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Dorothy Gale was a young girl that lived in Kansas on a farm with her Aunt Em, Uncle Henry and of course her little dog Toto. One day there was a big storm, and a cyclone picked up the house with Dorothy inside and carried her into an unknown land. Upon leaving her house she found herself in the Land of Oz in Munchkinland, and discovered that her house had landed upon a witch wearing ruby red slippers. Dorothy was celebrated by the munchkins for releasing them from the wicked witch’s hold, and was presented with the red slippers. Glinda the Good Witch of the North told her only the Great Oz would be able to help her return to Kansas, and he was in the Emerald City. Dorothy set off along the yellow brick road, and along the way found three companions, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion. The four of them began traveling together to find the

Dorothy Gale

Wizard of Oz, finding many obstacles along their way. Once they reached the Emerald City they found the Great Oz, a giant floating head, who told her to destroy the Wicked Witch of the West, and he then would help her return to Kansas. After being captured by the witch, Dorothy did destroy her by throwing a bucket of water on her. When Dorothy and her friends returned to the Wizard they discovered him nothing more than a man who had happened upon Oz himself. However he was using his hot air balloon to return to Kansas and tried to bring Dorothy along, but Toto ran away and Dorothy left to find him and upon returning watched the balloon fly without her. This upset Dorothy greatly but she soon spoke with Glinda, who told her of the magic in the ruby red slippers. After her goodbyes, Dorothy, carrying Toto, clicked her heels three times and repeated “There’s no place like home.” When she awoke she was back in Kansas on the farm with her aunt and uncle, and wondered if it was all but a dream.

Dorothy Gale was played by Judy Garland in the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz. At the age of sixteen Judy Garland performed this role and received an Academy Juvenile Award. Garland was at the start of her career under contract at MGM when producers judged the new movie version of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz a suitable project for the young actress. Judy Garland was the star of the picture, however since she was new she was paid only $500 per week for her work on this film. This was less amount than her veteran costars. Among the casted main lead roles, only Toto was paid less than Garland. Garland died at age 47 in 1969.

Toto is the beloved dog, and companion, to Dorothy Gale. Toto travels with Dorothy throughout her adventures in Oz. Toto is the one to discover the Wizard of Oz is a fraud, and really just an ordinary man hiding behind a curtain. Also when trying to get home in the hot air balloon just before takeoff, Toto sees a cat and jumps out of the balloon’s basket causing Dorothy to jump out after him and miss the balloon ride home. Toto was played by Terry, a female black Cairn Terrier, Terry was trained and owned by Carl Spitz. Terry was paid a $125.00 salary each week for filming, the Munchkins only received $50.00 a week. She actually appeared in 13 different films but was only credited in the one. Because of the popu-larity of the movie, and because that role was the one she was most remembered for, Terry’s owner changed her official name to Toto in 1942. She died at age 10.

Toto

The Scarecrow was the first of three companions that Dorothy came across in the Land of Oz. He had been made by a munchkin farmer two days previously. The Scarecrow had been told by crows that he had no brain and they were unafraid of him. Dorothy helped him down from his post and asked him to accompany her to the Emerald City in hopes that the Great Oz may be able to give him some brains. Ray Bolger played the Scarecrow, yet was originally cast as the Tin Woodman. Bolger thought he was better suited for the role of the Scarecrow and tried hard to switch roles and Buddy Ebson originally cast as the Scarecrow, instead became the Tin Man. The Scarecrow was easily Ray Bolger’s most iconic role. He also played the Kansas farmhand counterpart. Bolger died in 1987, and at the time of his death was the last surviving member of the main Oz cast.

Scarecrow

The next character to join the adventure was the Tin Woodman. A man made entirely of Tin, and the tinsmith forgot to replace his heart. He got caught in a storm and rusted solid, a year later Dorothy and the Scarecrow found him and helped him. He then joined their journey to the Emerald City, himself to ask the Wizard for a heart. Jack Haley played the part of the Tin Woodman after Buddy Ebsen went ill. Haley also played his Kansas counterpart. Haley did not take kindly to the makeup or costume. The makeup caused an eye infection forcing Haley to miss four days of filming, and his 40-pound costume prevented him from sitting down when he wore it. When interviewed years later he remarked that many people had commented that making the film must have been fun. Haley’s reply: “Like hell it was; it was work!” Haley died of a heart attack at 80 years old in 1979.

