When Hamilton Meserve was just three years old, he got a glimpse of something that would stick with him for life. His aunt, trying not to scare him, warned him that his mother, the iconic Margaret Hamilton, was in a "costume" before letting him into her dressing room on the set of The Wizard of Oz. "She was completely swathed... like an Egyptian mummy," Hamilton recalls in Closer. "I saw one eye that was uncovered, and that’s the thing I remember most." Earlier that day, during her dramatic exit from Munchkinland, Margaret suffered second- and third-degree burns on her face and hands. "It’s amazing it didn’t leave a single scar," her son marvels.
A Classic That Stands the Test of Time
Injuries on film sets were surprisingly common back in the day, but The Wizard of Oz still managed to carve out a special place in film history that few movies can touch. Incredibly, this beloved film is more popular now than it was when it first premiered 83 years ago. Ray Bolger, the man behind the Scarecrow, once joked, "We don’t get residuals, just immortality." And he wasn’t wrong. The movie’s timeless charm continues to captivate audiences across generations.
Shirley Temple and the Role of Dorothy
Before Judy Garland donned the ruby slippers, Shirley Temple was the front-runner to play Dorothy Gale in MGM’s adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s 1900 novel. "If you read the book, Shirley was closer to the age of Dorothy," explains Aljean Harmetz, author of The Making of the Wizard of Oz. But there was a catch—20th Century Fox wouldn’t lend her out. Plus, there was the financial consideration. At the time, Shirley was a bigger star than Judy Garland and would have commanded a much higher salary than the $9,649.98 Judy earned. "The only stars that made less than she did were Toto and the Munchkins," notes John Fricke, author of Judy: A Legendary Film Career.
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Vaudeville Stars and Casting Challenges
Ray Bolger and Buddy Ebsen, who later became famous as Jed Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies, were among the first cast as Dorothy’s friends. "There was some ambiguity about who would play which role, but eventually Ray was cast as the Scarecrow and Buddy as the Tin Man," says William Stillman, coauthor of The Wizard of Oz: The Official 75th Anniversary Companion. But two weeks into filming, Buddy became gravely ill from the silver aluminum powder makeup. "He couldn’t breathe, and his fingers and toes started to cramp up," his daughter Kiki recounts in Closer. Buddy spent six weeks in the hospital in an oxygen tent, and Jack Haley stepped in to assume the role. The makeup formula for the Tin Man was also altered to prevent further issues.
Production Mishaps and Myths
There were plenty of mishaps during the filming of The Wizard of Oz, and rumors swirled that the production was cursed. Betty Danko, Margaret Hamilton’s stunt double, spent six months in the hospital after a motor propelling her across the sky during the "Surrender Dorothy" scene caught fire. As for the legend of a suicidal Munchkin visible in a tree in Munchkinland, Harmetz sets the record straight: "What you can see is an optical illusion caused by the lighting." Despite the challenges, many actors cherished their time on set. Betty Ann Bruno, who played a Munchkin, recalls being awestruck by the colorful flowers, the yellow brick road, and the village. "I was just so stunned by it," she tells Closer. Fellow child actor Joan Kenmore also remembers the fun of dancing and singing, though she notes that some of the adult Little People actors were less thrilled with the dozen children hired as background Munchkins. "They were kind of crabby," she says. "They didn’t like it when my little friend and I were laughing."
Pranks and Mischievous Moments
While rumors of Munchkin drunkenness on set are false, some of the Little People did enjoy frequenting the hotel bar. "People at the hotel bar were really eager to buy them drinks," Harmetz explains. Meanwhile, Dorothy’s sidekicks weren’t shy about getting into mischief. Ray Bolger and Jack Haley convinced a hairdresser to shock Bert Lahr, the Cowardly Lion, while curling his furry wig. Bert retaliated by plastering the Tin Man’s metal chassis with tomato can labels while Jack was napping.
A Legacy That Lives On
Judy Garland may have won a special juvenile Oscar for The Wizard of Oz, but the film was initially deemed a flop, barely recouping its $2.8 million budget in 1939. That all changed in 1956 when its first TV broadcast attracted 45 million viewers, paving the way for the annual rebroadcasts that became beloved special events until the video age. Today, the film remains a cherished part of pop culture. "I think a lot of that has to do with its message, 'There’s no place like home,'" says Harmetz. "It became something that parents watched with their kids. And then their kids grew up and watched it with their kids."
