MEINHARDT RAABE, 94
Played the Munchkin Coroner in "Wizard of Oz"
Died April 9th. One of 124 Munchkins and one of only 9 with speaking parts. At age 22, he solemnly pronounced the witch was dead after Dorothy's house landed on her. "As coroner, I must aver. I thoroughly examined her. And she's not merely dead, she's most sincerely dead."
He wore a huge hat with rolled brim with dyed yak hair for his mustache and beard and didn't get paid much for his part.
In 1988, he said he had no idea the movie would be that big as "Gone With the Wind" was released at the same time. In 1956, CBS got it and its popularity took off.
He was 3 and a half feet tall when the movie was made and grew to 4 and a half feet.
For thirty years, he toured in the Oscar Mayer Venerable as "Little Oscar, the World's Smallest Chef." he greatly enjoyed going to Oz nostalgia events.
In 2005, he wrote the book "Memories of a Munchkin: An Illustrated Walk Down the Yellow Brick Road." In 2007, he and the six other surviving Munchkins received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Loved Those Munchkins. They Didn't Scare Me Like the Monkeys Did.
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