Tin Woodman

The last companion to join the journey was the Cowardly Lion. He comes bounding out of the forest to attack Dorothy and the others roaring loudly at them. His attempt to scare them does not work so well and he himself is rather cowardly. However the Cowardly Lion makes friends with this odd assortment of people, and he too decides to go to the Emerald City, only he is in search of courage. Bert Lahr was cast as the Cowardly Lion, as well as the Kansas farmhand, and many of his trademark mannerisms were purposefully worked into the film. His contract specified a salary of $2500 per week. The costume was made from a genuine lion skin and weighed over fifty pounds. Due to the bright lights Lahr had to undress after each take to cool down and have his costume dried. In 1967, Lahr died of pneumonia.

Cowardly Lion

The Wicked Witch of the West is stooped, green-skinned, dressed entirely in black with a black pointed hat. The witch also has a Kansas counterpart who during the tornado scene is seen transforming into a wicked witch. Once Dorothy lands in Oz the Wicked Witch asks aloud “Who killed my sister?” When Dorothy states the death of her sister was an accident, the witch says the iconic phrase, “I’ll get you my pretty, and your little dog too!” Margaret Hamilton was the actress to play the Wicked Witch. This was not only Hamilton’s most famous role, but also an iconic villain. During filming there was a mishap with her fiery exit and she got badly burned, taking some time away from filming. In the finished film Margaret’s portrayal has 12 minutes of screen time, though having worked for four months, making precisely $18,541.68. Hamilton died at age 82 in 1985.

Wicked Witch

The Wizard of Oz is a character commonly referred to as a bumbling humbug. The Wizard is also from Kansas proudly stating in the movie, “an old Kansas man myself, born and bred in the heart of the Western Wilderness.” In the movie he appears as both human and as a giant floating head. Frank Morgan played the Wizard, in addition to Professor Marvel, the gatekeeper, the coachman, and an armed guard. When cast as the wizard they wanted to find the perfect coat for Frank, and decided that a second-hand shop would be the best way, purchasing a whole rack of coats. Morgan and the others picked the perfect and upon turning out the pockets discovered a label saying the coat once belonged to Oz author L. Frank Baum. This was verified by Frank’s widow to whom the coat was presented to after filming commenced.

Wizard of Oz

Glinda the Good Witch of the North appears in three scenes throughout the movie. She welcomes Dorothy to Oz in Munchkinland, giving Dorothy the ruby red slippers and sending her on her way along the yellow brick road to find the wizard. While in the poppy fields she can be seen waving almost dreamlike. Glinda is also in the last Oz sequensce where she tells Dorothy how to return home using the ruby red slippers. Billie Burke played the part of Glinda the Good Witch of the North. The character encompased several from the book, becoming a hybrid of both the Good Witch of the North and the South, as well as the Mouse Queen in the field of Poppies. At the time of filming Billie played a beautiful witch at age 55, while her evil counterpart Hamilton played an ugly witch at age 36. Billie Burke died in 1970 at age 85.

Glinda the Good

In the movie Glinda coaxes the Munchkins out of hiding and then they celebrate the death of the Wicked Witch. There all presented themselves to Dorothy welcoming her to Munchkin Land, and thanking her for getting rid of the witch. Leo Singer, who had a group called The Singer Midgets was contracted by MGM to provide 124 midgets for the film. It is thought that a couple of others came on their own, yet they had to sign a contract with Mr. Singer as he had the sole rights to provide the “little people” for the film. One of the films famous one-liners took a mere 12 seconds to recite. The 4 foot, 21 year old, Meinhardt Raabe, boldly walked up six steps and said: “As Coroner I must aver, I thoroughly examined her...and she’s not only merely dead, but really most sincerely dead.” The casting director said: “OK! Meinhardt. It’s you! You are the coroner!

The Munchkins