fiction.wikisort.org - Character

A Munchkin is a native of the fictional Munchkin Country in the Oz books by American author L. Frank Baum. They first appear in the classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) where they welcome Dorothy Gale to their city in Oz. The Munchkins are described as being the same height as Dorothy and they wear only shades of blue clothing, as blue is the Munchkins' favorite color. Blue is also the predominating color that officially represents the eastern quadrant in the Land of Oz. The Munchkins have appeared in various media, including the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, as well as in various other films and comedy acts.

The Munchkins
Oz books character
W. W. Denslow's depiction of Munchkins, from first edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
First appearance	The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)
Created by	L. Frank Baum

Concept

While Baum may have written about it, there are no surviving notes for the composition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The lack of this information has resulted in mere speculation of the term origins he used in the book, which include the word Munchkin.[1] Baum researcher Brian Attebery has hypothesized that there might be a connection to the Münchner Kindl, the emblem of the Bavarian city of Munich (spelled München in German).[1] The symbol was originally a 13th-century statue of a monk, looking down from the town hall in Munich. Over the years, the image was reproduced many times, for instance as a figure on beer steins, and eventually evolved into a child wearing a pointed hood.[2] Baum's family had German origins, suggesting that Baum could have seen one such reproduction in his childhood. It is also possible that Munchkin came from the German word Männchen, which means "mannikin" or "little figure". In 1900, Baum published a book about window displays in which he stressed the importance of mannequins in attracting customers.[3] Another possibility is a connection to Baron Munchausen. This fictional character is based on a real baron who told outrageous tall tales based on his military career.[1][4] Like the other Oz terms, the word Munchkin ends in a diminutive which in this case refers to the size of the natives.[1]

Literature

Oz Books by Frank Baum

The Munchkins are first mentioned (quote shown) in an excerpt from chapter two of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, titled "The Council with the Munchkins". Dorothy initially meets only three of them, along with the Good Witch of the North. The rest of the Munchkins then come out of hiding and are shown to be grateful towards Dorothy for killing their evil ruler the Wicked Witch of the East. Dorothy later eventually finds the yellow brick road, and along the way attends a banquet held by a Munchkin man named Boq. Sometime in the book a background story is also given about a "Munchkin maiden" (named Nimmie Amee in later books), who was the former love interest of the Tin Woodman.[5]

Baum also included the Munchkin characters in his later works as minor and major individual characters. The Munchkin Jinjur is the main antagonist in Baum's second book The Marvelous Land of Oz, where she seeks to overthrow the Scarecrow and take over the Emerald City. Jinjur makes a brief appearance in the next book, entitled Ozma of Oz, and is later brought back in Baum's twelfth book, The Tin Woodman of Oz. By this time, she is shown to be a more prominent character who is helpful and friendly to Dorothy and her friends. Two other major Munchkin characters also appear in The Tin Woodman of Oz: Tommy Kwikstep and Nimmie Amee. The former appears in the story asking for a wish for running an errand for a witch; the latter is the name given to the mystery "Munchkin maiden" from the first book, who was the former lover of the Tin Woodman. More information is revealed that tells about the Tin Woodman's origin, and their tragic love story.[5] Lastly, the Munchkin Unc Nunkie appears in Baum's seventh book, The Patchwork Girl of Oz, where he is accidentally turned to stone. His Munchkin nephew Ojo successfully goes on a quest in search of an antidote while learning more about himself in the process.

Subsequent Oz books

L. Frank Baum died on 6 May 1919 after which other writers took up writing additional Oz stories. In some cases these books were written under Baum's name, and include among other characters the Munchkins. There is at least one known Munchkin character that was created after Baum's death that appears as a major character. Zif is a Munchkin boy who appears in John R. Neill's first adaptation called The Royal Book of Oz. Zif is a student at the College of Art and Athletic Perfection; he is both respectful and resentful towards his teacher Wogglebog who considers Zif a "nobody or a nothing." The Munchkin characters that Baum had created in his lifetime also appear in these additional works.

