Production # 1060 page 6 by ric gustafson
MGM knew that the Wizard was a major role in the Wizard of Oz. They went to great lengths to find just the right actor. Mervyn Leroy wanted comedian Ed Wynn for the role. Freed and Harburg wanted W.C. Fields for the role. Wynn would have been emotionally and physically zany. Fields would have acted like a con man, blustering and boisterous. They decided to look at their contract players as an option.
Frank Morgan made sixty eight pictures at MGM from 1933 to 1949 when he died in his sleep. In his films, he portrayed a man who stammered his way through life. He was one of eleven children and had followed his brother Ralph onto the stage.
He begged for the role, got up on stage and adlibbed a test. He won the role.
Charley Grapewin got the role as Dorothy's Uncle Henry and Clara Blandick got the role of Dorothy's Aunt Em.
research help: ' The Making of the Wizard of Oz' by Aljean Harmetz
Peace and God's blessings. Love Ric
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