Josefine Balluck

Josefine Balluck
Born Josefine Balluck
(1908-09-09)9 September 1908
Vienna, Austria
Died 1984
Resting place Zentralfriedhof

Josefine Balluck (9 September 1908 – 1984) was an Austrian actress with dwarfism, best known for her role as one of the Munchkins in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.

Her dwarf brother Franz Balluck also appeared as a Munchkin in that same film. Coincidentally, their Oz co-star Jakob "Jackie" Gerlich was also originally from Vienna.

While Balluck's role in Oz was uncredited, subsequent books list her as a Munchkin actor.[1][2] Leopold von Singer signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to provide 124 proportionately-sized little people to play Munchkins in Oz.[3] Gerlich was recruited because of her dwarfism and was paid $125 a week for her work.[4]

Balluck died in 1984.[5]

In 2007, all 124 Munchkin actors in Oz were honored with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. For Balluck this was a posthumous honor. Seven surviving Munchkin actors attended the ceremony, including Mickey Carroll, Ruth Duccini, Jerry Maren, Margaret Pellegrini, Meinhardt Raabe, Karl Slover and Clarence Swensen.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Scarfone, Jay (2004). The Wizardry of Oz: The Artistry and Magic of the 1939 M-G-M Classic. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 240. ISBN 1557836248.
  2. ↑ Rushdie, Salman (1992). The Wizard of Oz. Macmillan. p. 67. ISBN 0851703003.
  3. ↑ Harmetz, Aljean. The Making of the Wizard of Oz. Hyperion, 1998.
  4. ↑ "Mickey Carroll, A Munchkin From The 1939 Classic Film ‘The Wizard Of Oz,’ Dies At 89". Access Hollywood. Retrieved 08/07/2013.
  5. ↑ "Josefine Ballcuk". Find A Grave. Retrieved 08/09/2013. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  6. ↑ "Munchkins of 'Oz' get a star on Walk of Fame". USA Today. 11/21/2007. Retrieved 08/08/2013.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 4/21/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.