! Finally found one in the Levi's store. I walked right past this auction display (I noticed the Model T car on display) but I didn't go in.