Dorothy's ruby red Wizard of Oz slippers find their way home

"Leo's passionate leadership has helped us bring home this legendary piece of movie history," added academy chief executive officer Dawn Hudson. "It's a wonderful gift to the Academy museum project, and a perfect representation of the work we do year-round to preserve and share our film heritage."

Di Caprio, star of "Titanic" and "Inception", donated money from his own foundation. Other donors included Spielberg and former Warner Bros and Yahoo! Chairman Terry Semel.

The shoes, marked £7 Judy Garland, are said to be the most pristine of the four pairs of slippers known to exist. They are known as the "Witch's Shoes" because they are also thought to be the pair seen on the feet of the Wicked Witch of the East after Dorothy's house falls on the witch.

Another pair of the sparkly red shoes is in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC, one is in private hands and another was stolen from the Judy Garland museum in Minnesota.

The academy and the Los Angeles County Museum of Arts announced plans in October to establish a museum to display movie-related treasures.

Source: agencies