Jakob "Jackie" Gerlich

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jakob "Jackie" Gerlich
Born (1917-09-21)September 21, 1917
Vienna, Austria
Died December 27, 1960(1960-12-27) (aged 43)
Sarasota, Florida, United States
Awards Posthumous Hollywood Walk of Fame Star awarded to 'The Munchkins'

Jakob "Jackie" Gerlich was a dwarf Austrian emigree most notable for his appearance in the 1939 American film The Wizard of Oz.

Gerlich was born September 21, 1917 in Vienna, Austria.[1] He emigrated to America when he arrived in New York City on the S.S. President Roosevelt ocean liner on March 13, 1936.[2]

His first acting experience was in The Wizard of Oz, where he played a member of the Lollipop Guild.[3] Jerry Maren and Harry Doll were the other two members of the Lollipop Guild in the film.[4] Leopold von Singer signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to provide 124 proportionately-sized little people to play Munchkins in Oz.[5] Gerlich was recruited because of his dwarfism and was paid $125 a week for his work.[6] Though Gerlich is uncredited in the film, his name appears in Oz trivia articles and books.[4][7]

Gerlich's other acting experience was also an uncredited role when he played Bobby in East Side of Heaven.[3]

Gerlich was interviewed by Mike Wallace on May 1, 1959.[8]

On December 27, 1960, Gerlich died at the age of 43 in Sarasota, Florida.[2]

In 2007, all 124 Munchkin actors in Oz were honored with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[9] For Gerlich this was a posthumous honor. Seven surviving Munchkin actors attended the ceremony, including Mickey Carroll, Ruth Duccini, Jerry Maren, Margaret Pellegrini, Meinhardt Raabe, Karl Slover and Clarence Swensen.[10]

References

  1. ↑ "Jackie Gerlich". IMDB. Retrieved 08/07/2013. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Jackie Jack Gerlich". Find A Grave. Retrieved 08/07/2013. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "The Wizard of Oz". TV Guide. Retrieved 08/07/2013. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Scarfone, Jay (2004). The Wizardry of Oz: The Artistry and Magic of the 1939 M-G-M Classic. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 240. ISBN 1557836248. 
  5. ↑ Harmetz, Aljean. The Making of the Wizard of Oz. Hyperion, 1998.
  6. ↑ "Mickey Carroll, A Munchkin From The 1939 Classic Film ‘The Wizard Of Oz,’ Dies At 89". Access Hollywood. Retrieved 08/07/2013.
  7. ↑ Cox, Stephen (2002). The Munchkins of Oz. Cumberland House Publishing. pp. 11, 37, 39, 41, 77. ISBN 1581822693. 
  8. ↑ Wallace, Mike. "Mike Wallace Papers". Syracuse University Library. Retrieved 08/07/2013. 
  9. ↑ "Munchkins of 'Oz' get a star on Walk of Fame". USA Today. 2007-11-21. Retrieved 2013-08-08. 
  10. ↑ Serjeant, Jill (2007-11-21). ""Oz" Munchkins get Hollywood star". Reuters. Retrieved 2013-08-08. 


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.