How many of the Munchkins were actually midgets?

Actors and actresses 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.
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How many of the Munchkins are still alive?

Betty Ann Cain Bruno is the last living Munchkin from the film 'The Wizard of Oz,' Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2019 in El Verano. Betty Ann can be seen in the photo at left next to Judy Garland's right side, peeking her head over.
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How tall were the Munchkin people?

MUNCHKINS: boys and girls, 4-10 (under 5ft tall). The little people of Munchkinland. Long oppressed, and happy to be freed, the Munchkins will (mostly) be played by children.
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Why did Shirley Temple turn down the Wizard of Oz?

Shirley Temple was the favourite to play Dorothy, but her singing skills were not strong enough. The role was ultimately a big break for Garland, then a contract player at MGM. The film originally featured the Wizard as the central character, and both W.C. Fields and Bert Lahr turned down the part.
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Who almost got the role of Dorothy in Wizard of Oz?

At the time, Shirley Temple seemed like a shoe in for the role. of Dorothy in a film adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, but in 1937, Shirley Temple was under contract at 20th Century Fox. Legend has it that a deal was almost made between MGM.
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The Wizard Of Oz (1939) Cast THEN AND NOW 2023, All cast died tragically!

Who did they want to play Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz?

Several actresses were reportedly considered for the part of Dorothy, including Shirley Temple from 20th Century Fox, at the time, the most prominent child star; Deanna Durbin, a relative newcomer, with a recognised operatic voice; and Judy Garland, the most experienced of the three.
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Were the Munchkins all children?

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.
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What does the Yellow Brick Road represent in The Wizard of Oz?

The Yellow Brick Road represents strategy—how you will get there; the path you identify as the best, smartest way to accomplish your goal. And each of the shiny yellow bricks in the road represents an action step—the smaller tactics that go into executing your strategy.
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Did Toto get paid more than Dorothy?

But how do Terry's earnings compare to the other performers on set? Ultimately debunking a common misconception, Toto was not paid more than Dorothy, played by Judy Garland. Garland was paid $500 per week on set, which would be the equivalent of almost $11,000 in 2023 — definitely more than Terry.
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Did the Munchkins get paid?

As well as the pay disparity between the male and female actors in the film, the Munchkin performers earned less than Toto, with most receiving approximately $50 per week. Those with speaking roles among the Munchkins made around $75, and a select few who were directly hired by the studio, MGM, managed to get $100.
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Does the Wizard of Oz have a hidden message?

Hugh Rockoff suggested in 1990 that the novel was an allegory about the demonetization of silver in 1873, whereby "the cyclone that carried Dorothy to the Land of Oz represents the economic and political upheaval, the yellow brick road stands for the gold standard, and the silver shoes Dorothy inherits from the Wicked ...
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What is the true story behind The Wizard of Oz?

As conceived and written by Lyman Frank Baum in 1900, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" was a political allegory of turn-of-the-century America. Written in the waning days of the Populist movement of the late 1800s, it was the story of the sad collapse of Populism and the issues upon which the movement was based.
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What are the hidden symbols in The Wizard of Oz?

Some specific symbols related to the political allegory are:
  • Dorothy's silver shoes (money or silver)
  • Emerald City (money or factory)
  • Yellow brick road (gold)
  • Kansas and farmland (commoners and populism)
  • Tin Man (industrialism and factory workers)
  • The Wizard (selfish acts of political leaders or elites)
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What do the silver slippers symbolize in The Wizard of Oz?

Dorothy's silver shoes were seen by economic historians as crucial to the symbolic associations between the story and the politics of the moment. These articles described the story in terms of the bimetal debates. In representing silver, Dorothy is seen to represent the populist movement.
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How old was Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz?

Since she was sixteen years old at the time of filming, Garland's maturing figure was bound into a figure-hiding corset. Since fantasy films generally were unsuccessful at that time, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer portrayed Oz as a head-trauma-induced delirium, instead of a real place.
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What age was Judy Garland in Wizard of Oz?

In 1938, when Garland was sixteen, she was cast as the young Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz (1939), a film based on the 1900 children's book by L. Frank Baum. In the film, she sang the song with which she would be constantly identified afterward, "Over the Rainbow".
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What is the difference between a dwarf and a midget?

The term midget is different from dwarf based on body proportions. A person with dwarfism has disproportionately short limbs. The term midget was used to describe persons of small size but with normal proportions when compared to average people.
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What height is considered a midget?

Overview. Dwarfism is short stature that results from a genetic or medical condition. Dwarfism is generally defined as an adult height of 4 feet 10 inches (147 centimeters) or less. The average adult height among people with dwarfism is 4 feet (122 cm).
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What does Emerald City represent in The Wizard of Oz?

the Emerald City represented Wall Street, greenback colored; and. the Wizard represented the Money Power, whose influence rests on manipulation and illusion.
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What mental illness did Dorothy have in The Wizard of Oz?

We're no shrinks, but it seems like Dorothy could be suffering from HPD, a disorder that manifests itself through attention-seeking behavior, intense theatricality, and a shallow array of emotions.
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Where was Wizard of Oz filmed?

The Wizard of Oz was filmed entirely on stages at MGM's Culver City studio at 10202 Washington Boulevard. The studio still stands today and offers visitors a look behind the curtains to see where the magic happened, as part of the Sony Pictures Studio Tour.
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Why was Judy Garland called a hunchback?

Not only was the studio slow to find roles for Garland, but being under contract also opened her up to a world of criticism about her appearance. Studio head Louis B. Mayer allegedly called Garland "my little hunchback" (Garland was less than five feet tall and had curvature of the spine).
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Who was the original Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz?

Jack Haley was a movie and vaudeville actor who is always remembered as the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz (1939). The Tin Man role was originally was going to Buddy Ebsen, but due to allergic reaction from the aluminum powder makeup, Ebsen was taken out of the casting and Haley replaced him.
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