MGM Munchkin Ruth Duccini has died.
MGM Munchkin Ruth Duccini has died.
#1MGM Munchkin Ruth Duccini has died.
Posted: 1/16/14 at 1:30pm
I don't have a link yet, but I just learned that Ruth Robinson Duccini passed away today at 95. She was the only cast member to attend the recent IMAX 3D screening of "The Wizard of Oz" at the Chinese Theatre.
Now only Jerry Maren survives as a little person who played a Munchkin in the 1939 film.
RIP, dear Ruth. I will always remember your smile.
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
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#2MGM Munchkin Ruth Duccini has died.
Posted: 1/16/14 at 2:01pm
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
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#2MGM Munchkin Ruth Duccini has died.
Posted: 1/16/14 at 2:20pm
She was my favorite of all the remaining Munchkins I met at the 2009 Emerald Gala for the 70th Anniversary of the film at the old Tavern on the Green.
Here's a picture of her (on the right) with Lorna Luft and in front of her from left to right Jerry Maren, Margaret Pellegrini, Reinhardt Raabe, Karl Slover and Ruth.
I had a lovely chat with Ruth and it all felt so fragile: the Munchkins were dying and Tavern on the Green was closing.
But the movie would live on.
FindingNamo
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
#3MGM Munchkin Ruth Duccini has died.
Posted: 1/16/14 at 2:24pm
It's like I always say, you're never too old for an all-day sucker.
Love that post, PJ.
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#4MGM Munchkin Ruth Duccini has died.
Posted: 1/16/14 at 2:27pm
A very sweet post.
I don't mean this harshly, but what in God's name is Lorna wearing?
NYadgal
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/18/04
#5MGM Munchkin Ruth Duccini has died.
Posted: 1/16/14 at 2:30pm
I love that post, also, PJ.
I remember when you went to that. Such a special photo.
I'm sorry to hear of her passing. What a beautiful smile.
"Two drifters off to see the world. There's such a lot of world to see. . ."
#6MGM Munchkin Ruth Duccini has died.
Posted: 1/16/14 at 2:40pm
I don't mean this harshly, but what in God's name is Lorna wearing
That's what Lorna was wondering!
It was the Emerald Gala. All the women were outfitted in emerald dresses and emeral jewelry and emerald shoes by name designers.
#7MGM Munchkin Ruth Duccini has died.
Posted: 1/16/14 at 2:43pm
Thanks for posting Besty & PJ.
RIP Ruth
"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
TheatreDiva90016
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/10/04
#8MGM Munchkin Ruth Duccini has died.
Posted: 1/16/14 at 2:54pmLorna gave me a pot holder from the event. I still have it somewhere!
"TheatreDiva90016 - another good reason to frequent these boards less."<<>>
“I hesitate to give this line of discussion the validation it so desperately craves by perpetuating it, but the light from logic is getting further and further away with your every successive post.” <<>>
-whatever2
#9MGM Munchkin Ruth Duccini has died.
Posted: 1/16/14 at 3:00pm
A brief threadjack:
My partner's niece and nephew had never seen "The Wizard of Oz," and this past Christmas Eve their mother decided it was time, so we all watched together. I was afraid that they wouldn't get it, wouldn't be into it, would balk at the opening b&w (well, sepia) scenes. But they were riveted, from first frame to last.
I was so happy to see it work its magic on them.
Farewell, Ruth Duccini, and know that you were part of something that will continue to give pleasure for many years to come.
NYadgal
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/18/04
#10MGM Munchkin Ruth Duccini has died.
Posted: 1/16/14 at 3:07pm
PJ, that photo made me laugh out loud. Her expression is priceless!
Reg, that's a wonderful, magical story. How special you could share it with them.
"Two drifters off to see the world. There's such a lot of world to see. . ."
beautywickedlover
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/28/07
#11MGM Munchkin Ruth Duccini has died.
Posted: 1/16/14 at 4:26pmR.I.P. Ms. Duccini. And thank you for all you have done for this film including attending the 75th Anniversary premiere.
#12MGM Munchkin Ruth Duccini has died.
Posted: 1/17/14 at 11:31am
Wizard of Oz cast member Dorothy Barrett is still alive!
http://youtu.be/ICrIeNOlJPQ
#15MGM Munchkin Ruth Duccini has died.
