On top of that, was her addiction to alcohol and amphetamines, the latter actually prescribed by the studio to help their stars be able to keep up with the insane pace of filmmaking they insisted on. This included dressing her in juvenile clothing to project a 'girl next door' quality, while also using rubberized discs to reshape her nose and removable caps on her teeth. Well documented is the fact that Judy, who was born June 22, 1922, would spend much of her life worrying about her self-image, not helped by the fact that the studio kept trying to change her looks to fit their needs rather than accept her for who she was. Plus, as cute as she was, there's no way she would have nailed 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow'. And a good thing it didn't - Shirley would have absolutely been too young (at only 10 years old) to pull it off effectively and would have changed the tenor of the entire film. In the beginning, though, MGM had been negotiating with 20th Century Fox to 'loan' (this was the time of studio contracts) them young Shirley Temple to play the role, but that didn't happen. It is impossible to imagine The Wizard of Oz with anyone but Judy in the role of our heroine Dorothy Gale. And then there were the others, who experienced varying degrees of success, one of them actually dropping out of the business to look for greener pastures. Frank Morgan, who played the Wizard, had an incredibly fruitful career, starring in just over 100 films in his lifetime.

Judy Garland, for instance, for all of her success, sadly did not have a happy life, being married numerous times, fighting back against depression and body issues instilled in her by the people she worked with in her youth, and struggling with addiction issues. Given that the film will be turning 80 next year and our collective love for it is still so strong (just check out the iconic quotes from The Wizard of Oz) speaks volumes of its power.īesides looking at how each of the main cast members were selected to play their most famous roles, we decided to dig a little deeper to see what went on with them after they had gotten off the Yellow Brick Road. But there’s also a part of us that thinks of them in their respective roles of Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, and the Wicked Witch of the West. Yes, logically you know the cast including Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, Margaret Hamilton, and all the rest had private lives and careers that preceded and went on long after the film.

When you fall in love with a movie, like the world did with 1939’s The Wizard of Oz, there’s a tendency to lock the film and its performers in a little bubble inside your heart and imagination.

Wizard of oz lion with gun