Jerry Maren, Last Surviving Munchkin in 'The Wizard of Oz,' Dies at 98

Jerry Maren, the last surviving Munchkin from the classic movie “The Wizard of Oz,” has died at age 98.

According to TMZ, Maren died last week at a San Diego nursing care center; a funeral was held over the weekend at Forest Lawn in Hollywood.

Maren was an 18-year-old when he was cast in the movie as a bouquet-wielding member of the Lollipop Guild that welcomed Judy Garland’s Dorothy Gale to Oz. He had been performing in vaudeville in New York’s Times Square with an act called Three and a Half Steps.

Also Read: 10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About 'The Wizard of Oz' (Photos)

According to the Chicago Tribune, Maren was the final surviving Munchkin actor from the 124 little people who starred in the 1939 musical.

“We were all paid $50 a week because we didn’t have agents,” he told the New York Post in a 2009 interview. “They thought we were stupid, but we knew we were getting the shaft. Toto was getting $150 a week.”

The actor had — forgive the pun — small roles on various TV shows over the years, including “The Twilight Zone,” “Seinfeld” and “Bewitched.”

He also starred opposite Groucho Marx and The Marx Brothers in “At the Circus” in 1939 and played a monkey in 1973’s “Battle for the Planet of the Apes.”

According to IMDb, his last role was playing a mime in the 2010 horror comedy “Dahmer vs. Gacy.”

'Wizard of Oz': 10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About the Classic (Photos)

It was 80 years ago today that a cyclone whisked Dorothy from her drab, sepia tone life in Kansas to the Technicolor land of little people, bewitched poppy fields and flying monkeys. You may know the story well, but here are a few things about "The Wizard of Oz" that might take you by surprise.
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Judy Garland had a difficult time shaking the giggles after the Lion burst into tears when Dorothy smacked him for scaring Toto. After numerous takes, you can spot her holding back a grin in what made it to the big screen.
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Continuity issues arose during filming, including one that slipped through the cracks and made it into the final film. We're talking about Dorothy's hair length in the scene where she first encounters the Scarecrow. It’s short, it's long, it's short again.
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The purple, red and yellow Horse of a Different Color was created with a Jell-O-based tint that wouldn’t be harmful to the animals. You can spot the purple horse trying to lick it off its chops.
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Margaret Pellegrini was only 16 years old when she played one of the Flowerpot Munchkins. She told a Glendale news station that she was paid $50 a week, which was less than what Toto made. "He got $125 a week!"
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The Cowardly Lion's costume weighed almost 100 pounds and was made with real lion pelts. His hefty tail was attached to a square block inside the Lion's backside." You can see it as he and the Tin Man scale the cliff to the Witch's castle.
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Toto -- whose real name was Terry -- was a little on the jittery side when it came to the special effects. You can see the terrier take off running when the Tin Man gave his hat a honk during his dance number.
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Victor Fleming -- who also directed "Gone With the Wind" the same year -- had little patience for fun on the set. When Garland could stop laughing during a scene, Fleming slapped her and ordered her to "Go in there and work."
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The Lion needed courage, but judging by the lyrics to "King of the Forrest," he could probably use a brain, too. In it, he sings "What makes the Sphinx the Seventh Wonder?" The thing is, the Sphinx isn't one of the Seven Wonder's of the World.
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Actress Clara Blandick will always be best remembered as Auntie Em. Sadly, Blandick took her own life with an overdose of sleeping pills and a plastic bag pulled tightly over her head.
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When the Wicked Witch vanished from Munchkinland in a cloud of red smoke and a burst of flames, her portrayer, Margaret Hamilton, was badly burned as she dropped through the trap door. Her green makeup was not fireproof.
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Here are a few bloopers, wardrobe malfunctions and behind-the-scenes secrets of the film that made Judy Garland a star

It was 80 years ago today that a cyclone whisked Dorothy from her drab, sepia tone life in Kansas to the Technicolor land of little people, bewitched poppy fields and flying monkeys. You may know the story well, but here are a few things about "The Wizard of Oz" that might take you by surprise.

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'Wizard of Oz': 10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About the Classic (Photos)

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