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==August 15, 2020: International Wizard of Oz Club Awards==
==December 11, 2023: Judge Dismisses Dorothy Dress Ownership Lawsuit==
This evening, the International Wizard of Club presented its annual awards at 2Oz? 2Oz! which is this year's national Oz convention, held online for the first time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The winners are:
a dress worn by Judy Garland during production of ''The Wizard of Oz'' may soon be up for auction now that a federal judge in New York has dismissed a lawsuit by the niece of a priest who once worked at the school where it was found. The Catholic University of America, where the dress was found in 2021. It had been given to Father Gilbert Hartke, chairman of the university's drama department, by actress Mercedes McCambridge, a friend of Garland. When the late Father Hartke's niece, Barbara Hartke, heard about the dress and the plan to auction it off, she sued to take ownership of the dress. In dismissing the suit, Judge Paul Gardephe noted that Barbara Hartke had not established that she was the executor of her uncle's estate or had any other standing in the case. Furthermore, as a Dominican, Father Hartke had taken a vow of poverty and renounced ownership of "temporal goods", and thus had not been the owner of the dress in the first place.


* The Fred Otto Prize for short fiction went to "The Flutterbudget Revolt" by Suren Oganessian in first place, and "''The Sea Fairies'' Lost Chapter: Trot and the Sleeper" by Erica Olivera in second.
Barbara Hartke has ten days to amend her lawsuit and establish standing. Otherwise, the dress will belong to Catholic university, which can then go through with plans to auction aff the dress. The auction has been on hold for over a year while the case worked its way through the system.
* The C. Warren Hollister Prize for non-fiction went to "No Place Like Oz" by Kathryn Sadakierski in first place, and “Lessons in Personality Integration from the Movies ''The Wizard of Oz'' and ''The Wiz''” by Mackenzie Littledale winning second place.
* The Rob Roy MacVeigh Prize for visual arts went to "The King of Beasts' Conquest" by Michael de Jesus in first place, and "Dr. Pipt" by David Valentin in second place.<br>[[File:De_Jesus.JPG|500 px]] [[File:Valentin.JPG|500 px]]


And the Club's highest award, the L. Frank Baum Memorial Award, for contributions to Oz and the Club's mission, went to Gina Wickwar, author of ''The Hidden Prince of Oz'' and ''Toto of Oz'', and short stories for ''Oziana'', as well as her work for the Club as Secretary and in other capacities. Here's the video of the presentation, with testimonials and reactions:
(Information courtesy [https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/11/wizard-of-oz-dorothy-dress-lawsuit-auction.html CNBC].)


<html><center><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RUGHnOYCGxM" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></center></html>
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==October 17, 2023: Dorothy House Miniature Auctioned Off==
A miniature of the Gale farmhouse from the famous 1939 movie adaptation of ''The Wizard of Oz'', used in the tornado scene, was auctioned off today by [https://www.studioauctions.com/ Studio Auctions]. The final sale price was $537,000, well above the pre-auction estimate.
 
(Information courtesy of [https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/one-of-a-kind-wizard-of-oz-and-top-gun-memorabilia-command-premium-prices-at-studio-auctions-event-301959541.html PR Newswire].)
 
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==October 14, 2023: Piper Laurie, 1932-2023==
[[File:piper-laurie.jpeg|center]]
Piper Laurie, the Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning actress who was also nominated for three Academy Awards and a BAFTA, passed away today. She was 91. Born in Detroit in 1932, Rosetta Jacobs changed her name to Piper Laurie when she signed a contract with Universal Pictures in 1949. She made her screen debut in ''Louisa'' opposite Ronald Reagan, and also co-starred with actors such as Donald O'Connor, Tony Curtis, and Rory Calhoun. But she soon moved back to New York to appear on stage and in television. Hollywood beckoned again with a part in ''The Hustler'' opposite Paul Newman, which garnered her first Oscar nomination. The parts she was offered did not improve, however, so she went back to New York. Her next film was ''Carrie'' in 1976, where she played Margaret White, Carrie's mother, in another Oscar-nominated role. She continued to appear in movies (including ''Children of a Lesser God'', for which she received her third Oscar nomination), on television, and on stage for the rest of her career. Other notable roles include the television movie ''Promise'', for which she won a Emmy; ''Twin Peaks'', which netted her a Golden Globe; and the 1978 television biopic about Judy Garland, ''Rainbow'', in which she played Ethel Gumm, Judy's mother. She is best known to Oz fans, however, for playing Aunt Em in the 1985 Disney movie ''Return to Oz''.
 
(Information courtesy of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piper_Laurie Wikipedia] and [https://ew.com/celebrity/piper-laurie-dead-carrie-twin-peaks-actress/ ''Entertainment Weekly''].)


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==August 1, 2020: ''The Baum Bugle'' Spring 2020 issue==
==October 13, 2023: Martin Changes Plea to Guilty in Theft of Ruby Slippers==
[[File:Bbspring20.jpg|600 px|right]]The latest issue of ''The Baum Bugle'', the journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, is now in the mail and making its way towards members. This is the first issue of the 2020 membership year, with the current COVID-19 pandemic no doubt contributing to the usual problems the ''Bugle'' has to keeping to its intended schedule.
Terry Jon Martin, the Minnesota resident charged with the 2005 theft of a pair of Ruby Slippers used during the production of ''The Wizard of Oz'', has changed his plea to guilty. As part of a plea deal entered in federal court in Duluth, Minnesota, Martin, 78 years old and suffering from OCPD, will face no jail time.
 
(Information courtesy of the Associated Press via [https://www.yahoo.com/news/man-charged-stealing-wizard-oz-050856664.html Yahoo! News]. More information is also available from [https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/guilty-plea-wizard-of-oz-stolen-slippers-case-terry-jon-martin/89-11bfe056-be8e-42b9-807f-3f271d19c6c8 KARE11.com].)


<p>In this issue:
----
* The covers celebrate the "Broadway Celebrates Oz" photograph series, with Dorothy and her friends on the front cover, the Wicked With of the West on the back, and costume sketches and designs on the inside covers.
* "Letters" sees Oz Club President Jane Albright and ''Baum Bugle'' editor Sarah Krotzer talk about the latest Oz issues.
* "The Bugle Bulletin" brings us news of:
** The #LivingRoomTheatre challenge by ''Playbill'' magazine, and [https://www.playbill.com/article/our-top-3-videos-from-week-1-of-the-livingroomtheatre-challenge the Ozzy results of the first week].
** ''The Wizard of Oz'' takes on a new cinematic life during the coronavirus pandemic as a staple at drive-in theaters, as well as in movie theaters in Japan.
** [https://www.facebook.com/ArtistTimWolak/ The Oz art of Tim Wolak].
** [https://www.dropbox.com/s/65azjnd7wb1qmf6/OTR%20Full%20Virtual%20Message.mp4 ''Over the Rainbow: The Rock Ballet''] is used as a call for social justice in the wake of the murder of George Floyd.
** A tribute to Hollywood icons, including Judy Garland as Dorothy, as [https://www.whio.com/news/centerville-native-paints-mural-plaza-theatre-miamisburg-reopening/3CSQ5ODOUVCM7CGJOYXBJHTBFI/ a mural in Miamisburg, Ohio].
** The new webcomic [https://www.webtoons.com/en/fantasy/webtoon-greenlight/escape-from-oz-13/viewer?title_no=1988&episode_no=22&webtoonType=WEBTOON&ogTagImageUrl=%2F20200626_107%2F1593111138089n3Gzr_JPEG%2F04_EC9E91ED9288EC8381EC84B8_mobile.jpg%3Ftype%3Dcrop540_540 ''Escape from Oz''].
** "Through the Tube" presents the latest Oz findings on YouTube:
*** [https://youtu.be/KmZ-r229IiQ Family home movies from the 1970s of the Land of Oz theme park in North Carolina].
*** [https://youtu.be/EB2PTkMPfco a tour of Dorothy's House], the tourist attraction in Liberal, Kansas.
*** [https://youtu.be/fGzJo4Hzkw0 The Spirit of Oz troupe performing at Storybook Land] in Aberdeen, South Dakota.
** "Beyond the Shifting Sands" notes the passing in March of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Schramm_(actor) actor David Schramm]; best known as Roy Biggins in ''Wings'', he also played W. W. Denslow in the 1990 TV movie ''The Dreamer of Oz''.


Keep watching this page for more of this issue's contents.
==July 30, 2023: Betty Ann Bruno, 1931-2023==
Betty Ann Bruno, the long-time San Francisco news anchor whose show business career began as a Munchkin in ''The Wizard of Oz'', passed away today at the age of 91. Born Betty Ann Ka'ihliani in Hawai'i on October 1, 1931, she grew up in Hollywood and had an uncredited part in 1937's ''The Hurricane'' before playing one of the female background Munchkins in ''The Wizard of Oz'' at the age of seven. Acting was not in her blood, however, and she went on to graduate from Stanford before becoming a news anchor at KTVU in San Francisco in 1971, a job she held for over twenty years. She won three news Emmys for her work there. After retiring, she went on to become a hula instructor and founder of the dance troupe Hula Mai. She was named Sonoma Treasure Artist in 2020, and appeared on ''To Tell the Truth'' in 2022 in a segment on her time as a Munchkin. During the COVID lockdown, she wrote her memoir, [https://www.amazon.com/Munchkin-Diary-Personal-Yellow-Brick/dp/1736205609/ ''The Munchkin Diary: My Personal Yellow Brick Road'']. She is survived by her husband, Craig, and her three sons.


Also coming along with this issue:
(Information courtesy [https://deadline.com/2023/07/betty-ann-bruno-dead-wizard-of-oz-munchkin-tv-reporter-1235451821/ Deadline] and [https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/bay-area-reporter-wizard-of-oz-child-actor-dies-18270928.php SFGate].)
* A flyer for this year's national Oz convention, [https://ozis.us/ To Oz? To Oz!], being held for the first time online.
* This issue's craft is a paper version of one of the Three Adepts at Magic, from ''Glinda of Oz'', in the form of a fish. (Which fish it is depends on how you color it!)
* And ''The Oz Gazette'', the newsletter for younger Oz fans (of all ages) features:
** An interview with Polychrome, the Rainbow's Daughter.
** A look back at the 1939 MGM film version of ''The Wizard of Oz''.
** A contest to draw the Jitterbug.
** The Scarecrow, the new editor of ''The Oz Gazette'', introduces himself in the Editorial.
** The news flash that Aujah, one of the Three Adepts, decided to go exploring the world by becoming a fish again.


