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==June 7, 2014: The 2014 L. Frank Baum Memorial Award==
==''Wicked'' and ''Wicked: For Good'' Accolades and Awards==
Tonight, the International Wizard of Oz Club bestowed its highest honor, [http://ozclub.org/about-us/l-frank-baum-memorial-award-winners/ the L. Frank Baum Memorial Award], to Gregory Maguire. Maguire's new vision of Oz, from his ''Wicked Years'' cycles of books, has brought a new vision to Oz and brought in many new readers. The first book in the series, ''Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West'', is the basis for the award-winning and popular musical ''Wicked''. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Website extends its congratulations to Maguire for a well-deserved award.
With high profile movie releases, naturally ''Wicked'' and ''Wicked: For Good'' will receive acclaim during the film award seasons. Here, then, we will keep track of awards presented to the ''Wicked'' movies and their cast and crew, plus nominations for awards to be given later. Keep an eye on this list or [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accolades_received_by_Wicked_(2024_film) the Wikipedia page] as more news comes in.
 
The awards are presented here in the chronological order they were presented:
* September 27, 2024: International Cinematographers "Manaki Brothers" Film Festival, SUMOLIGHT Creative Energy Award: Alice Brooks (Cinematographer) and Dave Smith (Gaffer)
* November 18, 2024: Heartland Film Festival, Truly Moving Picture Award: ''Wicked''
* November 23, 2024: The International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography Camerimage, Production Designer Award: Nathan Crowley
* December 4, 2024: National Board of Review
** Best Film: ''Wicked''
** Best Director: Jon M. Chu
** Spotlight Award: the creative collaboration of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande
* December 5, 2024: American Film Institute Awards, Top 10 Films of the Year: ''Wicked'' (alongside nine other movies)
* December 8, 2024: Washington DC Area Film Critics Film Critics Association
** Best Feature: ''Wicked''
** Best Production Design: Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales
* December 8, 2024: Astra Film and Creative Arts Awards
** Best Picture: ''Wicked''
** Best Actress: Cynthia Erivo
** Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande (tied with Zoe Saldaña for ''Emilia Pérez'')
** Best Director: Jon M. Chu
** Best Casting: Tiffany Little Canfield and Bernard Telsey
** Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
** Best Marketing Campaign: ''Wicked''
** Best Production Design: Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales
* December 9, 2024: Celebration of Black Cinema and Television, Actress Award—Film: Cynthia Erivo
* December 9, 2024: Michigan Movie Critics Guild, Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande
* December 9, 2024: Atlanta Film Critics Circle, Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande
* December 9, 2024: San Diego Film Critics Society
** Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande
** Best Production Design: Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales
** Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
* December 13, 2024: African-American Film Critics Association, Innovator Award: Paul Tazewell
* December 13, 2024: Las Vegas Film Critics Society
** Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
** Best Family Film: ''Wicked''
* December 15, 2024: St. Louis Film Critics Association, Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
* December 16, 2024: Phoenix Film Critics Society
** Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande
** Best Costume Design: ''Wicked''
* December 16, 2024: Seattle Film Critics Society, Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
* December 16, 2024: Iowa Film Critics Association, Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande (tied with Isabella Rossellini in ''Conclave'')
* December 16, 2024: Southeastern Film Critics Association, Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande
* December 21, 2024: Nevada Film Critics Society
** Best Actress: Cynthia Erivo
** Best Visual Effects: Pablo Helman
* December 30, 2024: TiBS Editors Choice Awards:
** Best Actress: Cynthia Erivo
** Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande
** Best Director: Jon M. Chu
** Best Ensemble: ''Wicked''
* January 2, 2025: Capri Hollywood-International Film Festival Award, Best Sound: ''Wicked''
* January 2, 2025: Critics Association of Central Florida
** Best Cast: ''Wicked''
** Best Production Design: ''Wicked''
** Best Sound Design: ''Wicked''
* January 3, 2025: Palm Springs International Film Festival
