Shivangi Sinha
The theft of the iconic ruby slippers from ‘The Wizard of Oz’ puzzled law enforcement and investigators for decades. Hulu’s ‘Ruby Red Handed: Stealing America’s Most Famous Pair of Shoes’ delves into the case, traces the investigation and features interviews with individuals connected to the missing shoes. Among the names that surfaced during the probe was Kent Anderson, a man with a lengthy criminal record. He was suspected of being the mastermind behind the theft, but authorities found it challenging to gather concrete evidence against him.
Kent Anderson Had Been on the Police’s Radar for a Long Time
Kent Lee Anderson was born on July 23, 1935, in Hanson, South Dakota, into a large family. His parents, Louis William Anderson and Ora Zella Prouty, had sixteen children in total, though tragically, five of them passed away. His father was known as a trumpeter and singer, but allegedly battled alcoholism. During his childhood, Kent spent some time living with foster parents Don and Margie Rieck and developed a close bond with his foster sisters, Cindy Rieck and Chris Duffy. He grew up surrounded by his brothers, Roger, Jim, Louie, and Tom, as well as his sisters, Shanna, Sheila, and Lisa. Despite the presence of such a big and loving family, he struggled to find stability in life. The resources were limited, and there was not much for Kent to find purpose in. These struggles eventually led him down a path of crime.
His brother, Louie Anderson, who later became a renowned comedian and performer, once shared an anecdote about Kent during one of his stage performances. Louie revealed that Kent earned the nickname “Safecracker” due to his successful thefts and burglaries, which made him notoriously famous for his criminal exploits. Louie recounted how Kent once stole a bike for him and would frequently bring home stolen items to give to their mother, as the family struggled financially. He also shared a dramatic incident from the early 1960s when FBI agents arrived at their home demanding Kent’s surrender. Their parents, however, managed to hide him and helped him escape through the back door.
Kent Anderson Passed Away Four Years Before the Ruby Slippers Were Recovered
Kent’s name in the Ruby Slippers theft surfaced in 2011 when criminal defense attorney Joe Friedberg turned over the shoes to the FBI in exchange for reward money. He claimed that the mastermind behind the crime was Kent and that the latter had commissioned the job. However, when authorities investigated him, they discovered that Kent had died on July 28, 2007, at the age of 72. They found no evidence linking him to the theft and concluded that the claim was misleading, as he was deceased and thus an easy name to implicate. However, his son, Scott, later alleged that his father might have been involved in the crime. Eventually, the police arrested Terry Martin, who confessed to being the actual perpetrator. Kent had been married to Valerie Youngquist for 32 years prior to his passing and spent his final years in the company of his beloved cat, Axel. He was a man of many facets, with a life shaped by the circumstances of his upbringing. Despite everything, his family continues to remember him fondly.
Read More: Jerry Saliterman: How Did the Alleged Ruby Slippers Thief Die?
