Cinematical

What perfect timing, after 68 years, for the Munchkins of Oz to get their very own star on Hollywood Boulevard. This is the time of year when most of us would watch The Wizard of Oz on television. Of course, this year it doesn't seem to be airing on Thanksgiving. Why this is, I don't know, but in honor of the diminutive actors who appear in the film as Munchkins, I think we should make an effort to watch it anyway (maybe you own it, or can rent it from somewhere?). The Munchkin's star was unveiled in a ceremony Tuesday, attended by seven of the nine surviving actors (there were 124 Munchkins total). They included lollipop guild member Jerry Maren, town crier Mickey Carroll, sleepyhead Margaret Pellegrini, main trumpeter Karl Slover, soldier Clarence Swensen and coroner Meinhardt Raabe, who certifies that the Wicked Witch of the East is dead. Apparently the Munchkins received their star thanks to Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Mickey Rooney and Chicago movie theater owner Ted Bulthaup, who began its campaign.

This certainly isn't the first time a group of people received a star, nor is it the first time characters have gotten one. Honestly, though, I could have sworn the Munchkins already had one. In fact, that's the same response Bulthaup had when he found out. It actually makes me wonder how many significant people and characters aren't among the thousands who have their own star. Guess what? Bert Lahr (aka The Cowardly Lion) doesn't have one. Nor does Toto, at least according to Wikipedia's list. Who else, non Oz-related, could be absent from the Walk of Fame?