'Wizard of Oz' Munchkin Mickey Carroll dies at 89

St. Louis: Mickey Carroll, one of the last surviving Munchkins from the 1939 classic film The Wizard of Oz, has died. He was 89.

His caretaker, Linda Dodge, said Carroll died in his sleep at her home in suburban Crestwood on Thursday.

He had heart problems and received a pacemaker in February. Until January, he had lived in his own home in suburban Bel-Nor.

Carroll was one of more than 100 adults and children who were recruited to play the movie natives of what author L. Frank Baum called Munchkin Country in his 1900 book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Carroll had said in a 2007 interview that the Munchkins made only $125 a week while filming the movie that would become a classic.

The Wizard of Oz was Carroll's only movie. When it appeared on television in the 1960s, he found a new career at charitable events, retail events and Oz-related events.

"It's not me" it's the movie," Carroll said. "When they see me, they think of their childhood, and it makes them smile."

Carroll was born Michael Finocchiaro on July 8, 1919, in St. Louis. The son of immigrants, he grew up in an Italian neighbourhood on the city's north side with a twin sister and four older siblings. All preceded him in death.

Carroll played the part of the Munchkinland "Town Crier", marched as a "Munchkin Soldier" and was the candy-striped "Fiddler" who escorted Dorothy Gale, played by Judy Garland, down the yellow brick road toward Emerald City.