Film and musicals

Early works (1902–1933)

While the 1939 film is the most well known adaptation (see section below), it was not the first outside work to show the Munchkins in film or musical format. One of the first musical adaptations of Baum's books took place in 1902; it was also dubbed The Wizard of Oz.[6][7] The Munchkins make their appearance in act one, called "The Storm," in which they are shown dancing around their maypole, not noticing that Dorothy's house has fallen to earth killing the Wicked Witch of the East.[8] The first film adaptation of Baum's works, titled The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, was released in 1910, followed by three sequels. However, it wasn't until 1914 that Munchkin characters first appeared in film works. Ojo the Lucky and Unc Nunkie both appear in a film titled The Patchwork Girl of Oz (based on the book of the same name). This film stars American actress Violet MacMillan as Ojo, and was produced by Baum.[9]

1939 film

The 1939 movie musical The Wizard of Oz was loosely based on Baum's novel. Notable differences of the Munchkins include their country name of Munchkinland, and their clothes of many colors instead of an all-blue attire. In the musical the Munchkins are mostly portrayed by adult actors with dwarfism, but a few average-sized children were also included as background extras.[10] The movie also combines the character of the Good Witch of the South (Glinda), with the Good Witch of the North (named "Locasta" or "Tattypoo").

In the musical, the Munchkins first appear when Dorothy and Toto arrive in the Land of Oz after her house lands on the Wicked Witch of the East. The Munchkins hide from all the commotion until Glinda the Good Witch arrives reassuring them that everything is okay. Dorothy tells them how she arrived in the Land of Oz (through a musical number) and the Munchkins celebrate. To make it official, the Mayor of Munchkinland and his assistant have to make sure that the Wicked Witch of the East is really dead before the celebration continues. The coroner confirms this to the mayor by saying that the witch is "not only merely dead", but is indeed "most sincerely dead" while showing the Certificate of Death. The Munchkins then celebrate further as Dorothy receives gifts from the "Lullaby League" and the "Lollipop Guild." Near the end of the song, the Wicked Witch of the West arrives, which causes the Munchkins to panic. After the Wicked Witch of the West leaves, Glinda tells Dorothy to follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City as the Munchkins guide her out of Munchkinland.

The Munchkin actors have since not avoided controversy with alleged behavior behind the scenes. In a 1967 interview, Judy Garland referred to all of the Munchkins as "little drunks" who got intoxicated every night to the point where they had to be picked up in "butterfly nets". These accusations were denied as fabrications by fellow Munchkin Margaret Pellegrini, who said only "a couple of kids from Germany even drank beer".[11] On 20 November 2007, the Munchkins were given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Seven of the surviving Munchkin actors from the film were present. As a result of the popularity of the 1939 film, the word "munchkin" has entered the English language as a reference to small children, persons with dwarfism, or anything of diminutive stature.

Actors and actresses

The following is a list of actors who portrayed the Munchkins in the 1939 film. Most of the dwarfs hired were acquired for MGM by Leo Singer, the proprietor of Singer's Midgets.[12] A Daily Variety news story from 17 August 1938, stated 124 dwarves had been signed to play Munchkins; modern sources place the number either at 122 or 124. An additional dozen or so child actors were hired to make up for the shortage of dwarves.[10] At least one Munchkin actor, Dale Paullin (stage name Paul Dale), did not make the final cut for the movie.[13] Only two actors (Joseph Koziel and Frank Cucksey) used their actual voices for the dialogue exchanged with Dorothy where she is given the flowers. The rest of the voices such as the "Munchkin chorus" were created by studio voices recorded at a slow speed.[14]

In 1989, author Stephen Cox researched, found, and wrote about the surviving Munchkin actors fifty years after they made the film. He wrote about them in his book, The Munchkins Remember (1989, E.P. Dutton) which was later revised as The Munchkins of Oz (Cumberland House), and his book remained in print for nearly two decades. When he wrote the book, 33 of the actors with dwarfism who appeared in the film were still alive and were interviewed. Jerry Maren, who played the green "Lollipop Guild" member, was the last living adult Munchkin actor.

Notes: Some of the information presented in the table below may never be complete as Social Security records remain sparse prior to the mid-twentieth century. Stage names and/or aliases are present in italics and quotation marks.

