'Wizard of Oz' Munchkin Margaret Pellegrini dies at 89.

My heart has been heavy about this all day. I had the pleasure of knowing her and appearing with her at Oz festivals over the past several years. She was a lovely, warm, funny person. Always welcoming to fans.

RIP, "Popcorn."

There are only two little people still alive who played Munchkins in the MGM film, and neither of them have made public appearances for a couple of years now. Jerry Maren (the Lollypop Kid) stopped attending festivals after his wife passed away. And Ruth Duccini stopped years ago as well.



A sad day for Oz fans. And just before the re-release of the MGM film in 3D later this month.

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I only got to speak with her for a few minutes when I met her at the festival last year, but she seemed like such a warm-hearted individual. It was a real pleasure.

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"And Ruth Duccini stopped years ago as well."

Ms. Duccini did appear at the film's 75th Anniversary premiere. I'm glad that someone from the film was there for this big event.

http://movies.yahoo.com/photos/the-wizard-of-oz-3d-premiere-1379289972-slideshow/

Just heard that Jerry Maren will be at the Chinese Theatre tomorrow (the 18th) to place his handprints and footprints in the cement.

That is so very cool! Go, Jerry!

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They were and are all great. I probably did the most events with Margaret (five maybe?). She was a delight every time. Such a great sense of humor, and she absolutely loved people. I also did several Oz events with Karl and Jerry. I really liked Jerry's wife, too. She took good care of him, and he relied quite a bit on her. Tomorrow's event is his first public appearance since she passed away. I only met Mickey Carroll once (about 16 years ago), and Ruth Duccini was at three events. She was always a private person. Never said too much, but was sweet as could be.

Margaret, on the other hand, was a hoot.

I also enjoyed Clarence Swenson and his wife Myrna, who still does Oz events, even after Clarence's passing. She's a wonderful lady, who was cast to be a Munchkin, but then got sick right before filming and had to bow out. She married one of the soldiers from the film. She's a real sweetheart. In fact, I'll be seeing her very shortly for yet another Oz event.

When there were more of them alive, I used to love how they all came in together in their green satin baseball jackets. They were the last surviving members of a very elite club. Sadly now, all but two are gone.

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Well, I'm not a Munchkin, so that's not it.

I wrote a couple of modern, Oz-themed, action-adventure novels that put me in the festival circuit. Depending on the event, I'm often invited to various national Oz festivals as a guest, lecturing, selling, and signing copies of my books. The first one won a state library award (in Kansas).

I find myself on the same "bill" with the MGM Munchkins, Baum relatives, Oz-related theatre folk, other Oz authors, etc. We're often put up at the same hotels, given the same drivers, the same "red carpet treatment," etc. I have to say, I've gotten to know the sub-culture of "Oz luminaries" pretty well. All in all, a great bunch of people with many loyal fans.

I try not to use this board to self-promote. I have to do plenty of that elsewhere. But it's been mentioned here before. If you're interested in knowing more, send me a PM, and I'll give you the details.

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Sounds good!

Here's Jerry Maren's handprint/footprint ceremony at the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood ... he is the "oldest and smallest" to receive this distinction.




LINK

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One of my favorite Margaret stories was when I first did an Upstate NY event with her. Were were put up in the same hotel and her room was directly across the hall from mine. She was restless one evening, the day before the festival began, and decided she wanted to go out to a local casino and gamble. So her grandson, who was chaperoning her, took her out gambling.

She came home kinda late that night ... six thousand dollars richer.

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Updated On: 9/19/13 at 03:38 PM