tv star collector
11-04-2007, 08:03 PM
I just watched again the classic motion picture "The Wizard of Oz" last night,
so I thought I'd post some Oz trivia here ...
Judy Garland began performing in vaudeville when she was only five years old.
The part of Dorothy was originally intended for child star Shirley Temple.
The role of the Wizard was written especially for W.C. Fields. But Frank
Morgan, not content to merely imitate Fields, did an admirable job in the role.
Because the script called for Ray Bolger's Scarecrow to have a few brushes
with fire, the costume was flame-proofed with asbestos. Because it was
stuffed with straw, the costume presented a potential fire hazard, and a
man with a fire extinguisher was always nearby in case of accident.
Jack Haley replaced Buddy Ebsen, the original choice to play the Tin Man.
Margaret Hamilton quit her job as a kindergarten teacher to become an actress.
Bert Lahr's Cowardly Lion costume was made from at least two real lion pelts.
Bert Lahr's Cowardly Lion was largely the inspiration for Hanna-Barbera's
cartoon character Snagglepuss. Daws Butler's voice was so close to
Lahr's that the former vaudeville performer insisted that Kellogg's give
Butler an onscreen credit in the Kellogg's Cocoa Krispies commercials
lest anyone think that Lahr had stooped to doing TV ads. (Ironically,
a short time later Lahr himself appeared in commercials hawking potato
chips!)
Recreating the Kansas cyclone that transports Dorothy to the land of Oz
proved to be the most difficult challenge to the special effects department.
As described in the book "THE WIZARDRY OF OZ" by Jay Scarfone & William
Stillman: "Standing 35 feet yet considered a miniature, the cyclone was
filmed on Stage 14, an old tin-roof stage reserved for such models. ...
After painstaking experimentation, the exterior effects of the tornado were
achieved using a large canvas stocking affixed to a gantry crane traveling
the length of the stage. The tornado-shaped canvas cone was rotated by
a D.C. motor on a speed control. The motor assembly was arranged to tip
sideways. The base of the tornado cone was fastened to a car traveling
along a predetermined track and containing an arrangement for Fuller's
earth to act as dust. The car was moved by operators below the set."
"Once completed, the film of the tornado interior was combined with live-
action footage of Judy Garland and Toto via rear projection onto a screen
outside Dorothy's bedroom window."
"The Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum was first published in 1900. The
classic MGM film was released in 1939. Considering that the original story
is now 107 years old, and the best-remembered (though not the first)
movie version is 68 years old, it still holds up very well today. A classic.
so I thought I'd post some Oz trivia here ...
Judy Garland began performing in vaudeville when she was only five years old.
The part of Dorothy was originally intended for child star Shirley Temple.
The role of the Wizard was written especially for W.C. Fields. But Frank
Morgan, not content to merely imitate Fields, did an admirable job in the role.
Because the script called for Ray Bolger's Scarecrow to have a few brushes
with fire, the costume was flame-proofed with asbestos. Because it was
stuffed with straw, the costume presented a potential fire hazard, and a
man with a fire extinguisher was always nearby in case of accident.
Jack Haley replaced Buddy Ebsen, the original choice to play the Tin Man.
Margaret Hamilton quit her job as a kindergarten teacher to become an actress.
Bert Lahr's Cowardly Lion costume was made from at least two real lion pelts.
Bert Lahr's Cowardly Lion was largely the inspiration for Hanna-Barbera's
cartoon character Snagglepuss. Daws Butler's voice was so close to
Lahr's that the former vaudeville performer insisted that Kellogg's give
Butler an onscreen credit in the Kellogg's Cocoa Krispies commercials
lest anyone think that Lahr had stooped to doing TV ads. (Ironically,
a short time later Lahr himself appeared in commercials hawking potato
chips!)
Recreating the Kansas cyclone that transports Dorothy to the land of Oz
proved to be the most difficult challenge to the special effects department.
As described in the book "THE WIZARDRY OF OZ" by Jay Scarfone & William
Stillman: "Standing 35 feet yet considered a miniature, the cyclone was
filmed on Stage 14, an old tin-roof stage reserved for such models. ...
After painstaking experimentation, the exterior effects of the tornado were
achieved using a large canvas stocking affixed to a gantry crane traveling
the length of the stage. The tornado-shaped canvas cone was rotated by
a D.C. motor on a speed control. The motor assembly was arranged to tip
sideways. The base of the tornado cone was fastened to a car traveling
along a predetermined track and containing an arrangement for Fuller's
earth to act as dust. The car was moved by operators below the set."
"Once completed, the film of the tornado interior was combined with live-
action footage of Judy Garland and Toto via rear projection onto a screen
outside Dorothy's bedroom window."
"The Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum was first published in 1900. The
classic MGM film was released in 1939. Considering that the original story
is now 107 years old, and the best-remembered (though not the first)
movie version is 68 years old, it still holds up very well today. A classic.