Dean Robbins

“The Wizard of Oz” premiered on this date in 1939, with Meinhardt Raabe as the Munchkin coroner. His unforgettable moment on screen—informing Dorothy that the wicked witch was “really most sincerely dead”—ensured Raabe a seven-decade career that included an autobiography, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and mountains of fan mail. An essay in my book WISCONSIN IDOLS charts Raabe’s journey from farm kid to movie star who persistently defied the discrimination he faced as a little person. He proved, per “The Wizard of Oz,” that dreams really do come true.