The Wizard of Oz may be one of the most beloved family films of all time, but new allegations suggest that the set of the 1939 musical was not a safe place for star Judy Garland. The allegations suggest the actors that played Munchkins in the film sexually harassed Garland, who was 16 at the time.
The allegations come from Garland's late ex-husband Sid Luft, whose posthumous memoirs have recently surfaced in a book called Judy and I: My Life with Judy Garland.
"They would make Judy's life miserable on set by putting their hands under her dress," Luft wrote. "The men were 40 or more years old. They thought they could get away with anything because they were so small."
This isn't the first time that the actors who played the Munchkins have been accused of behaving badly. As the Guardian reports, Garland herself criticized the actors in 1967. "They were little drunks. They got smashed every night and the police used to scoop them up in butterfly nets."
There were approximately 225 Munchkins in the film's cast.
Judy and I: My Life with Judy Garland will be released on March 1. The book can be pre-ordered here.
The allegations come from Garland's late ex-husband Sid Luft, whose posthumous memoirs have recently surfaced in a book called Judy and I: My Life with Judy Garland.
"They would make Judy's life miserable on set by putting their hands under her dress," Luft wrote. "The men were 40 or more years old. They thought they could get away with anything because they were so small."
This isn't the first time that the actors who played the Munchkins have been accused of behaving badly. As the Guardian reports, Garland herself criticized the actors in 1967. "They were little drunks. They got smashed every night and the police used to scoop them up in butterfly nets."
There were approximately 225 Munchkins in the film's cast.
Judy and I: My Life with Judy Garland will be released on March 1. The book can be pre-ordered here.
