Last surviving Munchkin from The Wizard of Oz dies at 98

Jerry Maren, the last surviving munchkin from the classic 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz” and the one who famously welcomed Dorothy to Munchkin Land, has died at age 98.

Maren died May 24 at a San Diego nursing home, his niece, Stacy Michelle Barrington, told The Associated Press.

Gerard Marenghi (January 24, 1920 – May 24, 2018), known as Jerry Maren, was an American actor who was the last surviving Munchkin of the 1939 MGM film The Wizard of Oz, in which he portrayed a member of the Lollipop Guild. He became the last known survivor of the Munchkin cast, following the death of fellow Munchkin Ruth Duccini on January 16, 2014, and was the last surviving member of the cast of the film as a whole with a speaking or singing role.