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==July 18, 2020: The 2020 Winkie Award==
==July 29, 2023: The 2023 Winkie Award and Oz Club Awards==
[[File:Colin Ayres.jpg|center]]
The International Wizard of Oz Club presented its annual awards tonight, alongside the Winkie Award, as part of the 2023 OzCon International in Pomona, California. The awards were:
OzCon International, the world's longest running Oz event, met for the first time online as a virtual event, due to restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This did not prevent the convention from presenting its highest honor, the Winkie Award, to Colin Ayres. Colin only started attending OzCon relatively recently, but he quickly jumped in and involved himself deeply, putting on many panels and presentations. Two years ago, he became vice chair, succeeding as chair last year, and decided to serve as chair again for a second year. Little did he know that one of the decisions he would have to make would be to cancel the convention and move it all online! But even before that happened, his fellow OzCon attendees voted him as the one who deserves the award.
* First of [https://www.ozclub.org/about/oz-club-contests/2022-oz-club-contests/ the Club's annual writing and art contest winners], the Fred Otto Prize for Fiction:
** First place to J. L. Bell for "The Missing Key".
** Second place, also to J. L. Bell, for "The Piglets and the Tin Soldier".
* The C. Warren Hollister Prize for Non-fiction:
** First place to J. L. Bell (him again?) for "Inspiring Maps of Oz".
** Second place to Jem Abbas for "Technicolor at the Theatrical Premiere of ''The Wizard of Oz''".
* The Rob Roy MacVeigh Award for Art went to David Valentin for "Mombi's Magic".
* The Winkie Award, voted on by member of OzCon International for contributions to the convention, went to Freddy Fogarty.
* The L. Frank Baum Memorial Award, the most prestigious prize in Oz fandom, went to Blair Frodelius for his many contributions to spreading the word about Oz online over the years.


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==April 17, 2020: ''The Baum Bugle'', Winter 2019 issue==
==July 17, 2023: ''The Baum Bugle'' Spring 2023 Issue==
[[File:Bbwinter19.jpg|600 px|right]]
[[File:Bbspring23.jpeg|right|500 px]]
The final issue of ''The Baum Bugle'', the journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, has come out for the 2019 membership year. Because of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the printers were not able to print the issue in a timely manner; so, in an unprecedented move, the Club sent out the issue to Club members as a .pdf file via e-mail. ('''UPDATE''', May 9: The printer has come through, and the print version is now making its way into members' mailboxes.) This marks the end of the 2019 membership year, and members are encouraged to [https://shop.ozclub.org/product-category/iwoc-membership/ renew their memberships for 2020] soon.
The Spring 2023 issue of ''The Baum Bugle'', the journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, has made its way back from the printers and is on its way to members' mailboxes right now. This issue emphasizes the first word in the name of the club, with articles about how Oz is expressed in countries outside of the United States.


In this issue:
In this issue:
* The front cover reproduces Michael Herring's painting for the 1981 Del Rey edition of ''The Magic of Oz''—appropriate, as 2019 marks the centennial of L. Frank Baum's penultimate Oz book, ''The Magic of Oz''.
* The front cover reproduces the cover art for the ''Oz'' game from Gen X Games.
* The inside front cover is one of John R. Neill's color plates from ''The Magic of Oz''.
* The inside front and back covers reproduce art by Leonid Vladimirsky for postcards based on ''Волшебник Изумрудного Города'' (''The Wizard of the Emerald City'', the Russian version of ''The Wizard of Oz'').
* The first page, besides the indicia and table of contents, reproduces an illustration by Leonid Vladimirsky from ''Волшебник Изумрудного Города'' (''The Wizard of the Emerald City'').
* In letters, Jane Albright writes her final column as President of the International Wizard of Oz Club, while Editor-in-Chief Sarah K. Crotzer takes the readers through the process of this becoming a truly international issue.
* In "Letters", Oz Club President Jane Albright seeks contributors who can update [https://ozclub.org/oz-timeline/ the Oz Timeline], while ''Bugle'' Editor-in-Chief Sarah K. Crotzer previews the issue at hand and how it came about.
* In "The Bugle Bulletin":
* In "The Bugle Bulletin":
** The 2017 Russian animated film ''Fantastic Journey to Oz'' has spawned a sequel, ''Урфин Джюс бозбращаемся'' (''Fantastic Return to Oz''), based on the Magic Land book ''The Fiery God of the Marrans''.
** ''The Wiz'' gets [https://wizmusical.com/ a new production and nationwide tour] with the aim of making it to Broadway next year.
** The debut of the new Oz dramatic podcast, [https://hitthebricks.com/ ''Hit the Bricks''].
** The ''Wicked'' movies get new cast members (Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Marissa Bode as Nessarose, Ethan Slater as Boq, Bowen Yang as Pfannee), and part 1 gets its release date moved up to November 2024. [''No doubt part 2's release also moving, to November 2025, will make it into the next issue.'']
** A Yellow Brick Sidewalk is being constructed in Chicago that leads to 1167 N. Humboldt Blvd., where L. Frank Baum wrote ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' when he lived in a house that is no longer there. (The sidewalk will end at a mural commemorating the creation of Oz.)
** The animated short [https://www.tinwoods.com/ ''The Tin Woods''] will premiere at [http://www.ozconinternational.com/ OzCon International].
** [https://www.broadwaybox.com/daily-scoop/category/broadway-celebrates-oz/ "Broadway Celebrates Oz"] is a photographic exhibit celebrating the eightieth anniversary of the famous film version of ''The Wizard of Oz''.
** Online story platform Land of Tales now has an adaptation of [https://landoftales.com/book/p3487-hickory-dickory-dock "Hickory, Dickory, Dock"], a story from ''Mother Goose in Prose'' by L. Frank Baum.
** An exhibit at the Los Angeles Public Library, "The Autograph Book of L. A.", includes a contribution by L. Frank Baum from 1908 (several years before he moved to the area himself).
** Ozzy backdrops from a 1941 Mardi Gras ball have been rediscovered and cataloged by [https://nolatabs.com/ NOLA Tableaux]. The program [https://catalog.hnoc.org/en-US/web/arena/collections-search#/entity/thnoc-archive/2018.0313.3/athenians-1941-program has been digitized] as well.
** A new Oz book, [https://github.com/NaNoGenMo/2018/issues/61 ''The Valley Girl of Oz, Bjork Bjork Bjork''], that involves running ''The Emerald City of Oz'' through a computer algorithm that changed the descriptions to, like, Valleyspeak, while the dialogue was rendered into Swedish Chef.
** A new opera based on the second Oz book, ''Marvelous'', is gearing up for its world premiere.
** "Through the Tube" presents an all-commercials collection of Oz clips on YouTube:
** "Across the Shifting Sands" remembers two notable Ozians who recently passed away: Romona Carlin, former First Lady of Kansas who organized an Oz-themed event in Topeka; and artist Shawn Maldonado.
*** [https://youtu.be/7_nJjI_aVrM White Lily cornmeal mix (1987)]
** "Through the Tube!" only presents one video from YouTube instead of its usual three, but it's a good one: Artist Leonid Vladimirsky on Russian television in 1989 celebrating fifty years of Magic Land. (Don't worry, it has English subtitles.)<br><html><center><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_8I6jeLS5bk" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></center></html>
*** [https://youtu.be/IdH--kRrLdo Energizer batteries (1993)]
* Jane Albright and Sara K. Crotzer interview the daughter of ''Magic Land'' illustrator Leonid Vladimirsky in "The Map to Magic Land: Aia Vladimirsky Remembers Her Fathre".
*** [https://youtu.be/fJw33PFUS7U Chef Boyardee (2006)]
* Want to collect the art of a ''Magic Land'' illustrator? Well, "An Initial Checklist of the Works by Leonid Vladimirsky" is a good place to start.
* In "Awards and Honors":
* A Strange Post-Soviet Union" by Atticus Gannaway looks at an unusual pairing of recent Russian translations in one volume: L. Frank Baum's ''Queen Zixi of Ix'' and John R. Neill's ''The Wonder City of Oz''!
** Ozma's Honor Roll for 2019, those Club members who have gone above and beyond the Club's regular membership rates to give more to the Club.
* Dave Ward looks at the first British stage production of ''The Wizard of Oz'' in "London, 1942".
** The list of recipients of the L. Frank Baum Memorial Award is updated with the 2019 winner, Bill Beem.
* Nick Campbell gives an overview of British editions of the Oz books in "Following Wonder: A History of British Publishing in Five Oz Books".
** Part of Renée Zellweger's acceptance speech for her Oscar, portraying Judy Garland in ''Judy'', is printed.
* The creator of the new ballet ''The Lost Princess of Oz'' (reviewed last issue) is interviewed in "Faith: Gabriel Chajnik's Journey to Find a ''Lost Princess''".
* Dennis Wilson Wise writes about the history of magic words, with emphasis on the ones used in the Oz books, in "Pyrzqxgl, or How to Do Things with Magic Words".
* The creator of the new [https://genxgames.es/producto/oz/ ''Oz'' card game] is interviewed in "Walk the Road: An Interview with Óscar Arévalo" (with art and additional comments by Lorena Azpiri).
* In a new regular feature, "The Lost Art of Oz", Brady Schwind looks at the development of Dick Martin's 1960 dust jacket for ''The Magic of Oz''. (The inside and outside back covers of this issue reprints some of Martin's preliminary work for the jacket.)
* Sarah K. Crotzer looks at one particular word in the name of the organization when she asks, "How International Was the Early International Wizard of Oz Club?"
* Ian Davis Smith writes about renowned Chinese magician Ching Ling Foo and his performance for the Uplifters—whose members included L. Frank Baum—in "A Magic Night with the Uplifters".
* Reviewed in "Oz in the Arts":
* The short story "The Believing Child" by Zenna Henderson, first published in 1970, is reprinted to celebrate both its own fiftieth birthday and the centennial of the book that causes the problems in the story, ''The Magic of Oz''.
** ''The Land of Oz'' at the Dobama Theatre, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, December 2022.
* "Oz Under Scrutiny" looks at the original 1919 reviews and reactions to ''The Magic of Oz''.
** ''Claus: The Musical'' (based on ''The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus''), The Lowry, Salford, England, December 2022.
* "Monuments of Magic Land" looks at monuments to characters created by Aleksandr Volkov, for his very Oz-like Magic Land series, in Tomsk, Slovakia and Saint Petersburg, Russia.
** ''The Wizard of Paws, or There's No Place Like a Furever Home'', Englewood Arts Center, Independence, Missouri, April 2023.
* The examination of the Smithsonian Institution's efforts to preserve their pair of Ruby Slippers concludes in part two of "Keep Them Ruby: Following the Steps of the Ruby Slippers" by Jonathan Shirshekan.
* Reviewed in "The Bugle Review":
* "A Beginner's Guide to Collecting" celebrates the eightieth anniversary of the most watched movie in history with an examination of some of the earliest collectibles for the 1939 film version of ''The Wizard of Oz''.
** [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-oracle-of-maracoor-gregory-maguire/18273094?ean=9780063094017 ''The Oracle of Maracoor'' by Gregory Maguire], reviewed by Alan Wise.
* Cynthia Ragni gives a preview of [http://www.ozconvention.org/ the Club's big annual event] in "Arts and Crozfts: Come to the 2020 OzClub Convention".
** [https://bookshop.org/p/books/can-you-survive-the-wonderful-wizard-of-oz-a-choose-your-path-book-ryan-jacobson/17992501?ean=9781940647715 ''Can You Survive The Wonderful Wizard of Oz?'' by Ryan Jacobsen], reviewed by Atticus Gannaway.
* In "Oz in the Arts", Fadia Mereani reviews one of the first big musicals to tour Saudi Arabia, [https://wizardofoztour.com/ ''The Wizard of Oz''].
** [https://bookshop.org/p/books/oz-and-the-musical-performing-the-american-fairy-tale-ryan-bunch/18812410?ean=9780190843144 ''Oz and the Musical: Performing the American Fairy Tale'' by Ryan Bunch], reviewed by Dina Schiff Massachi.
* "The Bugle Review" reviews and notes of several new books, including:
** [https://genxgames.es/producto/oz/ The new Spanish card game ''Oz'' by Óscar Arévalo and Lorena Azpiri], reviewed by Sarah K. Crotzer.
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1733715150/thewonderwizardo/ ''Immortal Longings of Oz'' by Paul Dana], reviewed by Mari Ness.
* And the inside back cover reproduces four cover images from British editions of the Oz books.
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/080717047X/thewonderwizardo/ ''Amazons in America: Matriarchs, Utopians, and Wonder Women in U. S. Popular Culture'' by Keira V. Williams], reviewed by Angelica Shirley Carpenter.
 
