Judy Garland was 16 years old when she got the part of Dorothy Gail in the MGM movie classic. MGM thought Ms. Garland was too chubby; so they put her on diet pills, she then got addicted. People who worked on The Wizard of Oz with her said she was easy to work with. The MGM company had 7 different pairs of ruby red slippers Ms. Garland used. Each made one thing she had to do easier. For instance one for skipping, running, jumping, etc. The ruby slippers were made of chiffon, a nice material. Margaret Hamilton played the Wicked Witch of the West, and Billy Burke played the Good Witch of the North. Margaret Hamilton said in an interview that on the streets little children who she would pass would hide behind their parents or friends because they were scared of her. Glenda was played by Billie Burke at age 53. In the book "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum, Glenda was the Good Witch of the SOUTH! I don't know how the MGM people got that confused!! :Þ The tin man was played by Ray Bolger. The original Tin Man woke up one night unable to breath. The make-up people used aluminum powder for his face, the aluminum powder went into his lungs, and he couldn't breath well after a while. So on the second Tin Man, the first was in the hospital, they used aluminum cream or something. Ray Bolger's face was permanantly lined from the face paint used for his make up. Also when the tin man moved due to the shinyness of his costume the reflections would ruin shots. Ray Bolger danced at least an hour a day after making that movie; until he was 70 at least. Which means obviously Ray Bolger liked to dance. The Wonderful Wizard played 5 different parts. The fortune teller, the doormen (in Oz), the horse dude (in Emerald City), the doormen for (the Wizard), and the Wonderful Wizard. I THINK that Frank Morgan played the wizard. The Wizard of Oz is a classic movie, that was made during the beginning of World War II, basically it was made to keep the people's mind off of the war. The movie The Wizard of Oz was made from the timely classic "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum. I really suggest it wasn't like the movie at all! I swear, the book was soo good. In the movie Aunti Em's aprom only cost MGM $1.00! How cheap is that? And if they were to sell that apron now, think of how much it would cost. Judy Garland went to the New York premiere of "The Wizard of Oz" with Mickey Rooney; a friend of hers. The tallest of the munchkin's was 4'8", and the rumors are true. In one of the scenes on the yellow brick road in the background you can see a munchkin hang himself. :( The editors didn't catch it. It cost MGM $2,777,000 to produce The Wizard of Oz movie. Which is a lot of money for today and more money for 1939 when the movie was being made. I have just been informed that since 1900 "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" book has never been out of print. L. Frank Baum apparantly always wanted to have a daughter; to name Dorothy. (I want to name my daughter Dorothy Gail) But Baum never had a daughter. Jack Haley "was honored by the Pope for his philanthropic ways" from a Trivia card. The Scarecrow's costume was made of asbestos, so that his costume wouldn't burn. I am not sure whether he got that disease though. This is all I am doing today. I am tired and want to swim. So bye bye I'll try to work more on this tomorrow. I got all of my information from "The Wizard of Oz Trivia Game", and the extra interviews in "The Wizard of Oz" DVD.
My Favorite Web sites
The official Oz site
Wizard of Oz site, pretty neat
Judy Garland Page: COOL!
'The Wizard of Oz' Movie Script
We're Off to See the Wizard!...
Awesome Oz