** Creative Impact in Acting Award: Cynthia Erivo
** Rising Star Award: Ariana Grande
* January 3, 2025: Oklahoma Film Critics Circle, Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande
* January 4, 2025: DiscussingFilm Global Critic Award, Best Production Design: ''Wicked''
* January 5, 2025: Golden Globe Awards, Cinematic and Box Office Achievement: ''Wicked''
* January 10, 2025: Music City Film Critics Association, Best Music Film: ''Wicked''
* January 10, 2025: Minnesota Film Critics Association, Best Costume Design: ''Wicked''
* January 12, 2025: Puerto Rico Critics Association
** Best Comedy/Musical: ''Wicked''
** Best Production Design: ''Wicked''
** Best Costume Design: ''Wicked''
* January 13, 2025: North Dakota Film Society, Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
* January 13, 2025: Hawaii Film Critics Society
** Best Art Direction: ''Wicked''
** Best Costume Design: ''Wicked''
** Best Visual Effects: ''Wicked''
* January 14, 2025: Portland Critics Association, Best Supporting Performance (Female): Ariana Grande
* January 16, 2025: North American Film Critics Association, Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande
* January 24, 2025: Denver Film Critics Society, Best Supporting Performance by an Actor, Female: Ariana Grande
* January 26, 2025: Satellite Awards
** Best Supporting Actress—Motion Picture: Ariana Grande
** Best Production Design: ''Wicked''
** Best Costume Design: ''Wicked''
** Best Sound: ''Wicked''
** Make-Up Award: ''Wicked''
* January 27, 2025: Online Film Critics Society, Technical Achievement Award — Choreography: ''Wicked''
* February 6, 2025: Costume Designers Guild Awards, Excellence in Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film: Paul Tazewell
* February 7, 2025: Set Decorators Society of America, Best Achievement in Décor/Design of a Comedy or Musical Feature Film: Lee Sandales and Nathan Crowley
* February 7, 2025: Critics' Choice Movie Awards
** Best Director: Jon M. Chu
** Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
** Best Production Design: Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales
* February 7, 2025: AACTA Awards, Audience Choice Award for Favourite Film: ''Wicked''
* February 9, 2025: Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Virtuoso Award: Ariana Grande
* February 9, 2025: AARP Movies for Grownups Awards, Best Screenwriter: Winnie Holzman
* February 12, 2025: Artios Awards, Outstanding Achievement in Casting – Big Budget Feature (Comedy): Bernard Telsey, Tiffany Little Canfield, Ryan Bernard Tymensky, Tamsyn Manson
* February 13, 2025: Dorian Awards
** Supporting Film Performance of the Year: Ariana Grande
** "We're Wilde About You" Rising Star Award: Jonathan Bailey
** Galeca LGBTQIA+ Film Trailblazer: Cynthia Erivo
* February 15, 2025: Art Directors Guild Awards, Excellence in Production Design for a Fantasy Film: Nathan Crowley
* February 15, 2025: Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild
** Best Period and/or Character Make-Up in a Feature-Length Motion Picture: Frances Hannon, Alice Jones, Nuria Mbornio, Johanna Nielsen, Branka Vorkapic
** Best Period and/or Character Hair Styling in a Feature-Length Motion Picture: Frances Hannon, Sarah Nuth, Sim Camps, Gabor Kerekes
* February 16, 2025: BAFTA Film Awards
** Best Production Design: ''Wicked''
** Best Costume Design: ''Wicked''
* February 17, 2025: Black Reel Awards
** Outstanding Soundtrack: ''Wicked''
** Outstanding Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
* February 17, 2025: Latino Entertainment Journalists Society
** Best Production Design: Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales
** Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
* February 22, 2025: NAACP Image Awards
** Outstanding Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
** Outstanding Soundtrack/Compilation Album: ''Wicked: The Soundtrack''
* February 23, 2025: Online Film and Television Association
** Best Production Design: ''Wicked''
** Best Costume Design: ''Wicked''
** Best Adapted Song: "Defying Gravity"
* February 23, 2025: Golden Reel Awards, Outstanding Achievement in Music Editing–Feature Motion Picture: Catherine Wilson, Robin Baynton
* February 28, 2025: International Cinematographers Guild Publicists Awards, Maxwell Weinberg Award for Motion Picture Publicity Campaign: ''Wicked''
* March 2, 2025: Academy Awards
** Best Costume Design: ''Wicked''
** Best Production Design: ''Wicked''
* March 11, 2025: Queerties
** Drama Movie: ''Wicked''
** Film Performance: Jonathan Bailey
** Next Big Thing: ''Wicked: For Good''
* March 14, 2025: American Cinema Editors Awards, Best Edited Feature Film – Comedy or Musical: Myron Kerstein
 