Posted: 1/17/14 at 3:15pm
There are (I'm told) a few of the child Munchkins still alive as well. MGM used a handful of children to fill in on the wide shots in the background. They weren't featured prominently in the Munchkinland sequence, but they can be seen in the background. They would be in their mid to late 80s now.
And Judy's stand-in as Dorothy, Caren Marsh-Doll, is still alive and attends festivals. I've spent time with her on several occasions, and she is a lovely (absolutely beautiful) woman as well. Great sense of humor, too. She's 96 years old. This is a recent photo:
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
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#16MGM Munchkin Ruth Duccini has died.
Posted: 1/17/14 at 3:19pmI thought Bobbie Koshay was Judy's stand-in.
#17MGM Munchkin Ruth Duccini has died.
Posted: 1/17/14 at 3:21pm
Just found this online:
-Bobbie Koshay: on-screen stand-in and stunt double for Judy Garland
-Caren Marsh-Doll: off-camera stand-in for Judy Garland
What exactly would an off-camera stand-in do? Besty, I'm sure you know more about this than I do.
#18MGM Munchkin Ruth Duccini has died.
Posted: 1/17/14 at 3:28pm
Bobbie Koshay was Judy's double. She is actually seen on film in several key instances: falling into the pigpen, the famous shot opening the farmhouse door into Munchkinland (it's Bobbie, wearing Sepia-tone makeup and dress who opens the door, steps out of the frame, then Judy, in a color dress, walks through the door in the same shot), and Bobbie also is lifted off the ground by the flying monkeys.
Caren Marsh-Doll was Judy's stand-in. She spent many hours under the hot lights while they tested the Technicolor film exposure using a "lily." She also rehearsed all of the dancing and the Munchkinland sequence with the Munchkins for days, plotting it all out with the cameras, before Judy stepped in and filmed it. Caren also spent quite a while testing all of the tornado sequence staging with the giant fans. It was filmed and reviewed before they shot the final footage with Judy, so they could test what worked and what didn't. A gingham dress and ruby slippers were made for Caren as well, since she was used for so much of the testing and lighting. But Caren does not appear in the final film, like Bobbie Koshay.
That's the difference between a stand-in and a double (at least in this case).
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
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#19MGM Munchkin Ruth Duccini has died.
Posted: 1/17/14 at 3:40pm
One of my favorite trick shots in the movie, because it uses both Bobbie Koshay and Judy Garland in the same shot as Dorothy.
The best part is that they "share" Toto. Bobbie goes up to the door with Terry (aka Toto) in her arms. She opens the door, backs out of the frame, hands Terry to Judy Garland, who then walks through the door, wearing a full-color, blue, gingham dress.
That's one of the reasons why the shot is so startling. Dorothy changes from B&W/Sepia to color, and there are no optical effects used. Just a bit of theatrical magic.
http://youtu.be/x6D8PAGelN8?t=27s
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
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#20MGM Munchkin Ruth Duccini has died.
Posted: 1/17/14 at 3:40pmWOW thanks for that info Besty...very interesting.
"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
#21MGM Munchkin Ruth Duccini has died.
Posted: 1/17/14 at 3:53pm
Thanks for all the info.
I knew that about the door opening, and I agree--it's pure magic!
#22MGM Munchkin Ruth Duccini has died.
Posted: 1/17/14 at 3:55pm
You're welcome! 
The doubles are used in some key moments in the film. It's Betty Danko, not Margaret Hamilton that we first see as the Wicked Witch in Munchkinland after the red smoke clears. She was the one catapulted up to "ground level" to suddenly appear in the shot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnXAl1ntt_4
And there are several instances of the doubles on-camera for the Scarecrow, Tinman, and Lion.
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
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#23MGM Munchkin Ruth Duccini has died.
Posted: 1/17/14 at 4:00pmWasn't Betty Danko injured (as well as Margaret Hamilton, more famously)?
#24MGM Munchkin Ruth Duccini has died.
Posted: 1/17/14 at 4:02pm
The reason Caren was hired for the job was that she was a dancer, so they used her to try out out all the choreography and staging, both in studio rehearsal space and on-set run-throughs with the cameras.
Dorothy doesn't dance much in the film, but it was all tested and rehearsed with Caren first (with choreographer Bobby Connolly and assistant choreographer Donna Massin).
Caren is also 4'11", same as Judy.
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
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