Laura Wright 
The Wizard of Oz movie image
Hollyweird
The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland, has been rumored to be a “cursed film” for decades. Stories of accidents, illnesses, addiction, suicide, and strange behavior behind the scenes have become almost as famous as the movie itself.
Perhaps the best-known legend concerns the supposed “hanging Munchkin” visible in the background of one scene. The facts behind that particular piece of lore are quite different, but the genuine stories surrounding the production can be equally fascinating.
The Legend of the Hanging Munchkin
[Collected from the Internet]
“Is the wizard of oz a curse? i heard that a munchin killed himself while making the movie.”
Stories of a suicide supposedly captured in the finished film have circulated for decades. Some suspect the legend gained real momentum around the time of the movie’s 50th anniversary.
The scene in question occurs at the end of the Tin Woodsman’s sequence. As Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Man skip down the Yellow Brick Road, something strange can be seen moving in the background. According to the legend, a Munchkin actor committed suicide by hanging himself on the set, and his body somehow remained visible in the finished movie.
In reality, the supposed “Munchkin” is nothing more than a large bird. Several of the birds were present on the set during filming.
Although the famous hanging story is an urban legend, some of the frightening stories from the production are very real.
Buddy Ebsen and the Tin Man Makeup
The story of Buddy Ebsen’s dangerous reaction to the Tin Man’s makeup is true.
Ebsen was originally cast as the Scarecrow, but he decided to exchange roles with Ray Bolger, who had initially been selected to play the Tin Man. The songs were recorded, rehearsals went according to plan, and filming began.
Then Ebsen became seriously ill.
He suffered from severe cramping and had difficulty breathing. Eventually, his condition became serious enough that he was hospitalized.
Doctors discovered that Ebsen had suffered a reaction to the powdered silver makeup used to transform him into the Tin Man. He had been inhaling the makeup, which contained aluminum.
Ebsen was forced to leave the production in order to recuperate.
Jack Haley Becomes the Tin Man
Actor Jack Haley replaced Ebsen as the Tin Man, and the dangerous powdered makeup was changed to a paste.
Even that did not eliminate the problems.
Haley developed an eye infection from the makeup that required four days to heal. Although his experience was not as serious as Ebsen’s, the Tin Man had now caused medical problems for both actors associated with the role.
Margaret Hamilton Is Burned
Margaret Hamilton, who played the Wicked Witch of the West, suffered one of the production’s most serious accidents.
Hamilton was severely burned while filming the scene in which the Wicked Witch disappears in an explosion of flames.
The Witch’s guards and the evil flying monkeys faced dangers of their own. The actors playing the flying monkeys were suspended above the set by wires, and some fell while filming their scenes.
Fortunately, none of those falls resulted in serious injuries.
Even Toto Was Injured
The misfortune surrounding the production was not limited to the human performers.
Toto, the little dog who accompanied Dorothy through the Land of Oz, was played by a dog named Terry. During filming, one of the Wicked Witch’s guards accidentally stepped on Terry’s paw and broke his leg.
A substitute dog had to be used for four weeks while Terry recovered.
The Troubled Life of Judy Garland
Judy Garland’s life is perhaps the most frequently cited “proof” offered by those who believe The Wizard of Oz was cursed.
Garland struggled with mental illness for the remainder of her life following The Wizard of Oz. In 1947, she was institutionalized after suffering a nervous breakdown.
Her difficulties continued. Garland experienced psychological problems as well as financial instability and eventually became addicted to a variety of drugs.
In 1969, Judy Garland died from an accidental overdose.
Frank Morgan and the Wizard
Frank Morgan, who played the Wizard, also experienced misfortune after the movie.
Four months after The Wizard of Oz was released, Morgan was seriously injured in a car accident.
He continued acting, but in 1949, while working on another movie, he died from a heart attack. It has also been rumored that Morgan struggled with alcohol.
One of the more unusual stories associated with Morgan’s role involves the tattered coat he wore in the film. The coat was indeed one that had belonged to The Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum.
The Tragic Death of Clara Blandick
Clara Blandick, who played Dorothy’s Auntie Em, is another member of the cast whose later life ended unhappily.
Despite her presence in the movie, Blandick was listed at the very end of the cast in the film’s credits.
Her marriage ended seven years later, and she had no children.
Blandick lived to the age of 81, when she committed suicide using sleeping pills and a plastic bag placed over her head.
Charley Grapewin and Uncle Henry
Charley Grapewin, who played Uncle Henry, died in 1956.
His death came just before The Wizard of Oz made the transition to television, where the movie would find an enormous new audience and eventually become an annual tradition for generations of viewers.
The Munchkins Behind the Scenes
Other legends surrounding The Wizard of Oz are considerably more difficult to separate from Hollywood gossip.
For years, stories have circulated claiming that the actors who played the Munchkins engaged in prostitution, gambling, and general debauchery when they were not filming.
One book even claimed that they held orgies at night.
The stories certainly sound like the sort of colorful urban legends that accumulate around a famous production. However, no information refuting these claims has been made available.
Like so many stories surrounding The Wizard of Oz, they have become part of the movie’s larger mythology.
Was The Wizard of Oz Really Cursed?
There is no question that accidents occurred during the making of The Wizard of Oz. Buddy Ebsen became dangerously ill. Jack Haley developed an infection. Margaret Hamilton suffered severe burns. Flying monkeys fell from their wires, and even Toto suffered a broken leg.
Years later, several members of the cast experienced troubled lives, serious accidents, addiction, illness, and death.
At the same time, one of the film’s most famous supposedly supernatural pieces of evidence, the hanging Munchkin, has a much simpler explanation.
Perhaps that is what makes the legend of the Wizard of Oz curse so enduring. Genuine accidents and tragedies became intertwined with rumor, Hollywood gossip, and urban legend until separating one from another became part of the mystery.
So, was The Wizard of Oz really cursed?
Or is it all mere coincidence?
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