One of the last surviving children of the beloved film The Wizard of Oz, Elaine Merk Binder, passed away at the age of 94, according to reports.
Elaine Merk Binder, who was amongst the final surviving munchkins from the beloved film The Wizard of Oz, has passed away aged 94.
The heartbreaking news was confirmed by her daughter Annette Phillips to TMZ, though no cause of death was revealed.
In 1938, Binder was chosen as one of eight children in the Munchkin cast who would perform dance and vocal numbers. He was successful in his auditions for the film.
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The classic film featured Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale and Frank Morgan as the Wizard of Oz.
Reflecting on her audition experience, Binder had previously recalled: “I tried out for the ‘Wizard of Oz’ Munchkins. For me it was scary. It was my first big call for girls from a major studio”, reports the Mirror US.
When Bud told the dancer, “She’s O. K.,” I didn’t have to perform like the others, I was relieved. And I was chosen out of the eight who would both dance and sing. We later discovered that because they believed the Little People to be athletic, they had added girls to them.
When she shot her scenes on the MGM studios in Culver City, California, she was only eight years old.
Binder was positioned in the second small house as the song “Come Out, Come Out” was playing in the sequence.
Binder appears as one of eight performers in a pavilion at the back while the ensemble switches to “Off to See the Wizard,” wearing a matching dark green frock and hat.
George, Annette, and six grandchildren are left behind by Binder.
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Source: Mirror
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