It’s been nine years since Michael Jackson passed away, and 35 years since he first did his famous moonwalk.
And now, the year the artist would have turned 60, his original moonwalking loafers are being put up for sale.
Jackson’s Florsheim Imperial loafers — first used in the Motown 25 TV special rehearsal in 1983 — will be put up for auction May 26, according to GWS Auctions. At that rehearsal, Jackson performed his famous backward-sliding dance move for the first time to his now-classic tune “Billie Jean.”
Choreographer and dancer Lester Wilson had been in possession of the shoes, which he said were given to him by MJ in his dressing room after the rehearsal for the Motown special.
The auction house has set an estimate of $10,000 on the shoes, which it says is a conservative figure.
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“Anything related to Michael Jackson is extraordinary, and to have something so incredibly historical as these shoes worn by Michael when he first did that now famous moonwalk is beyond special,” GWS Auctions owner Brigitte Kruse told CNN via email. “We are so very honored to be able to offer them at auction.”
“Billie Jean” appeared on Jackson’s “Thriller” album. The tune was an instant hit, and with that album, the King of Pop became the first person to have a No. 1 pop single, pop album, R&B single and R&B album chart simultaneously.
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