Actor	Born	Died	Part(s) played	Source
Gladys W. Allison	Un­known	Un­known	Played a villager	[15]
John Ballas	1903	Un­known	Played a villager	[16][17]
Franz Balluch ("Mike")	Un­known	Un­known	Played a villager	[15]
Josefine Balluch	Un­known	Un­known	Played a villager	[18][19]
John T. Bambury	Un­known	Un­known	Played a soldier	[16][20]
Charlie Becker	1887	1968	Played "The Mayor of Munchkinland"	[20][21]
Freda Betsky	1916[lower-alpha 1]	Un­known	Played a villager	[15][22]
Henry Boers	1896	Un­known	Played a villager	[23]
Theodore Boers	1894	1945	Played a villager	[23][24]
Christie Buresh	1907	1979	Played a villager	[25]
Eddie Buresh	1909	1982	Played a villager	[25]
Lida Buresh	1906	1970	Played a villager	[16][25]
Mickey Carroll	1919	2009	Played a fiddler, a town crier, and a soldier	[26]
Casper "Colonel" Balsam	Un­known	Un­known	Played a villager	[16]
Nona A. Cooper	1875	1953	Played a villager	[15][27]
Thomas J. Cottonaro	1914	2001	Played a villager	[15][28]
Elizabeth Coulter	Un­known	Un­known	Played a villager	[16]
Lewis Croft	1919	2008	Played a soldier	[29]
Frank Cucksey	1919	1984	Played the villager that gives Dorothy some flowers[lower-alpha 2]	[30][31]
Billy Curtis	1909	1988	Played the Braggart[lower-alpha 3]	[32]
Eugene S. David Jr.	Un­known	Un­known	Played a fiddler	[33]
Eulie H. David	Un­known	Un­known	Played a soldier	[33]
Ethel W. Denis	1894	1968	Played a villager	[16][34][35]
Prince Denis	1892	1984	Played the Sergeant-at-Arms[lower-alpha 4]	[34][36]
Hazel I. Derthick	1906	1989	Played a villager	[37]
Daisy Earles	1907	1980	Played a "munchkin maiden"	[38]
Gracie Doll Earles	1899	1970	Played a "munchkin maiden"	[38]
Harry Doll Earles	1902	1985	Blue member of The Lollipop Guild	[38][39]
Tiny Doll Earles	1914	2004	Played a "munchkin maiden"	[38]
Major Doyle ("James D. Doyle")	1869	1940	Played a villager	[16][36]
Ruth Robinson Duccini	1918	2014	Played a villager	[40]
Carl M. Erickson	1917	1958	Played the 2nd Trumpeter	[16][41]
Fern Formica	1925	1995	Played a villager and a "sleepyhead"	[42]
Addie Eva Frank	Un­known	Un­known	Played a villager	[16]
Thaisa L. Gardner	1909	1968	Played a villager	[16]
Jakob "Jackie" Gerlich	Disputed[lower-alpha 5]	1960	Red member of The Lollipop Guild	[43]
William A. Giblin	1916	1985	Played a soldier	[44]
Jack S. Glicken	1900	1950	Played a city father	[45]
Carolyn E. Granger	1915	1973	Played a villager	[16][46]
Joseph Herbst	Un­known	1989	Played a soldier	[16][47][48]
Jakob Hofbauer	1898[lower-alpha 6]	Un­known	Played a soldier	[36]
Clarence C. Howerton ("Major Mite")	1913	1975	Played the 3rd Trumpeter	[49][50]
Helen M. Hoy	1898	1945	Played a villager	[16][51]
Marguerite A. Hoy	Un­known	Un­known	Played a villager	[16]
James R. Hulse IV	1915	1964	Played a villager	[16][36][52]
Robert Kanter ("Little Lord Robert")	1886	Un­known	Played a soldier	[15][53]
Charles E. Kelley	Un­known	Un­known	Played a soldier	[15]
Jessie E. Kelley ("Jessie Becker")	Un­known	Un­known	Played a villager	[16]
Frank Kikel	Un­known	Un­known	Played a villager	[16]
Bernard Klima ("Harry")	1897	1957	Played a villager	[30][54]
Mitzi Koestner	Un­known	Un­known	Played a villager	[16]
Emma Koestner	Un­known	Un­known	Played a villager	[10][16]
Willi Koestner	Un­known	Un­known	Played a soldier	[16][55]
Adam Edwin Kozicki ("Eddie Adams")	Un­known	Un­known	Played a fiddler	[16][56]
Joseph J. Koziel	Un­known	Un­known	Played a villager[lower-alpha 2]	[16][57]
Dolly F. Kramer	1904	1995	Played a villager	[16][23]
Emil Kranzler	1910	1993	Played a villager	[16][58]
Nita Krebs	1905	1991	Member of The Lullaby League and a villager	[30][59]
Jeane LaBarbera ("Little Jean")	1909	1993	Played a villager	[60]
Hilda Lange	Un­known	Un­known	Played a villager	[16]
John Leal ("Johnny")	1905	1996	Played a villager	[16][61]
Ann Rice Leslie	1900	1973	Played a villager	[16][62]
