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Title: Judy Garland 'was molested by Munchkins' on the set of Wizard of Oz, according to late husband's memoir
Source:
UK Telegraph
URL Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/ ... wizard-oz-late-husband-claims/
Published: Feb 8, 2017
Author: Adam White
Post Date: 2017-02-08 08:23:36 by cranky
Keywords: None
Views: 9118
Comments: 37
"They thought they could get away with anything because they were so small": Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz Judy Garland's infamous childhood turmoil is the stuff of perverse legend, her anguish at the hands of Hollywood studio executives often blamed for a life of addiction, which ultimately killed her at the age of 47. But now a sensational new autobiography has claimed that Garland's experiences on the set of The Wizard of Oz were even worse than previously described. According to Garland's late husband Sid Luft, whose memoir is finally being published nearly 15 years after his death, the former child star was routinely groped and molested by actors portraying Munchkins in the film. Margaret Hamilton and Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz Credit: MGM/Warner Bros "They would make Judy's life miserable on set by putting their hands under her dress," he writes in Judy and I: My Life with Judy Garland. "The men were 40 or more years old." "They thought they could get away with anything because they were so small," he added. Rumours have long swirled about the hundreds of actors hired to play Munchkins in the film, with sources claiming over the years that they were repeatedly drunk, had mass orgies in their hotel, and even that one actor hung himself on set while the cameras were rolling, and can be seen swinging from a tree in the background of a shot. Though the latter has largely been debunked. "They had sex orgies in the hotel, and we had to have police on just about every floor," claimed producer Mervyn LeRoy in 1939. The Munchkin actors reportedly earned less than Toto the dog, forcing many to turn to prostitution It has been claimed that many of the little people on set, who were scouted from all over the USA and Germany, had never previously met other little people, resulting in a set best described as 'dwarf Caligula'. All housed in the same hotel, the Munchkin cast were reportedly drunk and disorderly throughout the making of the film, while some were forced to panhandle and prostitute themselves to make ends meet. Earning just $50 a week for their work, the actors playing Munchkins earned $100 less than the dog that played Toto. "They were very tiny, they were drunks," Garland said in 1967. "They put them all in a hotel in Culver City, and they got smashed every night, and they had to pick them up in butterfly nets." "One of them, who was a gentleman of about 40, asked me out to dinner," she continued. "I couldn't say I didn't want to go out because you're a midget, so I just said 'No, my mother wouldn't like it', but he said to bring her too." Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Judy Garland and Bert Lahr in The Wizard of Oz Garland's molestation only adds to the tragedy of her Hollywood upbringing, which included enforced corseting to slim her figure, the strapping down of her breasts to reinforce her studio-mandated 'girl next door' image, and a regular intake of pills and adrenaline shots to keep her strength up through filming. It has been said that the actress, then just 16, was already addicted to barbiturates and amphetamines while shooting the classic children's film, while MGM boss Louis B. Mayer reportedly sent spies to the set to ensure she was sticking to her daily diet, which consisted of chicken soup, black coffee and 80 cigarettes. 
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#7. To: cranky (#0)
They made her smoke 80 cigarettes a day?
And at 16 years old. Amazing. And I'd agree that $50 per week in 1939 was probably pretty good pay. That would get more than an ounce of gold per week which would xlate to about 1500 per week today. A rough comparison but even half that for a filler movie role wouldn't be bad.
#10. To: Pinguinite (#9)
$50 bucks a week and the small people probably got room and board too. No wonder they were partying it up every night. Each one with $50 burning a hole in their pocket.
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest, while MGM boss Louis B. Mayer reportedly sent spies to the set to ensure she was sticking to her daily diet, which consisted of chicken soup, black coffee and 80 cigarettes.
#9. To: redleghunter, Justified (#7)
(Edited)
They made her smoke 80 cigarettes a day?
Replies to Comment # 9. And I'd agree that $50 per week in 1939 was probably pretty good pay. That would get more than an ounce of gold per week which would xlate to about 1500 per week today. A rough comparison but even half that for a filler movie role wouldn't be bad.
End Trace Mode for Comment # 9.
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