Posted on 11/11/2025 4:40:18 PM PST by Libloather
Some lucky millionaire will be able to own a key piece of the Wicked Witch of the West — for good.
That’s because the iconic hat worn by Margaret Hamilton in 1939’s The Wizard of Oz is going up for auction on Dec. 9. Offered by Heritage Auctions — which last year sold a pair of ruby slippers from the film for $28 million — that hat comes up for sale just as Wicked: For Good, which brings to an end a revisionist telling of the witch’s backstory (played by Cynthia Erivo in the Wicked films), hits theaters ahead of Thanksgiving.
The black wool hat measures 14 inches high with a 19.5-inch diameter brim. It also retains the 22-inch elastic chin strap tied around Hamilton’s jaw to keep it secure during the flying broomstick scenes.
The costume was designed by Adrian Adolph Greenburg, who went by Gilbert Adrian professionally, and became the one used in the film after an original was deemed not menacing enough.
"When Dorothy Gale becomes Dorothy of Oz, it’s when she puts on the ruby slippers,” says Joe Maddalena, executive vp of Heritage Auctions. “When the Wicked Witch becomes the Wicked Witch, she puts on the hat. So it’s this transformational moment of the birth of the witch. I think the importance of the hat is just incredible. It’s on par with the slippers.”
The hat is one of several Oz items hitting the block. Also available are a copy of L. Frank Baum’s original The Wizard of Oz book signed and inscribed by Judy Garland as well as autographed by other cast members, including Toto’s actual paw prints. (The book was originally a gift to the daughter of Garland’s onset tutor.)
(Excerpt) Read more at hollywoodreporter.com ...
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LOL...look how far AI has come in those 9 years! Except so many AI systems won’t let you use real people.
I like the 1925 movie version of “The Wizard of Oz” better. It’s available on several Youtube channels.
“Aren’t the ruby slippers in the Smithsonian?”
I remember seeing one pair at the Omni/CNN Center on display back when Ted Turner owned the fake news channel, TNT, TBS and all that. There was a theater in the hotel that showed Gone With the Wind every night.
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