Gerard Marenghi (January 24, 1920 â€" May 24, 2018), known as Jerry
Maren, was an American actor who played a Munchkin member of the
Lollipop Guild in the 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film, The Wizard of Oz.
He became the last surviving adult Munchkin following the death of
Ruth Duccini on January 16, 2014, and was also the last surviving cast
member with a specifically identifiable speaking or singing
role.Gerard Marenghi, eventually known as Jerry Maren, was born in
Boston, Massachusetts, the youngest of eleven or twelve children. His
father, Emil Marenghi, worked at a shoe factory. His four brothers
were six feet or taller by 1939.At the age of 12, Maren started taking
dancing lessons with his sister. He toured around New England with his
dance instructor with an act called Three Steps and a Hop and was
noticed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer scouts who were looking for three
little guys who could sing and dance. Maren received a telegram, just
after graduating from High school, asking him to come to California to
work on a movie. He was offered nearly $100 per week plus expenses.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 18 or 19 years old
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). (Hormone treatments allowed Maren to reach a height of four
feet six inches (137 cm) later in life.)
Maren, was an American actor who played a Munchkin member of the
Lollipop Guild in the 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film, The Wizard of Oz.
He became the last surviving adult Munchkin following the death of
Ruth Duccini on January 16, 2014, and was also the last surviving cast
member with a specifically identifiable speaking or singing
role.Gerard Marenghi, eventually known as Jerry Maren, was born in
Boston, Massachusetts, the youngest of eleven or twelve children. His
father, Emil Marenghi, worked at a shoe factory. His four brothers
were six feet or taller by 1939.At the age of 12, Maren started taking
dancing lessons with his sister. He toured around New England with his
dance instructor with an act called Three Steps and a Hop and was
noticed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer scouts who were looking for three
little guys who could sing and dance. Maren received a telegram, just
after graduating from High school, asking him to come to California to
work on a movie. He was offered nearly $100 per week plus expenses.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 18 or 19 years old
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). (Hormone treatments allowed Maren to reach a height of four
feet six inches (137 cm) later in life.)
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