Jakob "Jackie" Gerlich
| Jakob "Jackie" Gerlich | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Jakob E. Gerlich September 21, 1917 Vienna, Austria |
| Died | December 27, 1960 (aged 43) Sarasota, Florida, United States |
| Notable work | The Wizard of Oz; East Side of Heaven |
| Awards | Hollywood Walk of Fame Star |
Jakob "Jackie" E. Gerlich (September 21, 1917 – December 27, 1960) was an American dwarf actor and circus entertainer most notable for his appearance in the 1939 American film The Wizard of Oz.
Gerlich was born in Vienna, Austria. He emigrated to America when he arrived in New York City on the S.S. President Roosevelt ocean liner on March 13, 1936.
His first acting experience was in The Wizard of Oz, where he played the red member of the Lollipop Guild.Jerry Maren and Harry Doll were the other two members of the Lollipop Guild in the film.
Leopold von Singer, was the manager of an entertainment troupe called The Singer Midgets and signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to provide 124 proportionately-sized little people to play Munchkins in Oz. Gerlich was recruited because of his dwarfism and was paid $125 a week for his work. Though Gerlich is uncredited in the film, his name appears in Oz trivia articles and books.
In 2007, all 124 Munchkin actors in Oz were honored with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. For Gerlich this was a posthumous honor. Seven surviving Munchkin actors attended the ceremony, including Mickey Carroll, Ruth Duccini, Jerry Maren, Margaret Pellegrini, Meinhardt Raabe, Karl Slover and Clarence Swensen.
Maren said that due to previous engagements, the three members of the Lollipop guild did not stay in contact after Oz. In 2013 he stated "We pretty much separated because they all had previous engagements. Somebody had to go to Milwaukee, somebody had to go to Boston, New York, etc."
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