The following are pending nominations:
 
* March 17, 2025: iHeartRadio Music Awards, Favorite Soundtrack: ''Wicked: The Soundtrack''
* March 27, 2025: GLAAD Media Awards, Outstanding Film — Wide Theatrical Release: ''Wicked''


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==June 3, 2014: Jerry V. Tobias==
==January 3, 2025: Saliterman to Plead Guilty to Hiding Ruby Slippers==
Jerry Tobias, an early member of the International Wizard of Oz Club and Oz collector and researcher, passed away today after a grief illness. Born in 1929, he was a lifelong Oz fan who attended some of the Oz Club's earliest Oz conventions and contributed to the auctions. He served as editor-in-chief of ''The Baum Bugle'' from 1973 to 1977 and oversaw some of its biggest changes, including staples, typesetting, and a table of contents.
Jerry Hal Saliterman, accused of theft of a major artwork and witness tampering in connection with the 2005 theft of the Ruby Slippers in Minnesota, now plans to plead guilty to the charges in a court appearance on January 10. It is not currently known how Saliterman is connected to Terry John Martin, who pled guilty to stealing the slippers in 2023. Saliterman originally pled not guilty when first charged in March of 2024, but his age (77) and poor health may have resulted in a deal that allows him to stay out of jail like Martin.


(Information courtesty [http://ozclub.org/about-us/l-frank-baum-memorial-award-winners/jerry-v-tobias/ the International Wizard of Oz Club].)
(Information courtesy [https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/minnesota/articles/2025-01-03/man-accused-of-hiding-stolen-wizard-of-oz-ruby-slippers-plans-to-plead-guilty-attorney-says ''U. S. News and World Reports''].)


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==May 17, 2014: ''The Baum Bugle'', Spring 2014==
==December 13, 2024: The Baum Bugle's Celebratory 200th Issue==
Yes, it's on its way at last to members of the International Wizard of Oz Club who have paid their dues for 2014. We're talking, of course, about the spring 2014 issue of ''The Baum Bugle'', the Club's triannual journal of all things Ozzy.
[[File:Bbautumn24.jpg|center|800 px]]
The Autumn 2024 issue of ''The Baum Bugle'', the journal of the International Wizard of Oz, has come back from the printers and is on its way to members' mailboxes. This is the two hundredth issue of the ''Bugle'', so the journal celebrates itself, for once.