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1732431736/thewonderwizardo/ ''Book Restoration Unveiled: An Essential Guide for Bibliophiles'' by Sophia S. W. Bogle], reviewed by Cynthia Ragni.
Also included in this issue:
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0190663170/thewonderwizardo/ ''Adapting The Wizard of Oz: Musical Versions fromBaum to MGM and Beyond'', edited by Danielle Birkett and Dominic McHugh].
* The craft is a cut-out Russian nesting doll, based on the Magic Land art of Leonid Vladimirsky.
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1096980266/thewonderwizardo/ ''Beyond Oz: A Crazy Ink Anthology'', edited by Erin Wolf].
* In ''The Emerald City Mirror'', the newsletter aimed at younger Oz fans (no matter what their actual ages are):
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/138781320X/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Cardboard King in Oz'' by Gil S. Joel].
** It seems Princess Toodee, who temporarily took over for Ozma, was just a paper doll being used by the usurper who just took over Oz: The Nome King!
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0486821676/thewonderwizardo/ ''Creative Haven Wizard of Oz Designs Coloring Book'' by Marty Noble].
** Editor-in-chief the Scarecrow reports from where everyone is hiding out from the new king, the Emerald City Library. (Since the Nome King doesn't read books, he probably won't find them there!)
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0486821676/thewonderwizardo/ ''Delusions Beyond the Deadly Desert: A Novella'' by Lisa Valenti].
** A reprint from the archives looks at just who the Nome King is, anyway.
** [http://thewizardofoz.info/wiki/Dunkiton_Press ''Dunkiton Press #26: The Perhappsy Chaps #6'', ''Dunkiton Press #27: Mice #1'' and ''Dunkiton Press #28: Mice #2'' by Ruth Plumly Thompson, edited by Ruth Berman].
** The Nome King's many schemes from the Oz books are recounted, along with a look at various eggs and a few of the Nome King's more colorful quotes.
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1701012324/thewonderwizardo/ ''Emerald City Academy, Book 1: Sentinels of Oz''] and [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1709524154/thewonderwizardo/ ''Emerald City Academy, Book 2: Francesca, the Great and Terrible'' by J. B. Trepagnier].
** Oz Club member on assignment Katie Jones reports from San Francisco, where reports of fantastic beings appearing there include a dragon!
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0062348779/thewonderwizardo/ ''Emeralds of Oz: Life Lessons from Over the Rainbow'' by Peter Guzzardi].
** And two contests: Guess the answer to "What Did the Wogglebug Say?" and draw a picture of the Cowardly Lion to celebrate the centennial of ''The Cowardly Lion of Oz''.
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1387080156/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Fairy Wand of Oz'' by Marin Elizabeth Xiques and Carol P. Silva].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1718060718/thewonderwizardo/ ''Forever in Oz'' by Matthew J. Norcross].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1707291365/thewonderwizardo/ ''Frankenstein's Monster in Oz'' by Carl Scott Harker].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1733715118/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Haunted Castle of Oz'' by Marcus Mébès].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1985795833/thewonderwizardo/ ''Hidden Heroes of Oz, Book 1: Chopper''] and [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/198579585X/thewonderwizardo/ ''Hidden Heroes of Oz, Book 2: Guardian Martyr'' by Tarl Telford].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1075254914/thewonderwizardo/ ''Kingdoms of Oz, Book 1: The Ruby Fortress''], [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1076195202/thewonderwizardo/ ''Kingdoms of Oz, Book 2: The Quartz Tower''], and [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1079218130/thewonderwizardo/ ''Kingdoms of Oz, Book 3: The Prism City'' by Carrie Whitehorne].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0991199197/thewonderwizardo/ ''Lost Histories from the Royal Librarian of Oz'' by Joe Bongiorno].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1070784745/thewonderwizardo/ ''Mr. Wizardo'' by Eva Pasco].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0998058254/thewonderwizardo/ ''O. Z. Diggs Himself Out'' by Ron Baxley, Jr.]
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1574330489/thewonderwizardo/ ''Ozhouse Reopened: The Curse of Budistiltskin'' by Alan Lindsay and Dennis Anfuso].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0545953227/thewonderwizardo/ ''Ozland (Everland, Book 3)'' by Wendy Spinale].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1492868116/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Red Brick Road'' by Robert P. Wills].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/3030065901/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Road to Wicked: The Marketing and Consumption of Oz from L. Frank Baum to Broadway'' by Kent Drummond, Susan Aronstein, and Terri L. Rittenburg].
** [https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/marcus-mebes/royal-explorers-of-oz-book-4-hb/hardcover/product-12qjmgmv.html ''The Royal Explorers of Oz, Book 4: Into the Wild'' by Marcus Mébès and Alejandro Garcia].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1790107229/thewonderwizardo/ ''Salma and the Play from Oz'' by Jodie Nikela].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1698839413/thewonderwizardo/ ''Shakespeare's Oz'' by Jordan Monsell] (with apologies to William Shakespeare).
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1729226663/thewonderwizardo/ ''Stairway to Oz'' by Robin Hess].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1093389028/thewonderwizardo/ ''Theodore Gale in Oz'' by KuroKoneko Kamen].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1387742892/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Umbrellaphant in Oz'' by Carol P. Silva and Marin Elizabeth Xiques].
** [https://www.lulu.com/shop/marin-elizabeth-xiques-and-chris-dulabone/under-the-influence-of-oz/paperback/product-24186547.html ''Under the Influence of Oz'' by Marin Elizabeth Xiques and Chris Dulabone].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0998479861/thewonderwizardo/ ''Upon the Name of Oz'' by Charles Shearer].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1524788309/thewonderwizardo/ ''What Is the Story of The Wizard of Oz?'' by Kirsten Anderson].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1790753031/thewonderwizardo/ ''Wicked Origins''], [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1796683167/thewonderwizardo/ ''Wicked Gambit''], and [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1097738329/thewonderwizardo/ ''Wicked Rebel'' by Paula Black].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1980391939/thewonderwizardo/ ''Witch Queens: Tales from Oz'' by S. Cinders].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/172632558X/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Wonderful Animated World of The Wizard of Oz'' by Kevin Scott Collier].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1643723243/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Poster Coloring Book'' by Victoria Marble].
* In "Adventures in Oz", Zoe O'Haillin-Berne tells the story of how her cosplaying at Oz festivals led to founding a traveling character troupe.
Also included with this issue:
* A 2020 membership form (for those who don't want to renew their membership online).
* A registration form for the National Oz Convention.
* The third part of the Emerald City toy theatre.
* An "Oz Live 2019" supplement, reporting on:
** The 2019 National Oz Convention in Thibodeaux, Louisiana.
** Oz-Stravaganza! in Chittenango, New York.
** The Quadling Convention in Moore, Oklahoma.
** The Judy Garland Festival and Children's Wizard of Oz Festival in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.
** The Michigan Wizard of Oz Festival in Ionia, Michigan.
** OzCon International in Pomona, California.
** Autumn in Oz in Banner Elk, North Carolina.
** Oztoberfest in Wamego, Kansas.
** Ohio Oz Fest in Twinsburg, Ohio.
* The latest issue of ''The Oz Gazette'', the newsletter for younger Oz fans (no matter what age their birth certificate might say), featuring:
** A new expedition for Trot and Cap'n Bill.
** Dorothy's final "Editorial", as she's handing over the reins as Editor in Chief to the Scarecrow.
** The conclusion to the biography of L. Frank Baum.
** A play written by the Scarecrow, relating some of the events of ''The Magic of Oz''.
** In "Ask Glinda", the sorceress and some of her friends answer the question, "How do I get to Oz?"


Stay tuned, because more from this issue will be coming over the next few days.
<br clear=all>
<br clear=all>


----
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==February 9, 2020: ''Judy'' and the 2019 Movie Awards Season==
==July 15, 2023: SAG-AFTRA Strike Delays ''Wicked'' Production==
Renée Zellweger was presented with the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role tonight for her performance as Judy Garland in the later years of her life in the film ''Judy''. This culminates the 2019-20 movie award season, which saw Zellweger give early notice that she would be a factor, as she also won the following awards:
Among the many movie and television projects put on hold by the SAG-AFTRA strike is the movie adaptation of ''Wicked''. Word is that the main production only had ten days and one major musical number ("One Short Day") to go. Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Michelle Yeoh, and Bowen Yang are among the ''Wicked'' stars posting support for the actors' strike. When production can resume, and if the delay will affect the release dates for the two films, will likely depend on the length of the strike.
* Hollywood Actress Award at the 2019 Hollywood Film Awards.
 
* Best Actress at the 2019 British Independent Film Awards.
(Information courtesy [https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Update-WICKED-Movie-Shuts-Down-Production-Following-SAG-AFTRA-Strike-20230714 ''Broadway World''].)
* Best Lead Actress at the 2019 Atlanta Film Critics Circle.
 
* Best Actress at the 2019 Phoenix Film Critics Society.
----
* Best Actress at the 2020 Houston Film Critics Society.
 
* The Desert Palm Achievement Award at the 2020 Palm Springs International Film Festival.
==June 20, 2023: ''Wicked'' Part 2 Release Moved Up==
* Best Actress in a Motion Picture—Drama at the 2020 Golden Globe Awards.
After the release of the first part of the ''Wicked'' movie adaptation was moved up to November earlier this year, it should come as no surprise that the release of part two was also moved up today. Originally scheduled for Christmas 2025, it will now come out on November 26, 2025. This will move it away from the same release window as ''Avatar 3'', and also give it more time to build an audience over the holidays. (Both parts will now come out the day before Thanksgiving in the United States.)
* Best Actress from the National Board of Review.
* Best Actress from the 2020 AARP's Movies for Grownups Awards.
* Best Actress from the 2020 Critics' Choice Movie Awards.
* The American Riviera Award at the 2020 Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
* Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role at the 2020 Screen Actors Guild Award.
* Actress of the Year from the 2020 London Film Critics Circle.
* Best Actress in a Leading Role at the 2020 British Academy Film Awards (the BAFTAs).
* Best Female Lead at the 2020 Independent Film Awards.
Zellweger was also a runner-up for Best Actress from the San Diego Film Critics Society.


