Recent Obituaries, Classic Films Only

[CBHagman]

123. Actor Jerry Maren, 98, last surviving member of the Munchkins troupe from "The Wizard of Oz"

You know him from The Wizard of Oz, but he was also something of an activist.

https://www.npr.org/2018/06/07/618012769/jerry-maren-last-surviving-wizard-of-oz-munchkin-dies-at-98

http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-jerry-maren-20180606-story.html

From the above:

The diminutive actor paved the way for many like him who followed him to Tinseltown and helped found Little People of America, an organization devoted to improving the status of little people.

“Hey, I’m a normal human being. All of us little people are,” Maren told The Times in 1993. “Some are wise guys. Some are a pain in the ass, just like the bigger folks. All the world is represented in little people.”

Maren moved beyond society's stereotypes of shortness to make a successful living as an actor and spokesman. He racked up nearly 100 film and TV credits and starred in several commercials. He also played McDonald's Hamburglar and Mayor McCheese, as well as Buster Brown and Little Oscar in Oscar Mayer's 1950s ad campaigns.