Jerry Maren, last surviving Wizard of Oz munchkin, dies at 98

Actor Jerry Maren, the last surviving munchkin from the 1939 classic Wizard of Oz, died last month in San Diego. He was 98.

Maren was one of the 124 munchkins who made up the Lollipop Guild in the Wizard of Oz, and was known for handing Judy Garland's Dorothy a lollipop during one scene. He told The Independent in 2009 that working on the movie was "the greatest fun I ever had in my life," and Garland was "an angel." In 2007, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in honor of all of the munchkins.

Maren appeared in several other movies and television shows, including Planet of the Apes and Seinfeld. TMZ reports that in his later years, he suffered from dementia. His wife, actress Elizabeth Barrington, died in 2011.

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