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

In the 1960s? There must have been more than one little Oscar in SoCal in the '60s, I remember Little Oscar on local TV appearances and he was definitely not Jerry. This LO was not a little person but he was very short. He was also younger and looked as if he were possibly Hispanic. My older sisters took me to see him and the wienermobile at a personal appearance at the Stop and Go market in Garden Grove not far from where we lived in Anaheim. I got a free whistle and a signed picture. This was probably in '66 or '67.

 

And Buster Brown of Buster Brown shoes, if I recall our discussion from 20 years ago.

As for other Little Oscars, Meinhart Raabe also was Little Oscar for a while!

 

Some probably did take very good care of themselves, knowing their health was more fragile than that of an "average" person. However, it should be remembered that there were over 120 people in the film that played Munchkins, so the odds were that at least a few of them would manage to outlive the cast of average-sized lead actor.

 

That's Jerry! wish I could find out who the Garden Grove Little Oscar was!

 

Well, perhaps. But only a few were key actors, the coroner, the lullaby league, the lollipop guild, the mayor. The rest were mostly background extras. So your 120 is really reduced down to about 10.

 

See below.

Care to share? I feel a story coming...

He also went on to be an accountant for Oscar Meyer.

I also had the chance to meet Jerry Maren, Meinhardt Raabe, Margaret Pellegrini. They were brought to the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival along with a Munchkin soldier, whose real name is Clarence.

The fellow who put this visit together owns one pair of the ruby slippers. He also had an original dye sublimation print of The Wizard Of Oz, which he screened for the festival. I have photos of that event as well as autographs and signed publicity photos.

Yes, they were all there and they are really nice people. Meinhardt was there with his wife. Unfortunately, a short time afterward, they were in an automobile accident and she was killed. Sad news.

 

Here is a photo, with Margaret Pellegrini (front, center) and Meinhardt Raabe who played the coroner.



All of the Munchkin's outfits were mead of felt, even their shoes.These are reproductions of their original costumes. They made them slightly larger than necessary to make the Munchkin's appear to be smaller.

 

I guess my mind is playing tricks on me! I was presented with proof yesterday that Jerry was indeed the Little Oscar I met back in the 1960s. I could have sworn it was a younger guy! It's also strange, because I actually met Jerry a second time, in 1977 or '78 when he was on the Gong Show, and I didn't remember him as Little Oscar then, either!
My memory is failing in my old age...

 

Sorry Steve. Meinhardt Raabe was the first (and thus original) Little Oscar.