September 2009
I was on my way to work on a Friday. I took the same route every day. It was 7:15 a.m. and I was traveling down 75th Street in Woodridge, Illinois. Sitting in a strip mall parking lot was a giant, green, hot air balloon. The balloon said "Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the Wizard of Oz."
I was on my way to work on a Friday. I took the same route every day. It was 7:15 a.m. and I was traveling down 75th Street in Woodridge, Illinois. Sitting in a strip mall parking lot was a giant, green, hot air balloon. The balloon said "Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the Wizard of Oz."
Being that my sister is a huge fan, I decided to stop and get
some shots of the balloon. I always keep my camera with me.
© 2012 Tinseltown Photo all rights reserved |
After I pulled into
the empty parking lot, I noticed WGN News was out covering some type of story.
As I got closer, I noticed three “little people” standing off to the side. As I
zoomed in with my camera, I noticed they looked kind of familiar.
© 2012 Tinseltown Photo all rights reserved |
A few moments
later, I noticed a young lady walking by who had been talking with them. I rolled
down my window and sheepishly asked if they were “Munchkins.” She said yes, they
were, and that they were there to promote the HD release of the film and that
the film was screening there tonight. At that point, I realized I was in the
parking lot of Hollywood Blvd. Cinema. She said Hollywood Blvd Cinema had hosted an annual Wizard of Oz Festival for
many years and, as part of those festivities, they always had the surviving actors from the movie host the screenings and meet the
public. She then asked if I wanted to meet them….. How could I resist? As
we were walking over to them, I introduced myself to her and Angelique, the
public relations guru, explained that these were three of the last five remaining munchkins. She also told me of how the theater's owner, Ted Bulthup, was very
close to them and was responsible for getting the Munchkins their star on the
Hollywood "Walk of Fame."
Karl Slover, Margaret Pellegrini & Jerry Maren © 2012 Tinseltown Photo all rights reserved |
Angelique said, “Thom this is Karl Slover. Karl played the First Trumpeter, Munchkin soldier and one
of the singers who led Judy Garland to 'Follow the Yellow Brick Road.' This
is Margaret Pellegrini. Margaret played the Sleepy Head in the bird's nest, and
was also one of the gals who wore a flower pot hat. This is Jerry Maren. Jerry
was a member of the Lollipop Guild trio, who will always be remembered as the
munchkin who presented the enormous lollipop to Judy Garland as she was
welcomed to Munchkinland.” I could not believe they were standing in front of
me.
© 2012 Tinseltown Photo all rights reserved |
The only thing I could think of was that my sister was
going to freak. We took a few photos and made a little small talk and I was then
on my way.
While I continued
to work, I was still trying to process what had just happened. I just met the Munchkins here, in Woodridge? Later on that day, I emailed one of my photos to
the local newspaper that ultimately ended up using it for their story.
A few days later, I contacted
Angelique and sent her a link to the newspaper. She appreciated me going out of
my way to get some extra press for the theater. During our conversation, I asked if they had a photographer to cover their events. She said, “No we
don’t. We did try at one point, but it never seemed to work out.” I told her that if they had any events coming
up, I would love a chance to show them what I could do. She said “Let me see,
maybe there is something we could do in the future.” In a million years, I never would have dreamed where this would lead...
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