Wizard of Oz munchkin?

Question

I've always heard that sometime in the movie "the Wizard of Oz", a munchin hangs himself? Is this true?
If it is, could someone provide the link for the scene & the time when it happens, if you can find it. Thanks!=]

Answer 1

It is not a hanging man at all. It is a large bird, probably a crane. The crew borrowed several large birds from the Los Angeles Zoo to make the forest set look more alive and natural. The crane stretches out its wings in the middle back of the set just as Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Lion start to skip down the YBR singing "We're Off to see the Wizard" after the "beehive" run-in with the Wicked Witch of the West.

For more info: http://thewizardofoz.info/faq12.html#22

There are lots of rumors and urban legends surrounding the movie. This one is the most wide-spread, probably followed next by the idea that the munchkins were "little drunks." That idea was spread after Judy Garland cracked the joke in an interview. A few of them might have had a little temper, but they weren't stumbling through the studio.

Answer 2

This is an urban legend that seems to be cropping up at Y!A an awful lot. I've answered this one at least three times.

No. No person hanged himself or herself on the set of "The Wizard of Oz". Oddly, the scene keeps changing where people claim to see this. IT DID NOT HAPPEN!

I might star this so people will check in to tell you this is one wild rumor. Why start this about a film that is nearly 70 years old?! That seems so weird and freaky.

There is no scene because IT DID NOT HAPPEN! In one scene where they claim it occurs, it's a large bird instead. In the other scenes, there is nothing to be seen except what is to be there.

You'll probably be given a link to one on YouTube; that's the bird scene.

Be reasonable: Don't you think some cameraman, let alone actors, director and everyone else on the set would have noticed something like that? Rest assured that no Munchkin died in the making of "The Wizard of Oz".

Answer 3

No, its not true, it is an urban legend.
The scene in question is after Dorothy and Scarecrow meet the Tin Man and set off once again down the yellow brick road.
Heres a clip of it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r89z_-1by6U

At the beginning of the "We're off to see the wizard" sequence, there is a disturbance in the trees off to the right. This was long rumored to be one of the crew (or, by some accounts, one of the dwarf actors aka "munchkins") committing suicide by hanging himself, but it is in fact a large fake bird stretching its wings.

Answer 4

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ajnEJtzhC-Y