Renée Zellweger wasn't the only award presented to ''Judy'' or one of its contributors:
(Information courtesy [https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/wicked-part-two-moves-up-release-in-theaters-1235519568/ ''The Hollywood Reporter''].)
* Jeremy Woodhead won Make Up and Hair Design from the British Independent Film Awards. (Woodhead was also nominated for the Oscar in the same category, but lost to ''Bombshell''.)
* The film was one of the top ten independent films named by the National Board of Review.


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==November 27, 2019: ''The Baum Bugle'' Autumn 2019==
==June 1, 2023: Accused Ruby Slipper Thief Enters Plea==
[[File:Bbautumn19.jpg|center]]
Terry Jon Martin, the man accused of stealing the Ruby Slippers from the Judy Garland Museum in 2005, entered his plea today. He has pled not guilty to one count of Theft of a Major Art Work.
The latest issue of ''The Baum Bugle'', the journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, is now in the mail and finding its way to members. This issue celebrates the legacy of L. Frank Baum and his creation in the centennial year of his crossing the shifting sands.
 
(Information courtesy of [https://kstp.com/kstp-news/local-news/man-who-allegedly-stole-judy-garlands-ruby-slippers-enters-not-guilty-plea/ KSTP Minneapolis/St. Paul].)
 
----


In this issue:
==May 17, 2023: An Arrest in the Ruby Slipper Theft==
* The wraparound cover by Mark Manley shows L. Frank Baum meeting with many of the characters he created in the Emerald City. The inside covers show some of Manley's preliminary sketches and the development of the final artwork.
<html><center><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2nPQz4p0Qbo" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></center></html>
* "Letters" sees Oz Club President Jane Albright outlining how Ozzy her summer was, while ''Baum Bugle'' editor in chief Sarah K. Crotzer looks at the process of putting this issue together.
Terry Martin, 76, has been indicted in the 2005 theft of a pair of Ruby Slippers, originally worn by Judy Garland in the famous 1939 film adaptation of ''The Wizard of Oz''. The Slippers were recovered in 2018. The investigation has been ongoing, and Martin has been charged with one count of theft of a major artwork. The charge was filed by federal prosecutors in North Dakota. The Ruby Slippers at the time belonged to collector Michael Shaw, who had loaned them to the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. They were stolen in 2005, and Shaw eventually received a settlement from his insurers. A man contacted the insurers about the Slippers in 2017, setting off an investigation and eventual FBI sting operation. Nobody was charged at the time of the Slippers' recovery. Martin lives just south of Grand Rapids, but otherwise does not appear to have any connection to the museum or Garland. This is still an ongoing investigation, and it's possible other indictments may come later.
* "Awards and Honors" tells the world that Bill Beem won the L. Frank Baum Memorial Award for 2019, written up by Peter E. Hanff and Bill Thompson.
* In "The Bugle Bulletin":
** The original set parts for "Over the Rainbow" were found in the collection of Angela White, the daughter of Dave Rose, Judy Garland's first husband (not her third husband, as the ''Bugle'' reports). It was performed in public for the first time on September 14, 2019.
** A black-and-white dress, worn onscreen by Bobby Koshay as she doubled for Judy Garland in ''The Wizard of Oz'', two Munchkin jackets, an Emerald City townsfolk jacket, and an Emerald City soldier's musket all went up for auction at [https://profilesinhistory.com/auctions/the-icons-legends-of-hollywood-auction/ Profiles in History]. Meanwhile, Ray Bolger's Tony Award for Charley's Aunt was auctioned off in August.
** The successful Kickstarter campaign to issue [https://cloverpress.us/collections/all/oz#MainContent a new edition of ''The Royal Book of Oz''], plus [http://www.seawolfpress.com/ Sea Wolf Press's] "100th Anniversary Collection" of all fourteen Oz novels by L. Frank Baum.
** The forthcoming ''Wizard of Oz'' escape room at [https://www.stlouisescape.com/escape-room-games-in-st-louis-missouri.html St. Louis Escape Rooms] in St. Louis, Missouri.
** A correction to last issue's review of ''Oz Behind the Iron Curtain'', giving the correct date for an early edition of ''Волшебник Изумрудного Города''.
** To celebrate The Movie's eightieth anniversary, Google added some interactivity to [https://www.google.com/search?safe=off&source=hp&ei=p7b6XbfTA4bb-gSAkbyYDg&q=the+wizard+of+oz&oq=the+wizard+of+oz&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0l10.1512.5325..5556...0.0..0.197.1707.10j6......0....1..gws-wiz.......0i131.A_51fXVA2hg&ved=0ahUKEwj3wrqsrcDmAhWGrZ4KHYAID-MQ4dUDCAg&uact=5 its search results for ''The Wizard of Oz''] (click on the Ruby Slippers in the upper right hand corner to see for yourself).
** The National Endowment for the Arts gives a grant to [https://www.eastman.org/ The George Eastman Museum] to help preserve its movie holdings, which include the only known copy of the 1910 film version of ''The Wizard of Oz'', as well as the original negative of the famous 1939 movie version.
** The Dublin Zoo in Ireland has a classic children's literature theme to their annual [https://www.dublinzoo.ie/wildlights/ "Wild Lights"] holiday attraction. Among the stories profiled is ''The Wizard of Oz''.
** This year's New York State Fair had a sand sculpture celebrating the eightieth anniversary of The Movie. Not to be outdone, the Kansas State Fair this year featured butter sculptures of Dorothy and other Oz characters.
** "Beyond the Shifting Sands" notes the passing of artist Charles Santore.
** "Through the Tube" features the following YouTube videos:
*** [https://youtu.be/CmMN9bNwyDQ Peter Harrington Rare Books looks at the first edition of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz''].
*** [https://youtu.be/uOWJDjmt4GU "The Traveller and the Pie" from the 1903 stage version of ''The Wizard of Oz''], as presented by the Canton Comic Opera Company.
*** [https://youtu.be/jr7WbWgr3c0 A History of the Hotel del Coronado] in California, where L. Frank Baum wrote several of his books in the earliest years of the twentieth century.
* As a tribute to the late Fred M. Meyer, the Club's longtime Secretary, the ''Bugle'' published a previously unpublished item found in Meyer's files, "What Might L. Frank Baum Have Written Next?"
* What may be a fragment of an unfinished Oz story by L. Frank Baum, previously published in the ''Bugle'' in 1965, is reprinted as "An Oz Story", with a new illustration by Mark Manley.
* Gita Dorothy Morena, L. Frank Baum's great-granddaughter, and daughter of Ozma Baum Mentele, writes about her experiences with Oz and her family in "Living Inside the Oz Legacy".
* Mark Manley writes about his artistic journey in "Drawn to Oz".
* "The First Oz Fan Fiction" presents just that—at least the first published one—written by ten-year-old Henry Kutz and nine-year-old Max Stolz, from the June 5, 1909 edition of the ''Syracuse Post-Standard''.
* "'Written Solely to Please Children': Is Oz Still a Story for Kids?" by Dina Schiff Massachi looks at the audience(s) of the many different interpretations of Oz in mass media over the decades.
* Jane Albright takes a visit to "The Oz Museum: A World of Its Own in Wamego, Kansas", and catalogs other Oz and Oz-related museums around the United States.
* Albright also initiates a new column, "Guaranteed for a Thousand Years" with "The Empty Case for Oz", looking at how Oz fans can show off some of their collection in a local museum or library exhibit space. (Further contributions come from David C. Diket and Sarah K. Crotzer.)
* In "The Great Book of Records", Scott Cummings looks at contemporary accounts of the passing of the Royal Historian of Oz in "'The Maker of Fairies Is Dead': America Responds to the Death of L. Frank Baum".
* Presented in "Oz in the Arts":
** The recent movie [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B07YMHC328/thewonderwizardo/ ''Judy''], reviewed by Garrett Kilgore.
** ''The Wiz'', put on in Murfreesboro, Tennessee and reviewed by Sarah K. Crotzer.
* Books written up in "The Bugle Review":
** The French art album [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/2749148081/thewonderwizardo/ ''Oz'', illustrated by Stéphane Levallois], reviewed by David Maxine.
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0190639040/thewonderwizardo/ ''Ray Bolger: More Than a Scarecrow'' by Holly van Leuven], reviewed by Sarah K. Crotzer.
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0359223508/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Ruby Slippers of Oz: Thirty Years Later'' by Rhys Thomas, reviewed by Bill Campbell.
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0451480171/thewonderwizardo/ ''Sea Sirens: A Trot and Cap'n Bill Adventure'' by Amy Chu, illustrated by Janet K. Lee], reviewed by Eric Shanower.
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/173371510X/thewonderwizardo/ ''How the Wizard Came to Oz, Volume 1'' by Donald Abbott], reviewed by Atticus Gannaway.
** [https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/47176AA8-31E6-4E18-8366-D0F397DF4ED3 The 100 Anniversary Oz Collection], reprints of the first editions of L. Frank Baum's fourteen Oz books, reviewed by Sarah K. Crotzer.
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0143132431/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Women's Suffrage Movement'', edited by Sally Roesch Wagner] and reviewed by Angelica Shirley Carpenter.
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1594633436/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Swan Gondola'' by Timothy Schaffert], reviewed by Dee Michel.
* In "Adventures in Oz", Raymond Francis Wohl recounts his discovery of Oz and how he turned it into a one man show about L. Frank Baum in "The Stories Behind the Stories".


Also included with this issue are:
(Information courtesy of [https://apnews.com/article/solen-ruby-slippers-wizard-of-oz-5d142469ad5f052f6af053d20dbf20c4 The Associated Press]. Video courtesy of [https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/ WCCO CBS News Minnesota].)
* Autumn Issue #5 of ''The Oz Gazette'', the newsletter for younger Oz fans. In this issue:
** News of a missing Munchkin named Kiki Aru.
** An editorial by editor Dorothy Gale.
** The second part of the story of "How L. Frank Baum Became the Royal Historian of Oz".
** The Scarecrow writes about how important illustrations can be to a story.
** The "Ask Glinda" column covers a little bit of the history of the Nome King.
** And the Glass Cat produces her first society column (even typed by herself).
* Plus, the second part of the Emerald City toy theatre, showing the background (and a little bit of what's happening behind the scenes).


----
----


==November 17, 2019: ''Oziana'' 2019==
==March 14, 2023: ''Wicked'' Part 1 Movie Release Date Changed==
[[File:Oziana_2019.jpeg|right]]The 2019 issue of ''Oziana'', the annual literary journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, is now available for anyone to buy, whether they are Club members or not. It is available at [http://www.lulu.com/shop/marcus-mebes/oziana-2019/paperback/product-24323515.html this link to Lulu.com].
Universal has moved up the release date of the first half of the movie adaptation of ''Wicked'', the long-running Broadway and West End musical. Originally announced for Christmas 2024, they moved the date up to November 27, 2024, to coincide with the Thanksgiving holiday season it the United States. Since ''Avatar 3'' and ''Sonic the Hedgehog 3'' are also coming out on Christmas, changing ''Wicked'' to the earlier holiday weekend is probably a wise move.
 
(Information courtesy [https://variety.com/2023/film/news/wicked-movie-release-date-thanksgiving-1235553635/ ''Variety''].)
 
