NewsProducer's Blog

The Munchkins are finally getting a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.  Talk about long overdue!  It's only been what...like 68 years since the Wizard of Oz was released?

I had the pleasure of meeting one of the original Munchkins in real life this afternoon.  Until today, I had no idea that one of the Oz Soldiers lives right here in Central Texas!  And better yet...that until recently...he'd been traveling all over the country to shake hands and sign autographs for his biggest fans.  (As you can imagine...people can't wait to take a picture with a real Munchkin!)

Clarence Swensen is 89-years-old today...but he remembers that movie like it was yesterday.  Everything from his spot in line behind Dorothy's carriage to how the director would run back and forth from the set of the Wizard of Oz to the set of Gone With the Wind (he was working on both at the same time).  And of course, he remembers the goose step (his soldier's march)...though today he's no longer able to perform it.

He calls his Munchkin days "the joy of [his] life."  So you can imagine how thrilled he was to hear the good news.  What the fans had been telling him for years...'We loved the Munchkins!'  That's right...it only took 68 years...but now, they've finally made it.  Soon, the Munchkins will have their own star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame!

Other Intersting Facts:

There were 124 Munchkins in the Wizard of Oz.

Today, 9 are still living.

Swensen never auditioned for his part.  He, and many others Munchkins, received train tickets in the mail along with a letter inviting them to take part in a movie.

Swensen's wife was also invited to be a Munchkin, but emergency surgery kept her from being able to make the trip.

Many of the Munchkins appeared in other movies together...including Terror in Tiny Town and Tarzan Has a Son (Swensen was a chimpanzee).

Some of the Munchkins also played the Wicked Witch's flying monkeys...but many of them were puppets.