Elaine Merk Binder, one of the original Munchkins from the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, has died at 94 according to her daughter Annette Phillips. The reason for her death remains unknown. Binder was one of the last surviving cast members from the original iconic movie. In 1938, Binder auditioned for the film and was one of eight children that made up the Munchkin ensemble. “For me it was scary,” Binder recalled of her audition. “It was my first big call for girls from a major studio... We learned later that they had added girls to the Little People because they had the mistaken impression that the Little People were not athletic.” Before her Wizard of Oz stint, Binder appeared in the Our Gang comedy short films. Binder was also interviewed for the 2024 documentary Mysteries of Oz, where she recounted moments from filming the iconic film. While Paramount offered Binder a contract as a teenager, she declined and attended Occidental College, graduating in 1951 before completing her master’s at Cal State Los Angeles. She later worked for USC and First Interstate Bank as a computer consultant. Her IMDb page states her last acting credit as Barnyard Follies in 1940.
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