Karl Slover dies at 93

The only alive actor from the 1939’s classic “The Wizard of Oz”, Karl Slover, who played the role of Munchkin in the movie passed away yesterday to join rest of his cast in the heavens.

Dwarf Sized Karl who managed to make his place in the hearts of millions through his admiring personality died of cardiopulmonary arrest Tuesday afternoon in an outskirt Atlanta hospital, said Laurens County Deputy Coroner Nathan Stanley.

Slover would be remembered for playing the lead trumpeter, townsman and a soldier in the Munchkins’ band said John Fricke, author of "100 Years of Oz" and five other books on the movie and its star, Judy Garland.

Even after retiring, he kept on appearing at the festivals related to the movie and was amongst the handfuls of munchkins who were present at the hall of fame dedicated to small people in film Industry back in 2007.

"He has a genuine immortality," Fricke said. "Of the 124 little people, he’s one of the handfuls who got to enjoy this latter-day fame, to have people know who he was and be able to pick him out of the crowd in the movie."

Karl was a confident man and was initially to play the role of second trumpeter in the movie, however when stage fear forced the first trumpeter out of the movie, Karl was offered his role which he performed outstandingly well. His old friend Allen Pease,
the co-founder of the former Munchkinland Market Days outside Chesterton, Ind, reminiscing old times and acknowledging his courage said

"Karl didn’t know what stage fright meant,"

Karl was born in Czech Republic and was the only dwarf sized individual in the home. Recapturing his early life story and paying tribute to him, John Fricke added.

"In those uninformed days, his father tried witch doctor treatments to make him grow, knowing Karl and his triumph over his early life, you can’t help but celebrate the man at a time like this. He was buried in the backyard, immersed in heated oil until
his skin blistered and then attached to a stretching machine at a hospital, all in the attempt to make him become taller. Eventually he was sold by his father at age 9 to a traveling show in Europe”

He had the heart of a champion that kept him going on and never in life again, he looked back. Now he is gone, but will be remembered for many years.

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Posted by Farhan Khalid on Nov 16 2011. Filed under Latest News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry