1. Meinhardt Raabe was one of the last surviving Munchkin-actors in The Wizard of Oz, and was the last surviving cast member with any dialogue in the film.
11 Facts About Meinhardt Raabe
1. 2.
Meinhardt Raabe portrayed the coroner who certified the death of the Wicked Witch of the East.
3.
Meinhardt Raabe later went on to get his MBA at Drexel University.
4.
Meinhardt Raabe took a leave of absence from his sales job to audition for the Wizard of Oz role.
5.
Meinhardt Raabe traveled in the 1952 version of the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, which was the idea of the company founder's nephew, Carl Mayer, in 1936.
6.
Meinhardt Raabe married a cigarette girl who was his height, Margaret Marie Raabe.
7.
Meinhardt Raabe published an autobiography, Memories of a Munchkin: An Illustrated Walk Down the Yellow Brick Road.
8.
Meinhardt Raabe still made occasional appearances at Wizard of Oz conventions and celebrations across the country.
9.
In later life, Meinhardt Raabe resided at Penney Retirement Community in Penney Farms, Florida.
10.
Meinhardt Raabe died at a medical center in nearby Orange Park, Florida, on April 9,2010, at the age of 94, after going into cardiac arrest, as verified by the local coroner.
11.
Meinhardt Raabe is buried in Farmington, Wisconsin's Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery.