Of the original 124 little people who made up the town of Munchkinland
in 1939's "The Wizard of Oz," only seven are still alive.
They are wrinkled and mostly hard of hearing. Some of them are slightly
confused and they all move slowly. But they still have stories to tell
-- in unexpectedly high-pitched voices -- and on Monday night at a special
screening of the film at Grauman's Chinese Theater, they told them. Sort
of.
Comedian and film archivist Stan Taffel was charged with the difficult
duty of interviewing the actors before the screening began. Even though
Taffel speaks in the smooth, loud tones of a radio host, some had trouble
understanding him.
The lovable little people who first captured Americans' hearts
in the 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz" will receive a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame today.
Some of the original Munchkins, who are now in their 80s and 90s, will
be on hand this afternoon when the star is veiled. Only nine of the
original cast of 124 actors who played Munchkins survive today.
The yellow brick road finally led them to the recognition they sought
as part of one of the most famous musicals ever made.
"We finally deserved one. After 70 years, the best picture ever
made, the whole world saw this movie, and now we got our star,"
said Mickey Carroll, who played a Munchkin in the movie.
The classic film about a teenage Kansas girl named Dorothy Gale who
is swept away to the dangerous and dreamy land of Oz as a result of
a dangerous twister earned several awards, including an Academy Award
for its music.