A lobby card from the movie ‘The Wizard Of Oz,’ reveals a movie still of a scene in which American starlet Judy Garland (1922 – 1969) (as Dorothy) wipes tears from the eyes of star Bert Lahr (1895 – 1967) (as the Cowardly Lion), while enjoyed by Jack Haley (1898 – 1979) (as the Tin Man) (left), and Ray Bolger (1904 – 1987) (as the Scarecrow),1939 The movie was directed by Victor Fleming.
Hulton Archive|Moviepix|Getty Images
Forget the ruby slippers. Dorothy’s gown is now the most controversial piece of clothes in the Land of Oz.
The niece of a long-dead priest is taking legal action against a New York auction home to obstruct the sale of among Judy Garland’s renowned Dorothy frocks from the 1939 timeless movie “The Wizard of Oz.”
The gown was missing out on for years prior to it was discovered at a Catholic university in 2015. The priest’s niece, Barbara Hartke, states the important piece of Hollywood souvenirs came from her late uncle.
The blue and white gingham gown, thought to be among 6 initial gowns from the movie is slated to be cost auction on May 24 and might snare anywhere in between $800,000 and $1.2 million, Bonhams New York stated.
The gown was a present from Mercedes McCambridge, an Academy Award- winning starlet and good friend of Garland’s who was artist-in-residence at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., in between 1972 and 1973, to Dominican Father Gilbert Hartke, creator of the school’s drama department. (McCambridge, by the way, is understood for offering the voice of the satanic force in 1973’s religious-horror classic “The Exorcist,” which was shot and embeded in D.C.)
However, after Gilbert Hartke passed away in 1986, nobody understood what had actually ended up being of the outfit and it was thought about lost. In June of in 2015, the gown was discovered in a white garbage bag above the professors mail slots throughout a remodelling of the university’s Hartke Theater.
While Catholic University has actually declared ownership of the gown, Hartke’s 81- year-old niece argues that the gown comes from his estate since McCambridge “specifically and publicly” provided it to Gilbert Hartke.
Barbara Hartke, who resides in Wisconsin, called the university and the auction home as accuseds in her claim, which was submitted Tuesday in Manhattan federal court.
The match looks for an injunction from the court that would avoid the auction from occurring.
“The University is reviewing the allegations made in the lawsuit at this time and will provide additional information after a thorough review of the complaint,” stated a representative for the school.
An agents for Bonhams did not right away react to CNBC’s ask for remark.
— CNBC’s Dan Mangan added to this report.
