Karl Slover (September 21, 1918 – November 15, 2011) was a Slovakian-born American actor best known as one of the Munchkins in '' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939). Only three other adult Munchkin performers remained alive at the time of Slover's death.

Early years

Slover was born as Karl Kosiczky on September 21, 1918, in Prakovce,

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

(then Prakfalva,

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

). Diagnosed at an early age with pituitary dwarfism, Slover was barely two feet tall by his eighth birthday. Dwarfism was not a family trait; his father stood six feet six inches, and his mother was just a few inches shorter. Slover's father went to great lengths to make Slover taller, including taking him to

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, where doctors fixed stretchers to his arms and legs.

Career

When Slover was just nine years old, his father sent him to work for a traveling show based out of

Berlin, Germany Berlin ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the highest population within its city limits of any city in the European Union. The city is also one of the states of ...

. After working with the show for several years, Slover moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

where he joined another traveling show. It wasn't long before Slover began appearing in films such as '' The Terror of Tiny Town'', ''

Block-Heads ''Block-Heads'' is a 1938 American comedy film directed by John G. Blystone and starring Laurel and Hardy, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. It was produced by Hal Roach Studios for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film, a reworking of elements from the Lau ...

'', '' Bringing Up Baby'', and ''They Gave Him a Gun''. Slover was working in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

when his circus manager sent him to Hollywood, where little people were needed for an upcoming film called '' The Wizard of Oz''. At the age of 21 and standing just 4 feet 4 inches, Slover played the parts of four Munchkins in the movie: the first trumpeter, a soldier, one of the sleepy heads, and one among those who sang "Follow the Yellow Brick Road". His "Oz" co-stars, The Matina Triplets whose names were Bela "Ike", Lajos "Leo", and Matjus "Mike" were originally from

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. They also appeared in the film as Munchkins. After filming ''Oz'', Slover began working for the 'Original World Famous Singers Midget Show' where he sang and danced throughout the

. When the show ended in 1942, Slover joined the Royal American Carnival in

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

. At this time he took the last name Slover, the last name of his stage manager.

Later years

Slover remained very active in his later years and participated in several celebrations related to ''The Wizard of Oz''. Every June, Slover attended festivities celebrating Judy Garland's birthday at the Judy Garland Museum & Birthplace in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. In November 2007, Slover joined seven other surviving munchkins in Hollywood where honorary mayor Johnny Grant unveiled a star dedicated to the Munchkins on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

Death

Slover died on November 15, 2011, at age 93. He resided at an assisted living facility in Dublin, Georgia, at the time of his death.2008 Macon Film and Video Festival Special Guests
His interment was in Rentz's cemetery. At the time of Slover's death, three other Munchkin actors were still alive from ''Oz'': Jerry Maren, Margaret Williams Pellegrini and Ruth Robinson Duccini. He outlived every major cast member.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Slover, Karl 1918 births 2011 deaths Male actors from Georgia (U.S. state) American male film actors Czechoslovak emigrants to the United States Male actors from Berlin People from Gelnica District People from Dublin, Georgia Actors with dwarfism American actors with disabilities