My Wizard of Oz Connection

The Wizard of Oz munchkins got a star on the Walk of Fame today! When I saw this in the news, I immediately thought of my great-uncle's brother, who was one of the famed munchkins. I asked my mom for his name, and did a little internet research. I had always known of my WOZ connection, but hadn't taken the time to look into it further.

I was beyond excited after I typed his name in Google and was greeted with page after page of references to his name, Joseph Koziel! He is credited as being Townsman #1, and he was one of the two that sang "we thank you very sweetly" to Dorothy. His name is listed on the WOZ soundtrack credits as well - I can't wait to buy it!

I was ecstatic to find a picture of Joseph (above). He is pictured with two other munchkins during a WOZ screen test.

I would love to say that Hollywood is in my blood, but alas, he is a relative by marriage. I am still very proud to say that one of my relatives was in one of the greatest movies ever made. And I couldn't be happier that the munchkins are finally getting their day in the sun - they have now been cemented into Hollywood history forever.

Whenever I am on the Sony lot (which used to be the MGM lot and was where parts of WOZ was filmed), I think of my munchkin relative, and try to imagine the excitement he must have felt upon arriving in Hollywood from small town Illinois back in the late 30's. I always wonder how he got involved in this movie, and if there was a nationwide call for munchkins.

My mom met the WOZ star once, many moons ago, at a famly get together. I wish he were alive today so that I could get a first person account of the glory days of MGM. I can't help but feel that his spirit is somewhere on that lot, maybe just over the rainbow.

And I still feel like I can say that Hollywood is in my blood.

Check this out for more info about the muchkins:

http://www.kansasoz.com/infomunchkins.htm

The Silent Movie Theatre

Ok, so I am obsessed with all things old Hollywood, and the Silent Movie Theatre has become my place of worship! I seriously could never leave Los Angeles because I would miss this place too much.

The theater's schedule changes nightly, and they have a wide range of films (not just silents). My husband, Josh, and I saw the 1940s film Nightmare Alley there on Halloween weekend, and had a great time.

Here is a little info about the theater:

Built in 1942 by John and Dorothy Hampton, The Silent Movie Theatre ran for decades as the only fully functioning silent movie theatre in the country. It has been fully restored to its original, vintage 1940s art deco design, along with a brand new screen and sound system, to help a new generation enjoy the pleasures of cinema in a beautiful theatre.

Check out their calendar here:

http://www.silentmovietheatre.com/calendar/index.html

On Sunday, 11/18, at 4pm, we are going to the Fatty Arbuckle shorts matinee. A Fatty Arbuckle historian (what a cool job!) will be on hand afterwards for a Q&A session. I can't wait.

About ill-fated Fatty:

In 1920, Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle was the most popular movie star in the world, rivaled only by Charlie Chaplin. Roscoe signed an exclusive contract with Paramount to create feature–length comedies, becoming Hollywood’s first “Million Dollar Man.” After being scandalized in the unsolved death of actress Virginia Rappe, Arbuckle was banned from Hollywood and a number of his films were destroyed. Today’s generation has rediscovered this comedy legend, and he now enjoys his rightful reputation as one of the four pioneering comedy geniuses, along with Chaplin, Keaton and Harold Lloyd.

This site http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/classics/fatty_arbuckle/1.html has a great article about one of the biggest scandals to rock old Hollywood (and some say one of the top 20 scandals of all time). And come on, aren't the scandals part of what makes this time era so fascinating???