Charles Ludwig	1889	1941	Played a villager	[16][63][64]
Dominick Magro	1909	1959	Played a villager	[65][66]
Carlos Manzo	1914	1955	Played a villager	[16][67]
Howard Marco	1884[lower-alpha 7]	Un­known	Played a villager	[16][68]
Jerry Maren	1920	2018	Green member of The Lollipop Guild	[69][70]
Bela Matina ("Mike Rogers")	1902	1954	Played a villager	[15][71][72]
Lajos Matina ("Leo")	1901	Un­known	Played a villager	[15][73]
Matyus Matina ("Ike Rogers")	1902	1965	Played a villager	[15][73][71][74]
Walter M. B. Miller	1906	1987	Played a soldier and a flying monkey	[16][36]
George Ministeri	1913	1986	Played the coachman and a villager	[16][36]
Harry Monty	1904	1999	Played a villager and a flying monkey	[75]
Yvonne Bistany Moray	1917	Un­known[lower-alpha 8]	Member of The Lullaby League and a villager	[15][36]
Johnny Maroldo ("Johnny Winters")	1905	1985	Played the Commander of the Navy	[36]
Marie Bernadet Maroldo ("Marie Winters")	1901	1979	Played a villager	[36]
Olga C. Nardone	1921	2010	Member of The Lullaby League, a sleepyhead, and a villager	[77]
Nels P. Nelson	1918	1994	Played a villager	[16][78][79][lower-alpha 9]
Margaret C. Nickloy ("Princess Marguerite")	1902	1961	Played a villager	[10][80]
Franklin H. O'Baugh	1922	1963	Played a soldier	[81][82]
William H. O'Docharty	1920	1988	Played the coach footman and a villager	[16][36]
Hildred C. Olson	Un­known	Un­known	Played a villager	[16]
Frank Packard	Un­known	Un­known	Played a villager	[16]
Nicholas Page ("Nicky")	1904	1978	Played a soldier and a city father	[10][36]
Leona Megest Parks ("Duchess")	1897	Un­known	Played a villager	[23]
Margaret Williams Pellegrini	1923	2013	Played a "sleepyhead" and the "flower pot munchkin"	[42][83]
Johnny Pizo	Un­known	Un­known	Played a villager	[16]
Leon Polinsky ("Prince Leon")	Un­known	Un­known	Played a villager	[16][84]
Lillian Porter	1917	1997	Played a villager	[36][85]
Meinhardt Raabe	1915	2010	Played the coroner[lower-alpha 10]	[86]
Margaret Raia	1928	2003	Played a villager	[87]
Matthew Raia	Un­known	Un­known	Played a city father	[87]
Friedrich Retter ("Freddie")	1899	Un­known	Played a fiddler and villager	[16][88]
Billy Rhodes ("Little Billy")	1895	1967	Played the barrister	[89][90]
Gertrude H. Rice	Un­known	Un­known	Played a villager	[16]
Hazel Rice	Un­known	Un­known	Played a villager	[16]
Sandor Roka	1896	1954	Played a villager	[16][91][92]
Jimmie Rosen	1892	1973	Played a villager	[36]
Charles F. "Wojnarski" Royal	1900	1947	Played a soldier	[16][93]
Helen J. "Wojnarski" Royal	1897	1958	Played a villager	[16][93]
Stella A. "Wojnarski" Royal	1903	1959	Played a villager	[93]
Albert Ruddinger	Un­known	Un­known	Played a villager	[16]
Elsie R. Schultz	1892	1987	Played a villager	[16][36]
Charles Silvern	1902	1976	Played a villager	[16][94]
Garland Slatton ("Earl")	1917	1995	Played a soldier	[23]
Karl Slover	1918	2011	Played the lead trumpeter, a soldier, a "sleepyhead", and a villager	[95][96]
Ruth E. Smith	Un­known	1985	Played a villager	[13][16]
Elmer Spangler	1910	Un­known	Played a villager	[16][97]
Pernell St. Aubin	1922	1987	Played a soldier	[30][98]
Carl Stephan	Un­known	Un­known	Played a villager	[16]
Alta M. Stevens	1913	1989	Played a villager	[16][36]
George Suchsie	Un­known	Un­known	Played a villager	[16]
Charlotte V. Sullivan	Un­known	Un­known	Played a villager	[16]
Clarence Swensen	1917	2009	Played a soldier	[99]
Betty Tanner	1916	1994	Played a villager	[36][100]
Arnold Vierling	1919	1949	Played a villager	[36]
Gus Wayne	1920	1998	Played a soldier	[101]
Victor Wetter	1902	1990	Played the Captain of the Army	[10][36]
Grace G. Williams	Un­known	Un­known	Played a villager	[16]
Harvey B. Williams	1905	1968	Played a soldier	[16][102]
Gladys V. Wolff	1911	1984	Played a villager	[36][16]
Murray Wood	1908	1999	Played a city father	[16][103]

