Jerry Maren - wikipedia Jerry Maren Jerry Maren Maren attending the premiere of `` Dahmer Vs. Gacy '', Hollywood, CA on January 15, 2010. Gerard Marenghi ( 1920 - 01 - 24 ) January 24, 1920 ( age 97 ) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. Occupation Actor Years active 1938 -- 2013 Known for Last surviving Munchkin of The Wizard of Oz Spouse ( s ) Elizabeth Barrington ( m. 1975 ; d. 2011 ) Gerard Marenghi ( born January 24, 1920 ), known as Jerry Maren, is an American actor and the last surviving Munchkin of the classic 1939 MGM film The Wizard of Oz, in which he portrayed a member of the Lollipop Guild. He became the last known survivor of the Munchkin cast ( there may be some child actors who played Munchkins who also are still alive ), following the death of fellow Munchkin Ruth Duccini on January 16, 2014. Contents 1 Life and career 1.1 Personal appearances 2 Personal life 3 References 4 Further reading 5 External links Life and career This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately. Find sources : `` Jerry Maren '' -- news newspapers books scholar JSTOR ( October 2016 ) Gerard Marenghi, eventually known as Jerry Maren, was born on January 24, 1920 in Boston, Massachusetts. His father, Emil Marenghi, worked at a shoe factory. He had five sister and four brothers, all of them of average height. In The Wizard of Oz, he played the green - garbed member of the Lollipop Guild ( between Jakob `` Jackie '' Gerlich and Harry Earles ), handing a lollipop to Dorothy Gale ( Judy Garland ). Maren was eighteen years of age when he shot his scenes for The Wizard of Oz in the latter part of 1938 and early 1939. At that time he stood just three feet six inches ( 107 cm ). He was especially chosen to be the central figure in the male Munchkin trio, and this afforded him the distinct privilege of handing the complimentary sweet to Dorothy. It was because of his unique abilities to sing and dance well that he was selected for the role heretofore mentioned. The reason behind his talents for performing stemmed from a persona he had built up years earlier as a thirteen - year - old during school vacations. He began attending lessons for singing and dancing in his early teens and enjoyed them so much that he opted to band together with his teacher in order to create an act known as `` Three Steps and a hop. '' This idea proved to be a small success on stage that toured the New England circuit for a considerable length of time thereafter. In the same year as The Wizard of Oz, Maren also appeared in an Our Gang feature, Tiny Troubles, playing criminal ' Light - Fingered Lester '. The three members of `` The Lollipop Guild '' performing in The Wizard of Oz. From left to right : Jakob Gerlich, Jerry Maren, and Harry Doll Earles After The Wizard of Oz Maren continued acting and appeared in many movies and television shows. Some of these appearances were in the Our Gang comedy shorts, in the Marx Brothers ' At The Circus ( 1939 ), and as an ape in Battle for the Planet of the Apes ( 1973 ). He is also featured, along with fellow Munchkin Billy Curtis, in American International Pictures ' release Little Cigars ( 1973 ), about a gang of `` midgets '' on a crime spree. In the 1950s Maren worked as a Little Oscar for the Oscar Mayer Company and as Buster Brown in television and radio commercials. Later he joined his friend Billy Barty in organizing Little People of America. Maren has also portrayed Mayor McCheese and The Hamburglar in commercials for McDonald 's. In the late 1970s he was the dapper little man on The Gong Show, heralding each show 's big finish with an onslaught of confetti as Milton DeLugg 's band played `` Hoop Dee Doo ''. He made a notable appearance in the episode `` Felix the Horseplayer '' of The Odd Couple as Harry Tallman, a racehorse exerciser who gives Oscar tips on winning horses. In 1982 he played Morris the bellboy, a regular character in the ABC sitcom No Soap, Radio. He continues to occasionally act in movies and television shows as well as traveling around America appearing at Wizard of Oz festivals and autograph signings. Maren had a walk - on role in an episode of Seinfeld `` The Yada Yada '' and played a mime in the 2010 - released comedy horror movie Dahmer Vs. Gacy. Maren also starred in the Eric Swelstad - directed horror movie Frankenstein Rising ( 2009 ). In February 2009, Maren performed in Project Lodestar