Many of the cast members from the Wizard of Oz’s first film, which was released in 1939, were permanently harmed, both physically and mentally, and led to the drug-dependent lead actress Judy Garland’s death at the age of 47.
Elaine Merk Binder, who was amongst the final surviving munchkins from the beloved film The Wizard of Oz, has died aged 94.
The heartbreaking news was confirmed by her daughter Annette Phillips to TMZ, though no cause of death was revealed. Binder successfully auditioned for the movie in 1938 and was chosen as one of eight children who would perform dance and vocal numbers as part of the Munchkin cast.
The 1939 fantasy classic left numerous cast members with lasting damage – both physical and psychological – and sent its leading lady, Judy Garland, spiralling into substance abuse that would eventually claim her life at just 47.
One of the first films to enter the Technicolor, The Wizard of Oz, based on L. Frank Baum’s 1900 children’s book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, was successful commercially and financially unsuccessful.
The movie’s 1949 re-release only led to a profit for Hollywood’s colossus MetroGoldwyn-Mayer.
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Despite numerous mishaps, horrifying injuries, and four different directors’ attempts to refute the notion of a Wizard of Oz curse, it is still remarkable that the entire cast survived the filming process.
“Health and safety regulations weren’t the same as they are now, and studios were allowed to get away with treating their stars appallingly”, explains Dr Ellen Wright, senior lecturer in cinema and TV history at De Montford University.
“Our stars were treated like workhorses because that’s how they operated.” They were given terrible demands and seven years of contracts that they couldn’t get out of. If they refused they were penalised”.
Judy started playing on stage alongside her sisters as a vaudeville girl when she was just 16 when the movie was being shot.
She was completely in charge of her life after being locked into her MGM deal.
She was placed on a rigid regime of chicken soup, black coffee and cigarettes, whilst being given tablets to suppress her hunger.
The teenager’s weight and appearance would be constantly monitored by Studio Chief Louis B. Mayer.
“He would apparently refer to her lovingly as ‘ my little hunchback’, says Ellen”. She ended up with chronic body dysmorphia because he had been a constant enemy of her. Judy was already 4 feet 11 inches tall, but her handlers monitored every bite of her food.
” Her chest was strapped down and her frame compressed into restrictive corsets to create the illusion of the innocent young Dorothy. “
The studio hosted a birthday party for her, but it was a few weeks too early to fit in her schedule. She couldn’t even choose the day to celebrate her birthday! “says Ellen”. She was denied access to a slice of her own cake because it would make her fat, despite the fact that they had photographed the gathering for the fan magazines.
Her mother, who had a nine-year history of drug abuse, had given her daughter, Judy, a substance abuser, from when she was a young girl.
She would begin each day with her ‘ pep pills ‘ – speed – to elevate her energy levels, but would become so stimulated by evening that she required barbiturates to achieve sleep”.
Judy later told her biographer Paul Donnelley, “They had us working days and nights on end.” They would prescribe pills to keep us awake for a long time after we were exhausted.
” Then they’d take us to the studio hospital and knock us out with sleeping pills… Then after four hours they’d wake us up and give us the pep pills again so we could work 72 hours in a row. We were hanging from the ceiling for the majority of our lives, but that was our way of life.
Judy had completely dependent upon herself when production came to a close, and she suffered from substance abuse for the rest of her years.
” She suffered from this chronic sense of not being enough, “says Ellen”. Although Mayer bullied her to the core, she was undoubtedly a talented young woman.
The leading woman of the movie also had to deal with challenges during the production process. The initial Tin Man actor, Buddy Ebson, was rushed to hospital and nearly perished from toxic aluminium poisoning merely 10 days into shooting.
His makeup was pure powdered aluminum, which the studio was unaware had this potential fatality, Ellen explains.
Buddy had already laid down all the vocals for the Tin Man, so the studio decided to reshoot his scenes with a stand-in, Jack Haley.
In order to achieve the Tin Man’s signature silver appearance, the makeup team discreetly used an aluminum paste rather than powder. However, Haley developed an eye infection from the metallic irritant.
After wearing his 100-pound fur costume for hours on end under the sweltering Kleig lights, Bert Lahr, who portrayed the Lion, succumbed to heat exhaustion. He was forced to consume his lunch through a straw and had to lie down on planks to eat.
The prosthetic mask he wore permanently damaged Ray Bolger’s facial features when he played the Scarecrow.
And Terry, the adorable Toto character, did not manage to escape unharmed: one of the cast accidentally stepped on her paw, which caused a two-week recovery period at Judy’s home.
One of the most severe injuries on set was sustained by Margaret Hamilton, a teacher and part-time actor hired to play the green-faced Wicked Witch of the West.
Her copper-based makeup caught fire as a result of a pyrotechnic error, leaving her with third-degree burns on her arms and face, which is agonizing.
” She point blank refused to do any more stunts after that, so the studio had to hire a body-double to film the stunts instead, “says Ellen.
Tragically, Betty Danko’s replacement, who was being filmed the Witch’s dramatic arrival in Munchkinland, was burned to death by the sluggish broomstick she was perched on. She spent 11 days in the hospital, where her legs were left permanently scarred.
” They were just another cog in the machine, “says Ellen”. The big stars had the wealthy cars, the wealthy homes, and were fairly well-paid.
“But the argument was, “We pay you well so we can treat you like s***,” and most of the time the homes weren’t theirs, the cars were on tick, and the clothes they wore were loaned out by the wardrobe department. They were in a gilded cage.
They simply had to do some of the things that were required of them because it was unbearably dangerous.
In a scene in which Dorothy and the Scarecrow are sucked into a meadow of poppies, which turns into a snowy tempest, Judy and Ray were even forced to stomp around in asbestos.
“That’s what they used as snow, they had no idea it was carcinogenic so she was just inhaling all of that asbestos,” says Ellen.
Because you faced off against a formidable machine that had you in its grasp, there were very few stars who could command any say-so. You did what they told you – whether that was rolling around in asbestos, being bullied or being fed loads of drugs. “
Unfortunately, Judy passed away at the age of 47 from a barbiturates overdose, leaving behind her three children, Lorna and Joey Luft.
Her estate was only worth $40, 000, or £200, 000 in today’s money, despite earning millions throughout her glittering career.
Ellen reveals that Judy never saw that in herself, but she did so much to bring joy to so many people. She never truly loved herself despite all that money and success.
For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.
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