Child actresses

About a dozen children of average height were hired so they could be used for background fill. Sources differ on the number of children used for these roles ranging anywhere from 10 to 12.[104] The names used for the women are maiden names with known aliases present in italics and quotation marks.

As of 2022^[update], five "child munchkins" are known to be living:

Actor	Born	Died	Part(s) played	Source
Betty Ann Cain ("Bruno")	1931	Living	Munchkin hatchling	[105][106][107][108]
Priscilla Ann Montgomery Clark	1929	Living	Background fill	[106][107][109]
Donna Jean Johnson ("Stewart Hardaway")	1933	2008	Background fill	[110][111]
Joan Kenmore	1931	Living	Background fill	[105][106][107][104]
Eva Lee Kuney	1934	2015	Background fill	[15][112][113]
Rae-Nell Laskey ("Alsbury")	1930	1991	unknown	[114][115]
Elaine Mirk ("Merk")	1930	Living	Background fill	[104][107][116]
Valerie Lee Shepard	1931	Un­known	Background fill	[10][104][107][117]
Ardith Dondanville Todd	1930	Living	Background fill	[105][106][107]
Shirley Ann Kennedy ("Vegors")	1932	2005	Background fill	[118][119]
Viola White ("Banks")	1931	2000	Background fill	[10][36]

Later works (1940–1989)

The 1939 film was adapted into a musical that was released in 1942 that includes the Munchkin characters. The events that take place mirror the film including the song "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead".[120] Twenty-seven years later an animated film called The Wonderful Land of Oz was made; it has Jinjur as a major character.

Other works

• The Munchkins appeared in The Wiz and were played by children and teenagers. (1978)
• The Munchkins appear at the end of Return to Oz. They are seen celebrating Dorothy's return after defeating the Nome King and are present at Princess Ozma's coronation. Tommy Kwikstep was also seen there. (1985)
• In The Muppets' Wizard of Oz, the Munchkins were played by Rizzo the Rat (who portrayed the Mayor of Munchkinland) and his fellow rats. (2005)
• The Munchkins appeared in Dorothy and the Witches of Oz. The Munchkins were first seen in the battle against the Wicked Witch of the West's forces in Oz. They were later brought to Earth by Glinda in order to combat the forces of the Wicked Witch of the West. (2012)
• The Munchkins appear in Oz the Great and Powerful. They alongside the Quadlings and the Tinkers as inhabitants of Glinda's protectorate. Although the film is not otherwise a musical, the Munchkins sing and dance much as they do in the 1939 film. (2013)
• The Munchkins appear in more than one skit on Mad TV where the 1939 film is parodied. The actors are played by people with dwarfism.
• The Munchkins appear in the television series Once Upon a Time. Not much is known about them, but they seem to be similar to the Dwarves in the Enchanted forest as Zelena originally thought that Sneezy was a Munchkin. Also, Regina Mills once mistakenly referred to the Seven Dwarfs as Munchkins.
• The Munchkins appear in Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz with the Mayor of Munchkinland voiced by Bill Fagerbakke and the background Munchkins voiced by Steven Blum and Jessica DiCicco. Ojo, Dr. Pipt, the Lollipop Guild, and the Lullaby League are also featured. Also, Smith & Tinker are depicted as Munchkins in this show.

Notes

References

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