Judge Blocks Catholic University From Auctioning Off ‘Wizard of Oz’ Dress—Not a Made Up Sentence

There is almost nothing that isn’t iconic about Judy Garland’s The Wizard of Oz, including her dress, which has just been recently rediscovered. Now, the dress, that was supposed to be auctioned off, is in court. Let’s back up a bit.

Back in 1973, the dress from The Wizard of Oz was given as a gift to the Rev. Gilbert V. Hartke, the longtime head of The Catholic University of America’s drama department, who died in 1986, says The New York Times. What a gift. It was given to the priest by actress Mercedes Cambridge. Cambridge once owned the dress and specifically gave it to Hartke, with whom she was in a long-term personal relationship due to him helping with her substance abuse issues. The dress was in Cambridge’s ownership, according to the current lawsuit, because she had been close friends with the Judy Garland.

Last year, the dress was found in a trash bag and then authenticated. On behalf of the school, the auction house Bonhams planned to auction the dress Tuesday in Los Angeles, with other classic items like a Leslie Howard jacket from Gone With the Wind and a chair from Rick’s Cafe in Casablanca. However, earlier this month, Hartke’s niece, Barbara Ann Hartke, sued to block the sale after learning about the auction plans from news reports. She argues that the dress had sentimental value to her uncle and that it was not something given to the school.

The Church has, in true Catholic Church fashion, dipped into its religious canon to argue that “the dress was gifted to the institution, and that Gilbert Hartke’s vow of poverty as a Dominican priest means he didn’t intend to personally own anything of value.” Ms. Hartke’s atorney’s have said that the school “has no ownership interest in the dress as … there is no documentation demonstrating decedent ever formally or informally donated the dress to Catholic University.”

A federal judge on Monday blocked Catholic University from auctioning off the item, saying that Ms. Hartke’s case had enough merit to continue and until there was ownership established the auction shouldn’t go forward. Catholic University tried to argue that “there was an urgent need to auction off the item to keep potential buyers from losing interest was unfounded.”

Judge Gardephe rightfully noted that “for more than 80 years, the public has been fascinated by the classic film, and that the controversy over the dress’ ownership and the lawsuit have only generated more interest.” Clearly, once again, the Catholics have underestimated the gays. Buying this dress from a Catholic University and turning it into a holy gay relic at a bar is some rich queer person’s dream, and I want it for them.

Hartke will argue that the dress rightfully belongs to her.

(via NBC News, image: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)