----


==February 25, 2023: ''The Baum Bugle'', Winter 2022 Issue==
[[File:Bbwinter22.jpg|left|500 px]]
The latest issue of ''The Baum Bugle'', the journal of [https://www.ozclub.org/ the International Wizard of Oz Club], is now making its appearance in members' mailboxes. (Yes, technically it's now 2023, but it's still the same winter season, which historically is still very good for the ''Bugle''.) This issue celebrates the centennial of ''Kabumpo in Oz'', the first Oz book to go out exclusively and definitively under the authorship of Ruth Plumly Thompson.
<br clear=all>
In this issue:
In this issue:
* The front cover by David Valentin is entitled "Friends and Family".
* All of the covers have to do with Dick Martin's 1961 cover design for the new ''Kabumpo in Oz'' dust jacket. The front cover is the finished product, the inside front cover shows the color separations, the inside back cover is a different color sketch, and the back cover is the original art.
* In "An Odd Transformation" by Sara Philips, with illustrations by Lyan Tjally, some of Oz's more unusual but noteworthy citizens are transformed in an unexpected way. (Tjally also provides a full-color illustration for this story on the back cover.)
* In "Letters", Oz Club President gives her impressions of the twice-postponed 2022 National Oz Convention, while ''Bugle'' editor-in-chief Sarah K. Crotzer remembers her encounters with Kabumpo as she discusses the creation of this issue.
* "Bitsy, the Patchwork Cat of Oz" by Jane Albright, with illustrations by Steve Smith, relates the adventures of Oz's newest animal citizen, accidentally created from some of Scraps' patches.
* News items discussed in "The Bugle Bulletin":
* "The Epiphany of Miss Gulch" by Paul Dana, with illustrations by [https://blackdaisies.com/ Mela Pagayonan], looks at what happened to Miss Gulch after Toto escaped from her basket.
** The discovery and auction of the original art by W. W. Denslow for two of the color plates from ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', both selling for over $100,000.
* "The End of the Road" is a poem by E. J. Hagadorn.
** The 2022 [https://www.tdf.org/for-the-makers/tdf-costume-collection-programs/tdf-irene-sharaff-awards-and-past-winners/ TDF/Irene Sharaff Memorial Tribute] honored Caroline F. Siedle, the costume designer for the 1903 stage extravaganza version of ''The Wizard of Oz''. (Also honored, but not mentioned in the ''Bugle'', was Eugene Lee, designer for ''Wicked'', among other shows.)
* "The Giant Weasel of Oz" by Nathan M. DeHoff, with illustrations by Darrell Spradlyn, sees the title character decide to collect a roc egg, with several Emerald City celebrities getting involved.
** The 2022 winner of the L. Frank Baum Memorial Award, the highest honor bestowed by the International Wizard of Oz Club, is Sean P. Duffley.
** Jeff Goldblum is cast as the Wizard in the ''Wicked'' movie adaptations.
** "Beyond the Shifting Sands" remembers two Oz luminaries who recently passed away: Jules Bass, one half of the famed Rankin/Bass animation studio whose works included ''Tales of the Wizard of Oz'', the 1961 TV special ''Return to Oz'', and the 1985 holiday program ''The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus''; and Angela Lansbury, whose long and storied Hollywood career includes presenting and narrating the 1990 documentary ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic''.
* In "Kerumberty Bumpus! The Joy of Oz as Series Fiction", Sarah K. Crotzer and Nick Campbell look at the proper introduction of Ruth Plumly Thompson as a Royal Historian of Oz and how her work was presented and received over the years as a part of the greater Oz series.
* In "Oz Under Scrutiny", Scott Cummings presents contemporary review of ''Kabumpo in Oz''.
* Garrett Kilgore comes to the defense of one of his favorite characters in "J'Accuse Kabumpo: Justice for the Curious Cottabus".
* Scott Cummings discovers a previously unknown dramatic adaptation of ''Kabumpo in Oz'' from Pittsburgh in 1943 in "Unearthing the Gnome King".
* "Coming and Going: ''Kabumpo in Oz''" sees Nick Campbell and Sarah K. Crotzer give brief summaries of some ideas about aspects of the book, including how it serves as a template for other Thompson Oz books, how it may have been influenced by Lewis Carroll and ''Alice in Wonderland'', and how ''Kabumpo'' may have, in turn, influenced Norton Juster and his classic story ''The Phantom Tollbooth''.
* Ryan Bunch presents the sheet music for "The Tin Woodman's Song" from Ruth Plumly Thompson's playlet ''A Day in Oz''.
* J. L. Bell reports on the first two big post-pandemic gatherings of Oz fans, OzCon International 2022 and Oz: The National Convention <s>2020</s> <s>2021</s> 2022.
* Michael Patrick Hearn introduces a Christmas play from the December 1917 issue of ''St. Nicholas Magazine'', "The Man Who Didn't Believe in Christmas" by Mary Austin, which includes the Wizard of Oz as a character.
* "Oz in the Arts" reviews [https://vimeo.com/682070569 ''And Toto, Too''] (FRIGID New York Fringe Festival, February 18-26, 2022, reviewed by Atticus Gannaway), [https://youtu.be/aK9RJY51iGE ''The Lost Princess of Oz''] (Axelrod Contemporary Ballet Theater, August 19-28, 2022, reviewed by Robert Lamont), and ''American Classics Presents Journey to Oz'' (November 18 and 20, 2022, reviewed by J. L. Bell).
* Books and games examined in "The Bugle Review":
** [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-wonderful-wizard-of-oz-interactive-minalima-edition-illustrated-with-interactive-elements-l-frank-baum/14786866?ean=9780063055735 ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum, illustrated by MinaLima] (reviewed by Peter E. Hanff).
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0B14MBLCD/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Boy Baronet in Oz'' by Phyllis Ann Karr].
** [https://bookshop.org/p/books/can-you-survive-the-wonderful-wizard-of-oz-a-choose-your-path-book-ryan-jacobson/17992501?ean=9781940647715 ''Can You Survive The Wonderful Wizard of Oz? A Choose Your Path Book'' by Ryan Jacobson].
** [http://thewizardofoz.info/wiki/Dunkiton_Press ''Dunkiton Press'' #30: Yuletide #2, compiled by Ruth Berman].
** [https://www.etsy.com/listing/1313112590/friends-of-dorothy?click_key=09f0745834b4985ddb829adca109fb76e85b948c%3A1313112590&click_sum=7cceb78b&ref=shop_home_active_3 ''Friends of Dorothy: A Tale of Homophobic Buffoonery'' by Kieran Teare-Thomas].
** [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-love-magnet-of-oz-alan-lindsay/18590786?ean=9781574330502 ''The Love Magnet of Oz'' by Alan Lisdsay].
** [https://bookshop.org/p/books/oz-a-fantasy-role-playing-setting-andrew-kolb/18257754?ean=9781524873776 ''Oz: A Fantasy Role-Playing Setting'' by Andrew Kolb].
** [https://bookshop.org/p/books/oz-and-the-musical-performing-the-american-fairy-tale-ryan-bunch/18812410?ean=9780190843144 ''Oz and the Musical: Performing the American Fairy Tale'' by Ryan Bunch].
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1678120677/thewonderwizardo/ ''Pastoria's Daughter'' by Karen Deal Robinson].
** [https://bookshop.org/p/books/shadows-over-oz-founded-on-and-continuing-the-famous-oz-stories-by-l-frank-baum-david-keyes/18693508?ean=9798500154637 ''Shadows Over Oz'' by David M. Keyes].
** [https://bookshop.org/p/books/sherlock-holmes-in-oz-gary-lovisi/18241117?ean=9781479470273 ''Sherlock Holmes in Oz'' by Gary Lovisi].
** [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-wizard-s-illusion-a-conversation-from-oz-with-sallie-mcfague-and-others-katherine-abetz/18514330?ean=9781666736021 ''The Wizard's Illusion: A Conversation from Oz with Sallie McFugue and Others'' by Katherine Abetz].
** The [https://www.x-decks.com/product/adventures-in-oz-metalluxe-collector-poker-playing-cards/ Adventures in Oz] and [https://kingswildproject.com/products/wizard-of-oz-standard-edition?_pos=1&_sid=042978b83&_ss=r The Wonderful Wizard of Oz] playing card decks, reviewed by Sarah K. Crotzer.


<br clear=all>
Other inserts that come with this issue of ''The Baum Bugle'':
* An ad for [https://www.lulu.com/shop/bob-baum-and-david-skipper-and-dave-kelleher-and-irwin-terry/oziana-2022/paperback/product-pv4dmd.html?q=Oziana+2022&page=1&pageSize=4 the 2022 edition of ''Oziana''], the annual literary journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club.
* A registration form for [http://www.ozconinternational.com/ the 2023 edition of OzCon International], July 28-30 in Pomona, California.
* The craft project for this issue is a color, cut, and assemble Emerald City Palace. Perhaps you can perch it jauntily on your head as you cosplay Ruggedo from ''Kabumpo in Oz''.
* The "Oz Live 2022" insert reported on Oz events around the country, including Oz on the Bayou (Gray, Louisiana, March 4-5), QuadCon (April 29-30, Tulsa, Oklahoma), Wizard of Oz Days (May 14-15, Chesterton, Indiana, and a second edition in Hannibal, Missouri, October 22), OzStravaganza! (Chittenango, New York, June), Judy Garland's 100th Birthday Celebration (Grand Rapids, Minnesota, June 9-12), the Michigan Wizard of Oz Festival (Ionia, Michigan, September 30-October 1), Autumn in Oz (Banner Elk, North Carolina, September weekends), The Ohio Wizard of Oz Expo (Aurora, Ohio, October 15-16), The Illinois Oz Festival (Mapleton, Illinois, August 13), and Oztoberfest (Wamego, Kansas, October 1).
* And in ''The Oz Gazette'', the newsletter for younger Oz fans (no matter what their actual age is):
** Kabumpo celebrates his one hundredth birthday.
** "A Letter form the Editor" sees the Scarecrow expounding on the issue and encouraging its readers to contribute.
** "The Emerald City Book Report" gives facts and information on ''Kabumpo in Oz''.
** "Meet an Oz Club Youth Member" interviews its youngest subject yet, five-year-old Julian from Florida.
** Glinda flips the pages of the Great Book of Records back one hundred ears to see what else happened in 1922.
** The latest actions of the enigmatic temporary new ruler of Oz, Princess Toodee, are recorded.
** "The Woggle-Bug's Contest" presents another puzzler for readers to unravel.
** American correspondent-at-large Katie Jones' "The Ozzity Report" continues her search for Ozma in all parts of our world where Oz creatures are sighted.
** And Billina the yellow hen has mysteriously been transformed into a penguin!


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==September 20, 2019: ''The Baum Bugle'' Spring 2019==
==February 8, 2023: Eugene Lee, 1939-2023==
[[File:Bbspring19.jpg|500 px|left]]The Spring 2019 issue of ''The Baum Bugle'', the journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, has finally been published and is making its way to Club members. This issue was delayed due to editor in chief Sarah K. Crotzer having to deal with a series of unforeseen hospital visits, but a new ''Bugle'' is always welcome whatever the season.
[[File:Eugene_Lee.jpeg|center]]
<br clear=all>In this issue:
Television and Broadway set designer Eugene Lee passed away today in his home in Providence, Rhode Island, at the age of 83. He was the set designer for ''Saturday Night Live'' from its 1975 premiere until the present day except for a handful of seasons in the 1980s, and also for ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' and ''Late Night with Seth Meyers''. On Broadway, he designed many shows, and won Tony Awards for his work on ''Candide'', ''Sweeney Todd'', and ''Wicked''. He is survived by his wife, Brooke, and two children.
* The front cover features the pair of Ruby Slippers purchased by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, soon to be on display at [https://www.academymuseum.org/en/exhibitions/making-of-the-wizard-of-oz their museum].
* The inside front cover features "And Yer Lil' Dog Too!" by [http://www.derekart.com/index.html Derek Yaniger], which has been on display at [https://www.animazing.com/wizard-of-oz-art-1 the Animazing Gallery] in Las Vegas as part of a ''Wizard of Oz'' exhibit.
* "Letters" presents notes from Oz Club President Jane Albright and ''Bugle'' Editor-in-Chief Sarah K. Krotzer about the latest developments (including Krotzer's hospital visits that delayed this issue for so long).
* In "The Bugle Bulletin":
** Brittney Johnson becomes [http://www.playbill.com/article/inside-brittney-johnsons-whirlwind-experience-going-on-as-wickeds-first-glinda-of-color Broadway's first African-American Glinda in ''Wicked''].
** The postponement of the ''Wicked'' movie until December 22, 2021.
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1493036297/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Road to Oz''], William Stillman and Jay Scarfone's latest book about the famous movie version of ''The Wizard of Oz'', won the Movies and TV award at [https://www.indieexcellence.com/13th-annual-winners the 13th annual National Indie Excellence Book Awards].
** The first biography of one of The Movie's most popular actors, [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0190639040/thewonderwizardo/ ''Ray Bolger: More Than a Scarecrow'' by Holly van Leuven], is published.
** To honor their appearance in [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B07MHQ5FDY/thewonderwizardo/ ''The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part''], LEGO has finally issued [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B07MB84DDL/thewonderwizardo/ minifigs of Dorothy, Toto, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion].
** Designer Virgil Abloh's [https://hypebae.com/2019/1/virgil-abloh-spring-summer-2019-louis-vuitton-collection-online ''Wizard of Oz''-inspired men's fashions] for the spring/summer 2019 Louis Vitton collection.
** William F. Brown, who wrote the book for the original Broadway musical version of ''The Wiz'', is remembered upon his passing in "Beyond the Shifting Sands…"
** A new one-woman show, [https://www.broadwayworld.com/long-island/article/Bay-Street-Theater-Announces-MY-WITCH-The-Stories-Of-Margaret-Hamilton-20190525''My Witch, the Stories of Margaret Hamilton''], starring Jean Tafler.
** The MeTV show [https://www.metv.com/collectors-call ''Collector's Call''] features the Oz collection of Walter Krueger.
** The recent auction of previously unknown photos taken on the set of The Movie during production at MGM.
** A new Oz television series in development at [https://www.legendary.com/ Legendary Entertainment].
** The new card game [https://homefromoz.com/ ''Home from Oz''].
** Recently unearthed home movie footage of [https://youtu.be/N2Go2lRr61c the Land of Oz park in North Carolina] from the 1970s.
** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvvKhIb2hsI A tour of the Land of Oz at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas] (from the 1990s).
** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGU8I5tcAQY The ''Wizard of Oz'' section of the Great Movie Ride] at Walt Disney World's Hollywood Studio (alas, no longer a ride there).
** ''Wizard of Oz'' art exhibits at [https://www.animazing.com/wizard-of-oz-art-1 The Animazing Gallery] in Las Vegas; the [https://esmoa.org/experience/oz/ El Segundo Museum of Art] in California; and an exhibit devoted to the late Barry Moser, including some of his illustrations for ''The Wizard of Oz'' at [https://gallery.bromer.com/searchResults.php?category_id=238&action=browse&orderBy=author The Bromer Gallery] in Boston.
* Jonathan Shirshekan looks at the history of Hollywood's most famous pair of shoes in part 1 of "Keep Them Ruby: Following the Steps of the Ruby Slippers".
* Jay Scarfone and William Stillman look back at the caravan used to publicize ''The Wizard of Oz'' on its release in ""Oz on Tour: 1939".
* The new "Great Book of Records" column sees Scott Cummings reporting on a 1933 event to publicize the new Oz book for 1933, ''Ojo in Oz'', and the new ''Wizard of Oz'' radio show, in "A Tea Party for Oz".
* "Collector's Corner" sees Bill Thompson writing about a curious item, Reilly and Britton's ''Children's Stories That Never Grow Old'', illustrated by John R. Neill.
* At long last, Jane Albright wraps up her examination of Oz puppetry in part 2 of "Pulling Strings".
* In "Oz in the Arts":
** [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0007l6x ''Friday Night Is Music Night: The Wizard of Oz 80th Anniversary], hosted by Warwick Davis in London, reviewed by Dave Ward.
** ''The Wizard of Oz Unplugged'' at the Waukesha Civic Theatre in Waukesha, Wisconsin, reviewed by Laura DeNooyer.
* Books featured in "The Bugle Review":
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1496823370/thewonderwizardo/ ''Oz Behind the Iron Curtain: Aleksandr Volkov and His Magic Land Series'' by Erika Haber], reviewed by Michael Patrick Hearn.
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0525622101/thewonderwizardo/ ''Finding Dorothy: A Novel'' by Elizabeth Letts], reviewed by Dee Michel.
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0991199162/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Lost Tales of Oz'', edited by Joe Bongiorno] and reviewed by Atticus Gannaway
* In "Advetures in Oz", Christopher Rhoton relays his experience designing for a stage production of ''The Wizard of Oz'' in Chicago, with color photos from the show reproduced on the back cover.
* The inside back cover reproduces a Reilly and Britton advertisement for ''Children's Stories That Never Grow Old'' from a 1908 edition of ''Publishers' Weekly''.


Also included with this issue:
(Information courtesy [https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Tony-Winning-Set-Designer-Eugene-Lee-Passes-Away-20230208 Broadway World] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Lee_(designer) Wikipedia]. Photograph courtesy of [https://sports.yahoo.com/eugene-lee-snl-set-designer-185905185.html Yahoo!])
* Issue number four of the revived version of ''The Oz Gazette'', dedicated to younger (or young at heart) Oz fans. Among the items are a contest to draw a new map of Oz; how L. Frank Baum met W. W. Denslow; the Scarecrow reviews [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/042528784X/thewonderwizardo/ ''Fantastic Mr. Fox'' by Roald Dahl]; Glinda explaining why animals in Oz can talk (and why some can't); and an interview with the Cowardly Lion.
* The craft project is part one of an Emerald City toy theater, with the proscenium arch, box seats, and four Oz characters. (More parts and characters are promised in the remaining two parts, coming in the Autumn and Winter issues.)


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The previously announced release date for the movie adaptation of the Broadway musical version of ''Wicked'' turns out to have been premature—''again''. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic shuffling release schedules around, the original first-postponed December 22, 2021 release date was given over to ''Sing 2''. So the ''Wicked'' movie is on hold again, but it is still in development, although it has no definitive release date yet.
The latest Oz projects to be announced in Hollywood: ''Cheshire Crossing'', the graphic novel by Andy Weir and Sarah Anderson, optioned by Amblin Partners (see [https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/amblin-michael-de-luca-tackling-martian-author-s-fantasy-graphic-novel-cheshire-crossing-1255011 this report]); and an animated musical adaptation of the book ''Toto: The Dog-Gone Amazing Story of the Wizard of Oz'', where the story is told from Toto's point of view, to be produced at Warner Bros. (see [https://deadline.com/2020/10/toto-the-dog-gone-amazing-story-of-the-wizard-of-oz-animated-pic-in-the-works-at-warner-bros-1234596757/ this source]).
 
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The latest Oz project to be announced in Hollywood: ''Cheshire Crossing'', the graphic novel by Andy Weir and Sarah Anderson, optioned by Amblin Partners. (See [https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/amblin-michael-de-luca-tackling-martian-author-s-fantasy-graphic-novel-cheshire-crossing-1255011 this report].)


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Latest revision as of 07:55, 19 December 2023

(I will update this page when there is news to tell. Any news older than a year is dropped at the next update. If you have news to report, please e-mail me.)

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December 11, 2023: Judge Dismisses Dorothy Dress Ownership Lawsuit

a dress worn by Judy Garland during production of The Wizard of Oz may soon be up for auction now that a federal judge in New York has dismissed a lawsuit by the niece of a priest who once worked at the school where it was found. The Catholic University of America, where the dress was found in 2021. It had been given to Father Gilbert Hartke, chairman of the university's drama department, by actress Mercedes McCambridge, a friend of Garland. When the late Father Hartke's niece, Barbara Hartke, heard about the dress and the plan to auction it off, she sued to take ownership of the dress. In dismissing the suit, Judge Paul Gardephe noted that Barbara Hartke had not established that she was the executor of her uncle's estate or had any other standing in the case. Furthermore, as a Dominican, Father Hartke had taken a vow of poverty and renounced ownership of "temporal goods", and thus had not been the owner of the dress in the first place.

Barbara Hartke has ten days to amend her lawsuit and establish standing. Otherwise, the dress will belong to Catholic university, which can then go through with plans to auction aff the dress. The auction has been on hold for over a year while the case worked its way through the system.

(Information courtesy CNBC.)


October 17, 2023: Dorothy House Miniature Auctioned Off

A miniature of the Gale farmhouse from the famous 1939 movie adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, used in the tornado scene, was auctioned off today by Studio Auctions. The final sale price was $537,000, well above the pre-auction estimate.

(Information courtesy of PR Newswire.)


October 14, 2023: Piper Laurie, 1932-2023

Piper-laurie.jpeg

Piper Laurie, the Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning actress who was also nominated for three Academy Awards and a BAFTA, passed away today. She was 91. Born in Detroit in 1932, Rosetta Jacobs changed her name to Piper Laurie when she signed a contract with Universal Pictures in 1949. She made her screen debut in Louisa opposite Ronald Reagan, and also co-starred with actors such as Donald O'Connor, Tony Curtis, and Rory Calhoun. But she soon moved back to New York to appear on stage and in television. Hollywood beckoned again with a part in The Hustler opposite Paul Newman, which garnered her first Oscar nomination. The parts she was offered did not improve, however, so she went back to New York. Her next film was Carrie in 1976, where she played Margaret White, Carrie's mother, in another Oscar-nominated role. She continued to appear in movies (including Children of a Lesser God, for which she received her third Oscar nomination), on television, and on stage for the rest of her career. Other notable roles include the television movie Promise, for which she won a Emmy; Twin Peaks, which netted her a Golden Globe; and the 1978 television biopic about Judy Garland, Rainbow, in which she played Ethel Gumm, Judy's mother. She is best known to Oz fans, however, for playing Aunt Em in the 1985 Disney movie Return to Oz.

(Information courtesy of Wikipedia and Entertainment Weekly.)


