Elaine Merk Binder, one of the last surviving actors who played one of the beloved Munchkins in the 1939 classic “The Wizard of Oz,” has died at age 94, Variety reported.
Binder was 8 years old when she filmed her scenes on the MGM lot after auditioning for the film in 1938. She was selected as one of eight children who would dance and sing as part of the Munchkin ensemble.
“I tried out for the ‘Wizard of Oz’ Munchkins. For me it was scary. It was my first big call for girls from a major studio,” Binder previously recalled in a 2024 documentary entitled “Mysteries of Oz.”
“I was relieved when Bud told the dance director, ‘She’s O.K.’ I did not have to perform like the others did,” she said. “And they selected me as one of the eight who would both dance and sing. We learned later that they had added girls to the Little People because they had the mistaken impression that the Little People were not athletic.”
According to the outlet, during filming, Binder appeared in specific scenes that movie fans can still identify today. She was staged in the second little house up the steps during the song “Come Out, Come Out.”
Just before the transition into “Off to See the Wizard,” Binder can be seen as one of eight dancers in a pavilion at the rear, wearing a dark green dress and hat.
Prior to her role in “The Wizard of Oz,” Binder had performed in the “Our Gang” shorts. Her final film appearance was in “Nothing Sacred” with Carole Lombard and Frederic March. Despite Paramount later offering her a contract as a teenager, Binder chose to pursue higher education instead.
Binder graduated from Occidental College in 1951 and completed her master’s degree at Cal State Los Angeles in 1953 with degrees in music and education.
She continued her studies in computer science and theology, eventually working as a computer consultant for USC and First Interstate Bank, the report said.
Binder is survived by her son George, her daughter Phillips, and six grandchildren.