Margaret Pellegrini
| Margaret Pellegrini | |
|---|---|
Margaret Pellegrini in June 2006
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| Born |
Margaret Williams September 23, 1923 Tuscumbia, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | August 7, 2013 (aged 89) Glendale, Arizona, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Stroke |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1939, 1971 |
| Spouse(s) | Willie Pellegrini |
| Children | Margaret Jo Pellegrini William Joseph Pellegrini, Jr. |
Margaret Pellegrini (nee Williams) (September 23, 1923 – August 7, 2013) was an American actress, vaudeville performer and dancer, best known for playing one of the munchkins from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. Until her death in 2013, she was one of the three surviving munchkins, the other two being Jerry Maren and Ruth Robinson Duccini.
She was born Margaret Williams in Tuscumbia, Alabama. When she was helping a relative in a potato chip booth at the Tennessee State Fair, a group of little people came by and asked if she wanted to join their show, Henry Kramer's Midgets. "At that time I didn't think I was a midget," says Pellegrini (who then stood about 3 ft 4 in (1.02 m)). In the film, Pellegrini played a "sleepyhead" flower pot and Munchkin villager. After the film, she married Willie Pellegrini (an average-sized ex-fighter) and had two children. Through the years, Pellegrini frequently appeared at surviving Munchkins of Oz festivities.
She was present on November 21, 2007 when the remaining Munchkins were given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She was also named the Grand Marshal of this year's annual "Oz-Stravaganza" parade in Chittenango, New York, but health issues prevented her from attending. Near the time of her death, she was described as a widowed great-great grandmother living in Glendale, Arizona, with a room in her house devoted to her treasured Oz collectibles. She was survived by daughter Margaret, grandchildren William III, Anna, Juliette, Joe, Vincent, and Dawnelle Mowrey. Great grandchildren are: Anthony, Ashley, Barbara, Cheryl, Dalyn, Elizabeth, Heaven, Kaylee, and Shayla, and one great-great grandchild Sejla,
Pellegrini died on August 7, 2013, in Glendale, Arizona, of complications from a stroke she had 2 days earlier. She was 89. She was cremated and her remains were given to her family.
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