October 13, 2023: Martin Changes Plea to Guilty in Theft of Ruby Slippers

Terry Jon Martin, the Minnesota resident charged with the 2005 theft of a pair of Ruby Slippers used during the production of The Wizard of Oz, has changed his plea to guilty. As part of a plea deal entered in federal court in Duluth, Minnesota, Martin, 78 years old and suffering from OCPD, will face no jail time.

(Information courtesy of the Associated Press via Yahoo! News. More information is also available from KARE11.com.)


July 30, 2023: Betty Ann Bruno, 1931-2023

Betty Ann Bruno, the long-time San Francisco news anchor whose show business career began as a Munchkin in The Wizard of Oz, passed away today at the age of 91. Born Betty Ann Ka'ihliani in Hawai'i on October 1, 1931, she grew up in Hollywood and had an uncredited part in 1937's The Hurricane before playing one of the female background Munchkins in The Wizard of Oz at the age of seven. Acting was not in her blood, however, and she went on to graduate from Stanford before becoming a news anchor at KTVU in San Francisco in 1971, a job she held for over twenty years. She won three news Emmys for her work there. After retiring, she went on to become a hula instructor and founder of the dance troupe Hula Mai. She was named Sonoma Treasure Artist in 2020, and appeared on To Tell the Truth in 2022 in a segment on her time as a Munchkin. During the COVID lockdown, she wrote her memoir, The Munchkin Diary: My Personal Yellow Brick Road. She is survived by her husband, Craig, and her three sons.

(Information courtesy Deadline and SFGate.)


July 29, 2023: The 2023 Winkie Award and Oz Club Awards

The International Wizard of Oz Club presented its annual awards tonight, alongside the Winkie Award, as part of the 2023 OzCon International in Pomona, California. The awards were:

  • First of the Club's annual writing and art contest winners, the Fred Otto Prize for Fiction:
    • First place to J. L. Bell for "The Missing Key".
    • Second place, also to J. L. Bell, for "The Piglets and the Tin Soldier".
  • The C. Warren Hollister Prize for Non-fiction:
    • First place to J. L. Bell (him again?) for "Inspiring Maps of Oz".
    • Second place to Jem Abbas for "Technicolor at the Theatrical Premiere of The Wizard of Oz".
  • The Rob Roy MacVeigh Award for Art went to David Valentin for "Mombi's Magic".
  • The Winkie Award, voted on by member of OzCon International for contributions to the convention, went to Freddy Fogarty.
  • The L. Frank Baum Memorial Award, the most prestigious prize in Oz fandom, went to Blair Frodelius for his many contributions to spreading the word about Oz online over the years.

July 17, 2023: The Baum Bugle Spring 2023 Issue

Bbspring23.jpeg

The Spring 2023 issue of The Baum Bugle, the journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, has made its way back from the printers and is on its way to members' mailboxes right now. This issue emphasizes the first word in the name of the club, with articles about how Oz is expressed in countries outside of the United States.

In this issue:

  • The front cover reproduces the cover art for the Oz game from Gen X Games.
  • The inside front and back covers reproduce art by Leonid Vladimirsky for postcards based on Волшебник Изумрудного Города (The Wizard of the Emerald City, the Russian version of The Wizard of Oz).
  • In letters, Jane Albright writes her final column as President of the International Wizard of Oz Club, while Editor-in-Chief Sarah K. Crotzer takes the readers through the process of this becoming a truly international issue.
  • In "The Bugle Bulletin":
    • The Wiz gets a new production and nationwide tour with the aim of making it to Broadway next year.
    • The Wicked movies get new cast members (Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Marissa Bode as Nessarose, Ethan Slater as Boq, Bowen Yang as Pfannee), and part 1 gets its release date moved up to November 2024. [No doubt part 2's release also moving, to November 2025, will make it into the next issue.]
    • The animated short The Tin Woods will premiere at OzCon International.
    • Online story platform Land of Tales now has an adaptation of "Hickory, Dickory, Dock", a story from Mother Goose in Prose by L. Frank Baum.
    • Ozzy backdrops from a 1941 Mardi Gras ball have been rediscovered and cataloged by NOLA Tableaux. The program has been digitized as well.
    • A new opera based on the second Oz book, Marvelous, is gearing up for its world premiere.
    • "Across the Shifting Sands" remembers two notable Ozians who recently passed away: Romona Carlin, former First Lady of Kansas who organized an Oz-themed event in Topeka; and artist Shawn Maldonado.
    • "Through the Tube!" only presents one video from YouTube instead of its usual three, but it's a good one: Artist Leonid Vladimirsky on Russian television in 1989 celebrating fifty years of Magic Land. (Don't worry, it has English subtitles.)
  • Jane Albright and Sara K. Crotzer interview the daughter of Magic Land illustrator Leonid Vladimirsky in "The Map to Magic Land: Aia Vladimirsky Remembers Her Fathre".
  • Want to collect the art of a Magic Land illustrator? Well, "An Initial Checklist of the Works by Leonid Vladimirsky" is a good place to start.
  • A Strange Post-Soviet Union" by Atticus Gannaway looks at an unusual pairing of recent Russian translations in one volume: L. Frank Baum's Queen Zixi of Ix and John R. Neill's The Wonder City of Oz!
  • Dave Ward looks at the first British stage production of The Wizard of Oz in "London, 1942".
  • Nick Campbell gives an overview of British editions of the Oz books in "Following Wonder: A History of British Publishing in Five Oz Books".
  • The creator of the new ballet The Lost Princess of Oz (reviewed last issue) is interviewed in "Faith: Gabriel Chajnik's Journey to Find a Lost Princess".
  • The creator of the new Oz card game is interviewed in "Walk the Road: An Interview with Óscar Arévalo" (with art and additional comments by Lorena Azpiri).
  • Sarah K. Crotzer looks at one particular word in the name of the organization when she asks, "How International Was the Early International Wizard of Oz Club?"
  • Reviewed in "Oz in the Arts":
    • The Land of Oz at the Dobama Theatre, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, December 2022.
    • Claus: The Musical (based on The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus), The Lowry, Salford, England, December 2022.
    • The Wizard of Paws, or There's No Place Like a Furever Home, Englewood Arts Center, Independence, Missouri, April 2023.
  • Reviewed in "The Bugle Review":
  • And the inside back cover reproduces four cover images from British editions of the Oz books.

Also included in this issue:

  • The craft is a cut-out Russian nesting doll, based on the Magic Land art of Leonid Vladimirsky.
  • In The Emerald City Mirror, the newsletter aimed at younger Oz fans (no matter what their actual ages are):
    • It seems Princess Toodee, who temporarily took over for Ozma, was just a paper doll being used by the usurper who just took over Oz: The Nome King!
    • Editor-in-chief the Scarecrow reports from where everyone is hiding out from the new king, the Emerald City Library. (Since the Nome King doesn't read books, he probably won't find them there!)
    • A reprint from the archives looks at just who the Nome King is, anyway.
    • The Nome King's many schemes from the Oz books are recounted, along with a look at various eggs and a few of the Nome King's more colorful quotes.
    • Oz Club member on assignment Katie Jones reports from San Francisco, where reports of fantastic beings appearing there include a dragon!
    • And two contests: Guess the answer to "What Did the Wogglebug Say?" and draw a picture of the Cowardly Lion to celebrate the centennial of The Cowardly Lion of Oz.



July 15, 2023: SAG-AFTRA Strike Delays Wicked Production

Among the many movie and television projects put on hold by the SAG-AFTRA strike is the movie adaptation of Wicked. Word is that the main production only had ten days and one major musical number ("One Short Day") to go. Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Michelle Yeoh, and Bowen Yang are among the Wicked stars posting support for the actors' strike. When production can resume, and if the delay will affect the release dates for the two films, will likely depend on the length of the strike.

(Information courtesy Broadway World.)


June 20, 2023: Wicked Part 2 Release Moved Up

After the release of the first part of the Wicked movie adaptation was moved up to November earlier this year, it should come as no surprise that the release of part two was also moved up today. Originally scheduled for Christmas 2025, it will now come out on November 26, 2025. This will move it away from the same release window as Avatar 3, and also give it more time to build an audience over the holidays. (Both parts will now come out the day before Thanksgiving in the United States.)

(Information courtesy The Hollywood Reporter.)


June 1, 2023: Accused Ruby Slipper Thief Enters Plea

Terry Jon Martin, the man accused of stealing the Ruby Slippers from the Judy Garland Museum in 2005, entered his plea today. He has pled not guilty to one count of Theft of a Major Art Work.

(Information courtesy of KSTP Minneapolis/St. Paul.)


May 17, 2023: An Arrest in the Ruby Slipper Theft

Terry Martin, 76, has been indicted in the 2005 theft of a pair of Ruby Slippers, originally worn by Judy Garland in the famous 1939 film adaptation of The Wizard of Oz. The Slippers were recovered in 2018. The investigation has been ongoing, and Martin has been charged with one count of theft of a major artwork. The charge was filed by federal prosecutors in North Dakota. The Ruby Slippers at the time belonged to collector Michael Shaw, who had loaned them to the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. They were stolen in 2005, and Shaw eventually received a settlement from his insurers. A man contacted the insurers about the Slippers in 2017, setting off an investigation and eventual FBI sting operation. Nobody was charged at the time of the Slippers' recovery. Martin lives just south of Grand Rapids, but otherwise does not appear to have any connection to the museum or Garland. This is still an ongoing investigation, and it's possible other indictments may come later.

(Information courtesy of The Associated Press. Video courtesy of WCCO CBS News Minnesota.)


March 14, 2023: Wicked Part 1 Movie Release Date Changed

Universal has moved up the release date of the first half of the movie adaptation of Wicked, the long-running Broadway and West End musical. Originally announced for Christmas 2024, they moved the date up to November 27, 2024, to coincide with the Thanksgiving holiday season it the United States. Since Avatar 3 and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 are also coming out on Christmas, changing Wicked to the earlier holiday weekend is probably a wise move.

(Information courtesy Variety.)


