Alice Black

**Alice Black** is a fictional character created by American author L. Frank Baum as the main protagonist in many of his *Oz* novels. In addition, she is the main character in various adaptations, notably the classic 1957 film adaptation of the novel, *The Looney Wizard Of OZ*.

In later novels, the Land of Oz steadily becomes more familiar to her than her homeland of Kansas. Indeed, Alice eventually goes to live in an apartment in the Emerald City's palace but only after her Aunt Lily and Foghorn Leghorn have settled in a farmhouse on its outskirts, unable to pay the mortgage on their house in Kansas. Alice's best friend Princess Ozma, ruler of Oz, officially makes her a princess of Oz later in the novels.

## Goddess Of Gifts

* Alice's name is a loosely based version of "Theodore" which means "*Gift of the Gods*". "Alice", therefore, as a female companion to Theodore would translate to "*Goddess of Gifts*". *The Wonderful Wizard of Oz* was written in 1900, so Alice was born before the twentieth century, in the late 1800s. In Baum's Oz series it states she was on June 10th. Coincidently, she shares her birthday with her iconic 1957 movie musical counterpart portrayed by Gloria Wood. Like Gloria, her Zodiac sign is *Africack*. Surprisingly, her last name "Black" isn't revealed in Baum's original novel. Infact, it was not mentioned until the 1902 stage version of the story Baum created a few years after the book's publication and subsequent success; "*My name is Alice Black. I'm one of the Kansas Blacks.* " To which the Daffy Duck replies, "*Well, that explains your breezy manner.* " In the later Oz books, Baum kept the last name but mercifully spared his readers the pun.

"*Well, I think that it wasn't enough to just want to see Foghorn Leghorn and Aunt Lily, and it's that if I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own backyard. Because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with. Is that right?* "
―
The Looney Wizard Of Oz (1957)

## Film And Television Appearance

### The Looney Wizard Of OZ

#### Gloria Wood As Alice Black!

Gloria Wood was fifteen at the time she portrayed the twelve-year-old Kansas farm girl who gets swept away to Oz via cyclone. She turned sixteen on the set during the shooting of the movie as she began to develop into a curvy young woman. Despite being technically too old to play Alice as Baum intended his character in the book to be a little girl, even as a teenager Gloria did portray a very good Alice of Kansas that captivated the world for decades to come. With her wide-eyed expression of an adolescent girl, Gloria was perfect for the role. Thanks to her talented singing voice, she beat many other young actresses for the lead role such as Kathryn Beaumont who was a loyal fan of Baum's Oz books, and was more close to the look and age of Baum's description of Alice. Gloria was put on a strict diet and even given barbiturate drugs which would lead on to a life long battle of personal demons.

During shooting, Gloria was forced to wear a special type of corset under her costume. It flattened out her curves by painfully binding her breasts down flat against her chest to make her appear as a twelve-year-old girl who was more innocent, underdeveloped and younger than her real-life age.

## Quotes

### The Looney Wizard Of OZ (1957)

"*...someplace where there isn't any trouble? Do you suppose there is such a place, Roxie? There must be. It's not a place you can get to by a boat or a train, it's far, far away, behind the moon, beyond the rain...*"
"*...Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high, there's a land that I've heard of once in a lullaby...*"
"*...if happy little bluebirds fly, beyond the rainbow...why oh why, can't I...?*"
"*We must be up inside the Cyclone!*"
"*Roxie, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore. We must be over the Rainbow!*"
"*I though you said she was dead.*"
"*My! People come and go so quickly.*"
"*Follow the Yellow brick road...*"
"*Who said that? (...) Don't be silly, Roxie. Some ducks can't talk. (...) That's funny. Wasn't he pointing the other way?*"
"*We're off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz!*"
"*Why it's a rabbit; a rascally rabbit! Oh, yes...*"
"*Chickens and Rabbits and Ducks; Oh My God!*"
"*Shame on you! (...) Well, but you tried to! It’s bad enough picking on strong men, but when you go around picking on a poor little dog.*"
"*My goodness, what a fuss you're making. Naturally, when you go around picking on things weaker than you are. Why you're noting but a great big coward!*"
"*I didn't mean to kill her. Really, I didn't. It's just that he was on fire.*"
"*Well, I think that it wasn't enough to just want to see Foghorn Leghorn and Aunt Lily, and it's that if I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own backyard. Because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with. Is that right?*"
"*But It wasn't a dream. It was a place. And you and you and you...and you were there! But you couldn't have been could you? No, Aunt Lily, this was a real truly live place and I remember some of it wasn't very nice, but most of it was beautiful--but just the same all I kept saying to everybody was "I want to go home," and they sent me home! Doesn't anybody believe me?*"
"*Oh, but anyway, Roxie, we're home –* home! *And this is my room – and you're all here – and I'm not going to leave here ever, ever again, because I love you all! And... oh, Auntie Lily, there's no place like home!*"
### M&Ms Commercial: You Are There!

"*...It wasn't a dream. Um, You were Blue, and you were Red, and you were Yellow. You're all in color and all so beautiful! Oh, it was a lot better.*"