Popular Entertainment - Overview
This Museum's popular entertainment collections hold some of the Smithsonian's most beloved artifacts. The ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz reside here, along with the Muppet character Kermit the Frog, and props from popular television series such as M*A*S*H and All in the Family. But as in many of the Museum's collections, the best-known objects are a small part of the story.
The collection also encompasses many other artifacts of 19th- and 20th-century commercial theater, film, radio, and TV—some 50,000 sound recordings dating back to 1903; posters, publicity stills, and programs from films and performances; puppets; numerous items from World's Fairs from 1851 to 1992; and audiovisual materials on Groucho Marx, to name only a few.
"Popular Entertainment - Overview" showing 3 items.
Dorothy's Ruby Slippers
- Description
- Sixteen-year-old Judy Garland wore these sequined shoes as Dorothy Gale in the 1939 film classic The Wizard of Oz. In the original book by L. Frank Baum, Dorothy's magic slippers are silver; for the Technicolor movie, they were changed to ruby red to show up more vividly against the yellow-brick road. One of several pairs used during filming, these size-five shoes are well-worn, suggesting they were Garland's primary pair for dance sequences.
- Date made
- 1939
- user
- Garland, Judy
- designer
- Adrian
- maker
- Adrian
- ID Number
- 1979.1230.01
- accession number
- 1979.1230
- catalog number
- 1979.1230.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Pair of Tap Shoes
- Description
- Ann Miller (1923–2004), among the finest tap dancers in the history of the American musical, appeared in such classic films as Easter Parade (1948), On the Town (1949), and Kiss Me, Kate (1953). Miller wore these gold–painted high–heeled tap dancing shoes numerous times over the course of several decades, beginning with her Broadway debut in George White's Scandals of 1939 and concluding with her 1984 stage triumph, Sugar Babies. The shoes are fitted on the heels with steel "jingle" taps, which make for a greater profusion of percussive sounds.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1939
- associated date
- 1935
- user
- Miller, Ann
- ID Number
- 1984.1012.01
- accession number
- 1984.1012
- catalog number
- 1984.1012.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Keds Sneakers
- Description
- These black canvas high-tops were worn by Jon Provost, the child actor who played Timmy on the television series Lassie (1957-64). Like many young sneaker owners, Provost customized his Keds by doodling on the rubber soles with a marker.
- Since their invention in the early 1900s, sneakers have been a mainstay of childhood fashion, valued for their comfortable fit and sturdy construction as well as their style.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1954-1974
- ID Number
- 1989.0009.03
- accession number
- 1989.0009
- catalog number
- 1989.0009.03
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center