February 25, 2023: The Baum Bugle, Winter 2022 Issue

Bbwinter22.jpg

The latest issue of The Baum Bugle, the journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, is now making its appearance in members' mailboxes. (Yes, technically it's now 2023, but it's still the same winter season, which historically is still very good for the Bugle.) This issue celebrates the centennial of Kabumpo in Oz, the first Oz book to go out exclusively and definitively under the authorship of Ruth Plumly Thompson.
In this issue:

  • All of the covers have to do with Dick Martin's 1961 cover design for the new Kabumpo in Oz dust jacket. The front cover is the finished product, the inside front cover shows the color separations, the inside back cover is a different color sketch, and the back cover is the original art.
  • In "Letters", Oz Club President gives her impressions of the twice-postponed 2022 National Oz Convention, while Bugle editor-in-chief Sarah K. Crotzer remembers her encounters with Kabumpo as she discusses the creation of this issue.
  • News items discussed in "The Bugle Bulletin":
    • The discovery and auction of the original art by W. W. Denslow for two of the color plates from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, both selling for over $100,000.
    • The 2022 TDF/Irene Sharaff Memorial Tribute honored Caroline F. Siedle, the costume designer for the 1903 stage extravaganza version of The Wizard of Oz. (Also honored, but not mentioned in the Bugle, was Eugene Lee, designer for Wicked, among other shows.)
    • The 2022 winner of the L. Frank Baum Memorial Award, the highest honor bestowed by the International Wizard of Oz Club, is Sean P. Duffley.
    • Jeff Goldblum is cast as the Wizard in the Wicked movie adaptations.
    • "Beyond the Shifting Sands" remembers two Oz luminaries who recently passed away: Jules Bass, one half of the famed Rankin/Bass animation studio whose works included Tales of the Wizard of Oz, the 1961 TV special Return to Oz, and the 1985 holiday program The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus; and Angela Lansbury, whose long and storied Hollywood career includes presenting and narrating the 1990 documentary The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic.
  • In "Kerumberty Bumpus! The Joy of Oz as Series Fiction", Sarah K. Crotzer and Nick Campbell look at the proper introduction of Ruth Plumly Thompson as a Royal Historian of Oz and how her work was presented and received over the years as a part of the greater Oz series.
  • In "Oz Under Scrutiny", Scott Cummings presents contemporary review of Kabumpo in Oz.
  • Garrett Kilgore comes to the defense of one of his favorite characters in "J'Accuse Kabumpo: Justice for the Curious Cottabus".
  • Scott Cummings discovers a previously unknown dramatic adaptation of Kabumpo in Oz from Pittsburgh in 1943 in "Unearthing the Gnome King".
  • "Coming and Going: Kabumpo in Oz" sees Nick Campbell and Sarah K. Crotzer give brief summaries of some ideas about aspects of the book, including how it serves as a template for other Thompson Oz books, how it may have been influenced by Lewis Carroll and Alice in Wonderland, and how Kabumpo may have, in turn, influenced Norton Juster and his classic story The Phantom Tollbooth.
  • Ryan Bunch presents the sheet music for "The Tin Woodman's Song" from Ruth Plumly Thompson's playlet A Day in Oz.
  • J. L. Bell reports on the first two big post-pandemic gatherings of Oz fans, OzCon International 2022 and Oz: The National Convention 2020 2021 2022.
  • Michael Patrick Hearn introduces a Christmas play from the December 1917 issue of St. Nicholas Magazine, "The Man Who Didn't Believe in Christmas" by Mary Austin, which includes the Wizard of Oz as a character.
  • "Oz in the Arts" reviews And Toto, Too (FRIGID New York Fringe Festival, February 18-26, 2022, reviewed by Atticus Gannaway), The Lost Princess of Oz (Axelrod Contemporary Ballet Theater, August 19-28, 2022, reviewed by Robert Lamont), and American Classics Presents Journey to Oz (November 18 and 20, 2022, reviewed by J. L. Bell).
  • Books and games examined in "The Bugle Review":

Other inserts that come with this issue of The Baum Bugle:

  • An ad for the 2022 edition of Oziana, the annual literary journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club.
  • A registration form for the 2023 edition of OzCon International, July 28-30 in Pomona, California.
  • The craft project for this issue is a color, cut, and assemble Emerald City Palace. Perhaps you can perch it jauntily on your head as you cosplay Ruggedo from Kabumpo in Oz.
  • The "Oz Live 2022" insert reported on Oz events around the country, including Oz on the Bayou (Gray, Louisiana, March 4-5), QuadCon (April 29-30, Tulsa, Oklahoma), Wizard of Oz Days (May 14-15, Chesterton, Indiana, and a second edition in Hannibal, Missouri, October 22), OzStravaganza! (Chittenango, New York, June), Judy Garland's 100th Birthday Celebration (Grand Rapids, Minnesota, June 9-12), the Michigan Wizard of Oz Festival (Ionia, Michigan, September 30-October 1), Autumn in Oz (Banner Elk, North Carolina, September weekends), The Ohio Wizard of Oz Expo (Aurora, Ohio, October 15-16), The Illinois Oz Festival (Mapleton, Illinois, August 13), and Oztoberfest (Wamego, Kansas, October 1).
  • And in The Oz Gazette, the newsletter for younger Oz fans (no matter what their actual age is):
    • Kabumpo celebrates his one hundredth birthday.
    • "A Letter form the Editor" sees the Scarecrow expounding on the issue and encouraging its readers to contribute.
    • "The Emerald City Book Report" gives facts and information on Kabumpo in Oz.
    • "Meet an Oz Club Youth Member" interviews its youngest subject yet, five-year-old Julian from Florida.
    • Glinda flips the pages of the Great Book of Records back one hundred ears to see what else happened in 1922.
    • The latest actions of the enigmatic temporary new ruler of Oz, Princess Toodee, are recorded.
    • "The Woggle-Bug's Contest" presents another puzzler for readers to unravel.
    • American correspondent-at-large Katie Jones' "The Ozzity Report" continues her search for Ozma in all parts of our world where Oz creatures are sighted.
    • And Billina the yellow hen has mysteriously been transformed into a penguin!

February 8, 2023: Eugene Lee, 1939-2023

Eugene Lee.jpeg

Television and Broadway set designer Eugene Lee passed away today in his home in Providence, Rhode Island, at the age of 83. He was the set designer for Saturday Night Live from its 1975 premiere until the present day except for a handful of seasons in the 1980s, and also for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Seth Meyers. On Broadway, he designed many shows, and won Tony Awards for his work on Candide, Sweeney Todd, and Wicked. He is survived by his wife, Brooke, and two children.

(Information courtesy Broadway World and Wikipedia. Photograph courtesy of Yahoo!)


Rumor Control

(Because of the many questions I am asked about possible forthcoming Oz projects or other bits of pseudo-news, I have added this section to answer some of these inquiries.)


The latest Oz projects to be announced in Hollywood: Cheshire Crossing, the graphic novel by Andy Weir and Sarah Anderson, optioned by Amblin Partners (see this report); and an animated musical adaptation of the book Toto: The Dog-Gone Amazing Story of the Wizard of Oz, where the story is told from Toto's point of view, to be produced at Warner Bros. (see this source).


Okay, yes, word has leaked out that Warner Bros. tried to talk Robert Zemeckis into directing a remake of The Wizard of Oz, using the same screenplay as the famous 1939 Judy Garland version. Zemeckis already rejected the idea. This probably puts the idea on the back burner for a while, and based on the extreme negative reaction the idea got, I suspect it will stay there. Rumors of this have surfaced again, but appear to be the result of someone finding the old story and running it again.


It's getting harder and harder to keep up with all of the currently planned Oz movie and television projects. Bear in mind that at this stage, most of it is speculation and/or not even in pre-production, or possibly even a game of "Telephone". But here are some of the current Oz movies that could be coming to your local theater in the next few years:

  • The Road to Oz, a movie biopic about the life of L. Frank Baum and how he created Oz, starring Eddie Redmayne as Frank. (See reports here and here.)
  • Dark Oz 3-D, based on the old Caliber comic book.
  • A non-musical, faithful adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from New Line and Temple Hill.
  • The Oz Wars, which would have the witches fighting for control of the Emerald City while the Wizard leads the resistance.
  • John Boorman's animated adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz seems to be on track for release — in France. Once it's released, an English-language release will likely come out soon afterwards. (However, in a recent interview, Boorman admitted that the project has stalled due to lack of funding.)
  • Oz: Return to the Emerald City was one of two possible competing projects at Warner Bros. This original sequel may now be shopped around to other studios, or turned into a novel.
  • The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, a low-budget independent production from Barnyard Studios and Used Productions. This is very much a shoestring production, which is looking for money and actors. But its Kickstarter campaign to raise the last money it needed was a success, so it may be finished soon.
  • Legend of Oz, a modern retelling of The Wizard of Oz from Valley Wind Productions in Ottawa.
  • Oz, a new telling of The Wizard of Oz.
  • A still unnamed horror movie set in the 1920s with Dorothy meeting Alice in Bedlam Asylum.
  • Young Santa., based on L. Frank Baum's book The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus and directed by Sean McNamara.
  • How the Wizard Came to Oz, based on two books by Donald Abbott.
  • Not entirely Oz, strictly speaking, but the Judy Garland biography Get Happy may be made into a movie, featuring Anne Hathaway as Garland.

And it's not limited to movies any more. In development for television:

  • Red Brick Road, a television series continuation of The Wizard of Oz in the style of Game of Thrones. The latest word is that this is being developed for the Lifetime channel.
  • Dorothy, an Oz-themed medical drama in development at CBS
  • Dorothy Must Die, in which Dorothy has returned to Oz and become a dictator, in development at the CW. This would be based on the book series of the same name.
  • Warriors of Oz, a post-apocalyptic version in development at Syfy.
  • A Wicked television miniseries, based on the original book (not the stage musical). Salma Hayak was attached to this as a producer. When last heard of, it was under development at ABC.

No, Peter Jackson is not producing or directing a billion-dollar all-CGI remake of The Wizard of Oz for Warner Bros. How do stories like this get started? Oh, maybe in stories like this...


In recent years, there have been proposals for other Oz or related projects, none of which now appear that they will get off the ground. Among them:

  • Lost in Oz, a series that was to feature Melissa George as a Kansas university student who is whisked to Oz sixty years after the events of The Wizard of Oz (The Movie) and helping to spearhead a rebellion against the new Wicked Witch of the West. Although developed for the WB and a pilot film produced, it was never picked up, nor the pilot shown. (But keep an eye out on auction sites, as a bootleg DVD sometimes shows up…)
  • A telelvision miniseries based on Gregory Maguire's novel Wicked, with Demi Moore in the title role. (There are stories that the people developing this version later pushed their involvement into the musical version now playing on Broadway and elsewhere.)
  • The O. Z., a hip-hop flavored re-telling of The Wizard of Oz for Fox. Among the rumored Dorothy's at one point were Brandy, Mya, and the late Aaliyah. Justin Timberlake, John Leuizamo, and Little Richard were mentioned for other parts.
  • Surrender Dorothy. Drew Barrymore as Dorothy's great-granddaughter coming to Oz, and battling the Wicked Witch of the West's granddaughter. (Rumors of this recently resurfaced, but were quickly squelched. This project is dead.)
  • Somewhere starring Elizabeth Taylor as Dorothy, now a grandmother, returning to Oz. The deaths of both Taylor and developer Rod Steiger means this is unlikely to ever happen.
  • Pamela West, where the Wicked Witch is the innocent victim and Dorothy (with Toto as a pit bull) is the evil interloper.
  • The Land of Oz (not based on the book of the same name), produced by Hallmark for NBC. This eventually became the basis for the Sci Fi Channel miniseries Tin Man.
  • The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus from Circa Pictures. It's no longer listed on their website.
  • The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus from Hyde Park Entertainment and Toonz Entertainment.
  • A Bollywood adaptation of The Wizard of Oz in India.
  • A movie version of American McGee's (later cancelled) Oz video game.
  • Geoff Ryman's Was.

If progress is made on any of these projects, such as actually going into production or a release date announced, the news will be posted as quickly as possible on this page. But at this stage, any of these going into production is very unlikely. (However, Tin Man was part of this list for some time before its eventual completion and broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel.)

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