Jerry Maren, the last surviving Munchkin in the Wizard of Oz, RIP

Last surviving Wizard of Oz munchkin Jerry Maren dies at 98

Last surviving 'Wizard of Oz' munchkin Jerry Maren dies at 98

He seemed like a very upbeat person and very grateful to have the fame and role in movie history that he did.

 

Is he the last living person to appear in the movie?

 

Yes.

 

Jerry Maren, the Last Living Munchkin from The Wizard of Oz, Dies at 98

 

Aw. RIP, Jerry!

 

RIP to Jerry. Jerry was the last surviving actor to have had a prominent (speaking or singing) munchkin role, but he was not the last surviving munchkin period. As of January of this year there were five others listed here, all of whom were basically extras that appeared in the background of the munchkin village. I believe Ambrose Schindler is still with us too at age 101... he played a Winkie and was also Jack Haley's stunt double.

 

Thanks for the entertainment and memories you gave us Jerry

 

He played The Hamburglar in numerous McDonalds commercials.

He was also in the episode of Seinfeld where Kramer and Mickey were fighting over two girls....and Kramer ends up picking the girl who happens to have parents that are little people.

 

I hope he had a fulfilling life. Sure had some issues in his way that I never had, let alone, most of you. Hope his resume weren't just the high points of his life; the day after the set wraps, you still have to wake up and reach for the faucet for a drink. I hope he had friends. I hope he had options. I hope he had happiness. I hope he had comfort, moving around in a body that was not the inteitional blueprint for him, or the people around him who could not help but stare. I hope he had pride, and I hope he had respect - and, for himself, not just who he could be when the Director yelled, "Action!".

I hope he knew, he was appreciated.

 

didn't see the news until now...RIP Jerry Maren...he really lived a full life, 98!

 

I'm surprised that he lived that long. As the late Andre the Giant said "Nature is not kind to the very large or the very small."

 

I seem to recall that one of the Munchkins owned a bar here in Chicago, and the place's gimmick was regular bar stools with the legs cut short.

 

RIP Jerry. I love the "Doll" family as well as other small persons and dwarf actors/actresses that have appeared in movies over the last 100 years. I still feel bad about Verne Troyer's death.

 

Nice words.

 

I was under the impression as well that their life expectancy was short but some of them must have had good genes and took care of themselves and deified the odds.

 

Most average-heighted people don't live to 98, much less dwarves or giants, so defintely remarkable.

 

Another small person we lost a couple years ago was Michu Meszaros who was the small person pictured on The Door's album Strange Days LP cover art and gatefold:





Among some other acting duties, an older Michu Meszaros was also in the modern The Door's video for the song Strange Days:



RIP Michu

 

Isn't that type of dwarfism, where a person is generally small, pretty much extinct due to human growth hormone being made generally available, and only the type where the person has an average size trunk and short limbs still around?

 

While all of the "normal height" people from Wizard of Oz had died long ago, several of the People who played the Munchkins were still alive and active. About 20 years ago, we took our kids to have "Lunch-kin with the Munchkins" in Grand Rapids, MN, birthplace of Frances Gumm. We got to meet and spend time talking with Jerry Maren, Meinhard Robbie (the coroner), Mary Pelligrini, one of the soldiers and another person whose name I don't recall right now.

We had prepared our young children by telling them that the Munchkins would be much older than how they looked in the movie. But my younger daughter was surprised when she met them that they were still small. She thought they would be grown up. So she was very shy and hesitant. Jerry Maren was so nice to her. He said, you needn't be afraid...you remember me from the movie, don't you? I was the one who gave Dorothy the lollipop. And his personality won my daughter over that day. I had a long talk, about 15 minutes, just talking one on one with Meinhard Robbie. He was such a nice man. We got all of their signatures in a book I brought along about the Munchkins. Which we still have to this day.

 

You'll be his--, you'll be his--, you'll be History!

 

Such a classic movie and classic guy. RIP, Jerry.

 

He was also the last surviving Marx Brothers co-star, appearing as Little Professor Atom in "At The Circus".
I will also always remember him as the the confetti throwing guy in top hat and tails on "The Gong Show".
RIP Jerry!

 

I met Jerry when I took my then 5 year old daughter to see The Wizard of Oz at the Alex Theater in Glendale, CA. He was very gracious, and we happily purchased an autographed Lollipop Boy picture from him.

Rest in Peace Jerry...