Dantheman62
05-08-2009, 04:35 AM
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Mickey Carroll, one of the last surviving diminutive "Munchkins" in the 1939 movie "The Wizard of Oz," died of natural causes on Thursday in Missouri at age 89, a newspaper reported.
Carroll, who stopped growing at a young age, was an entertainer early in life and befriended actress Judy Garland, leading to a role alongside her in classic "The Wizard of Oz," the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
He was a violin-playing Munchkin "Town Crier" in the movie, dressed in purple with a yellow flower in his vest. There were dozens of Munchkins in all.
In 2007, Carroll and a few other surviving Munchkins attended a ceremony to dedicate a Munchkin star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Born to Italian immigrants in 1919, Carroll's given name was Michael Finocchiaro, the Post-Dispatch reported. He died at a caretaker's home in Crestwood, Missouri, and he lived in the state nearly his entire life, the newspaper said.
http://d.yimg.com/a/p/rids/20090508/i/r2469086256.jpg?x=213&y=300&xc=1&yc=1&wc=320&hc=450&q=85&sig=w4WReJ6P4QqSnccEtDzA1g-- (http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/The-Wizard-of-Oz/photo//090508/ids_photos_ts/r2469086256.jpg//s:/nm/us_munchkin;_ylt=AsSX_rb0BBodIMwzcfB_0MkXIr0F;_ylu =X3oDMTE5Z2tvZ2YzBHBvcwMxBHNlYwN5bl9yX3RvcF9waG90b wRzbGsDZmlsZXBob3Rvb2Zt)Reuters – Mickey Carroll
Carroll, who stopped growing at a young age, was an entertainer early in life and befriended actress Judy Garland, leading to a role alongside her in classic "The Wizard of Oz," the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
He was a violin-playing Munchkin "Town Crier" in the movie, dressed in purple with a yellow flower in his vest. There were dozens of Munchkins in all.
In 2007, Carroll and a few other surviving Munchkins attended a ceremony to dedicate a Munchkin star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Born to Italian immigrants in 1919, Carroll's given name was Michael Finocchiaro, the Post-Dispatch reported. He died at a caretaker's home in Crestwood, Missouri, and he lived in the state nearly his entire life, the newspaper said.
http://d.yimg.com/a/p/rids/20090508/i/r2469086256.jpg?x=213&y=300&xc=1&yc=1&wc=320&hc=450&q=85&sig=w4WReJ6P4QqSnccEtDzA1g-- (http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/The-Wizard-of-Oz/photo//090508/ids_photos_ts/r2469086256.jpg//s:/nm/us_munchkin;_ylt=AsSX_rb0BBodIMwzcfB_0MkXIr0F;_ylu =X3oDMTE5Z2tvZ2YzBHBvcwMxBHNlYwN5bl9yX3RvcF9waG90b wRzbGsDZmlsZXBob3Rvb2Zt)Reuters – Mickey Carroll