Sagas ( still in completion ), playing the role of Thaddeus. He was joined in that production by his former MGM fellow thespian Margaret O'Brien, who played the lead role of Livia Wells. Personal appearances From left : Jerry Maren ( Lollipop Guild ), Karl Slover, Clarence Swensen and Margaret Pellegrini ( 1998 ) Maren has made many personal appearances along with other, now deceased, members of the Munchkins. He has appeared at county and state fairs and at film festivals and memorabilia shows. On November 21, 2007, Maren appeared with six other Munchkin actors at the unveiling of a Hollywood Star for the Wizard of Oz Munchkins on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The other actors were Mickey Carroll, Ruth Duccini, Margaret Pellegrini, Meinhardt Raabe, Karl Slover, and Clarence Swensen. On June 3, 2010, Maren appeared at Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, New York. He was there to promote a new Wizard of Oz slot machine. After September 2011 he stopped traveling or appearing at any of the Oz Festivals held throughout the country. On September 18, 2013, Maren had a handprint and footprint ceremony at Grauman 's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. Personal life Maren was married to Elizabeth Barrington from 1975 until her death at age 69 on January 27, 2011. He lives in southern California. On February 29, 2016, it was reported that Maren had died of pancreatic cancer, but these reports were found to be false. He posted a video on Instagram to say that he was alive and well, and according to Steve Cox does not have cancer. References Jump up ^ Final female ' Oz ' Munchkin Ruth Duccini dead at 95 Jump up ^ `` The Wizard of Oz FAQS - surviving cast members ' ''. Jump up ^ `` Trouble in ' Oz ' : the Munchkins ' dirty secret ''. Jump up ^ simple : Shep Houghton Jump up ^ `` Motherly Women Big Pain To Jerry, A Midget Actor ''. The Pittsburgh Press. June 21, 1939. p. 15. Retrieved October 7, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Pays to Be a Midget ''. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. December 10, 1939. p. 34. Retrieved October 7, 2017. Jump up ^ Gore Filled Trailer : Frankenstein Rising Jump up ^ Munchkin Star on the Walk of Fame Jump up ^ `` Munchkin Lollipop Guild Member visits Turning Stone during Oz - Stravaganza ''. Wktv.com. June 4, 2010. Retrieved September 18, 2012. Jump up ^ Potempa, Philip ( 2011 - 01 - 31 ). `` ' Wizard of Oz ' Munchkin 's wife, Elizabeth Maren, dead at 69 ''. nwi.com. Retrieved 2011 - 02 - 02. Jump up ^ `` Ding Dong, The Last Munchkin Is Gone. Or Is He ? ''. www.inquisitr.com. March 1, 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Last ' Wizard of Oz ' Munchkin : Jerry Maren NOT Dead... Just Laying Low ''. tmz.com. March 1, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Munchkin Actor Jerry Maren Dead ? ' Oz ' Star Sets Record Straight At 96 ''. www.inquisitr.com. March 2, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2016. Further reading Stephen Cox, `` The Munchkins of Oz '' Cumberland House ISBN 1 - 58182 - 269 - 3 Short and Sweet : The Life and Times of the Lollipop Munchkin ( Paperback ) by Jerry Maren ( Author ) Pub. Date : June 2008 ISBN 978 - 1 - 58182 - 543 - 5 External links Jerry Maren on IMDb VIAF : 28997159 LCCN : n2008002054 ISNI : 0000 0001 1469 9324 GND : 136425976 MusicBrainz : 41c36436 - 3b95 - 4d26 - a1c1 - b26eb4aeb264 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jerry_Maren&oldid=804761503 '' Categories : 1920 births 20th - century American male actors 21st - century American male actors Actors with dwarfism American male film actors American male television actors American memoirists American people of Italian descent Male actors from Boston Male actors of Italian descent Writers from Boston Living people Last living survivors Hidden categories : Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected biographies of living people Articles with hCards BLP articles lacking sources from October 2016 All BLP articles lacking sources Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers Talk View source Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Eesti Français Русский Simple English Edit links This page was last edited on 11 October 2017, at 00 : 08. 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Question: is any of the cast of wizard of oz still alive
Answer: Gerard Marenghi