Hollywood mourns passing of the oldest Munchkin from "The Wizard of Oz"

Hollywood said goodbye on Saturday to Meinhardt Raabe, one of the original Munchkins in the "Wizard of Oz." Flowers were placed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame star for the Munchkins, according to the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Raabe, 94, was considered the oldest living Munchkin and died Friday in Florida. Raabe was on hand with other cast members in 2007 when the Munchkin star was finally dedicated on the Walk of Fame. Many considered the honor long overdue. In the movie, Raabe portrayed the coroner. At the unveiling, he delighted the crowd by reciting his memorable lines: "As coroner I must aver, I thoroughly examined her, And she's not only merely dead, She's really most sincerely dead."

In 2007, only seven Munchkins were still alive -- most in their 80s and 90s. They were the last of the 124 diminutive inhabitants of fictional Munchkinland who appeared with Judy Garland in the 1939 movie. They were mostly midgets, with a few children thrown in.

-- Shelby Grad

Photo: Former Munchkin Meinhardt Raabe attends the "Wizard of Oz" 70th Anniversary Emerald Gala at Tavern on the Green in New York September 2009. Raabe, who played the Munchkin coroner in "The Wizard of Oz," died. Friday at a hospital in Orange Park, Fla. Credit: Chalres Sykes / Associated Press

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Comments

[Sean]

Midgets? Don't you mean "little people"?

[Bob]

So, is he the last living munchkin from the Wizard of Oz, or just was the oldest living munchkin? I mean, are there younger, still living munchkins? I think the article is rather unclear on this.

[Freddie]

Weee represent the lolipop kids...the lolipop kids.

[Sean]

@Bob: He was just the oldest, not the last.

[Ron]

Thank you Sean. For the politically correct Times to use a derogatory term like that is unforgivable.

[John L Mendez]

What a Blessing that Meinhardt Raabe entertained generations of audiences by being part of the cast of 'The Wizard of Oz.' May he Rest in Peace for Eternity.

[Carl]

I met Meinhardt Raabe once in his role as 'Little Oscar.' He was highly intelligent and very personable. He is one less living link to one of the most famous fantasy films of all time. Thankfully, there are interviews, and the film itself, left to us for posterity.