When it comes to Victor Fleming's The Wizard of Oz, the first place that probably comes to mind is rural Kansas or even the wonderful land of Oz itself. It's very unlikely that Boston Massachusetts enters your mind while watching or thinking about the movie. Despite being filmed across the county in Culver City, California, and premiering in Green Bay, Wisconsin, The Wizard of Oz has a surprising number of behind-the-scenes connections to Boston, Massachusetts.
As it turns out, Director, Victor Fleming found most of the film's talent from the Boston metropolitan area. If you're like me, you always assumed that the majority of the cast came from California, where the movie was made, but you'd be wrong. As it turns out, full half of the iconic foursome were born and raised in the Boston area. Before there was Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, and the Kennedy's, there were the Ozians.
While Judy Garland was from Minnesota and Bert Lahr was from New York City, The Scarecrow and Tin Man are both born and bred Bostonians. The Scarecrow, Ray Bolger was raised in Southie and grew up attending school in Dorchester. The Tin Man, Jack Haley was born in Boston and was often credited in his vaudeville career as "Mr. Jacob Haley of Newton Highlands, Massachusetts." In fact, some of the singing audio for Haley was replaced with actor, Buddy Ebsen, due to Haley's difficulty pronouncing the letter "r" in "Wizard" because of his Boston accent. In addition to them, Dorothy's beloved Aunt Em, played by Clara Blandick was raised in Quincy.
But the connections to the cast don't stop at the principal roles, a fair number of the Munchkins were also played by Bostonians. Including, Olga C. Nardone, Billy Rhodes, Billy Curtis, and the most famous Munchkin of all, Lollypop Guild member, Jerry Maren. Maren was a native of Lynn, Massachusetts, and was the film's last surviving cast member until his death in 2018, at the age of 98.
The Wizard of Oz was not only filled to the brim with Boston natives, but also cast members who have other connections to the historic city.
Perhaps most amazing of all is that the Wicked Witch of the West herself, Margaret Hamilton attended Wheelock College, which was later merged into Boston University. After college, Hamilton stayed in the area and worked as a kindergarten teacher in Cambridge at the Rindge Technical School. The wonderful Wizard himself, Frank Morgan was born in New York, however he began his acting career after moving to Boston. In the early 1900's, Morgan became part of Boston's Castle Square Theater Company. The Castle Theater was located on the historic Tremont Street until the building's demolition in 1933.
The Wizard of Oz's many connections to Boston is as random as it is fascinating. I grew up watching the film with my grandmother, Victoria, a Hingham native, who often claimed to have known Charlie Becker, the original Mayor of Munchkinland. I never believed her growing up, but after examining just how many connections the film has to Boston, I now think she was telling the truth. The Wizard of Oz has been a movie that's been close to my heart since I was a child, and it probably always will be, and learning about just how much of the cast came from my hometown makes it even more special.
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