In this issue:
In this issue:
* The front cover reproduces Frederick Richardson's illustration of Fluff receiving the Magic Cloak from ''Queen Zixi of Ix'', which was included in the November 1905 issue of ''The Printing Art'' magazine with a tissue guard. (The back cover reproduces the text on the tissue guard.) This was an example of the length the publishers of ''St. Nicholas'' magazine went to for their serialization of ''Queen Zixi of Ix''.
* The wraparound cover pays tribute to the first illustrated cover of the ''Bugle'' (for the May 1959 issue), showing many different illustrators' versions of the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman
* Craig Noble's "Letter from the Editor'" looks at this issue's theme of how Oz books are made.
* The inside front cover reproduces Maxfield Parrish's cover for the January 1917 issue of ''Metropolitan''.
* The results of the latest Club election are in! Carrie Hedges has retained her position as President, Jane Albright is the Club's new Vice President, and Ryan Bunch, Freddy Fogarty, and Stephen Teller were elected to the Board of Directors.
* In "Letters", Oz Club President Ryan Bunch reflects on winning the L. Frank Baum Memorial Award during a hurricane, while ''Bugle'' editor Sarah K. Krotzer looks at the production of this issue within the overall history of the journal.
* Speaking of the President, Mme. Hedges talks about the coming year in Oz and the Club in her "OZervations" column.
* In "The Bugle Bulletin":
* "Ozma's Honor Roll for 2013" acknowledges those members of the Club who have given above and beyond basic dues during the past year.
** The Club opens its archive with reprints of selected articles from past issues of [https://www.ozclub.org/publications/the-baum-bugle/ ''The Baum Bugle''].
* In "Oz and Ends":
** The town of Salina, New York breaks ground on a new community center at the site of Rose Lawn, the Baum family estate. The center will include a Baum-themed museum.
** With the publication of the collected edition of [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0785183884/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Emerald City of Oz''], Marvel's adaptations of the Oz books has come to their logical end.
** Gregory Maguire's writing another book set in his version of Oz. [https://bookshop.org/p/books/elphie-a-wicked-childhood-gregory-maguire/21025444 ''Elphie''], coming out March 25, 2025, will recount tales of the childhood of Elphaba, who will later become the Wicked Witch of the West.
** [http://youtu.be/RuTufHRxEts Pink's performance of "Over the Rainbow"] and other celebrations of the seventy-fifth anniversary of ''The Wizard of Oz'' at the Oscars get a mention (as well as the lack of acknowledgement of the Munchkin actors).
** The stolen pair of Ruby Slippers, now recovered, are on tour and will go up for auction in December.
** Bert Lahr's script for ''The Wizard of Oz'' appears on [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/archive/201301A34.html ''The Antiques Roadshow''] (with [http://youtu.be/o3CCIcruo1Q an exclusive web extra]).
** The latest revival of ''The Wiz'' surpasses one hundred performances on Broadway.
** The Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda come to ABC's [http://abc.go.com/shows/once-upon-a-time ''One Upon a Time''].
** The release of the first ''Wicked'' movie is moved up to November 22, 2024.
** Crowdfunding website Kickstarter is used to fund a new documentary, [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/75328422/who-stole-the-ruby-slippers ''Who Stole the Ruby Slippers?"], about the 2005 theft of a pair of Ruby Slippers used in The Movie from a museum in Minnesota.
** ''Marvelous: A Musical Opera'' based on ''The Marvelous Land of Oz'' premieres in Sisterville, West Virginia on April 5, 2025
** Coincidentally, about the same time, [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/27/ruby-red-slippers-theft-_n_5045217.html a replica pair of Ruby Slippers was stolen from a hotel in Staten Island].
** "Beyond the Shifting Sands" recognizes the passing of Ken Page, who understudied for Ted Ross in the original Broadway production of ''The Wiz'' before taking over the role himself.
** More crowdfunding, as others turned to Kickstarter to fund [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/291042787/the-tik-tok-man-of-oz-stage-musical a production of ''The Tik-Tok Man of Oz''] at [http://www.ozconinternational.com/ this summer's Winkie Convention in San Diego], [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/illogicalassociates/the-shadow-of-oz-a-tarot-deck an Oz-themed tarot deck], and [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/420370544/polychrome-an-oz-based-novel a new novel about Polychrome].
* One of the original charter members of the International Wizard of Oz Club, Ruth Berman, looks back on how it all started in "A Gleam in Justin's Eye: Oz Club Origins".
** New Oz collectibles, many celebrating the seventy-fifth anniversary of The Movie, including new dolls from Madame Alexander, Tonner, and Mattel (more Oz Barbie dolls); new dog costumes from Rubie's; and color-changing mugs.
* In "In Search of Snow White: The Unrealized Dream of Maxfield Parrish and L. Frank Baum", Scott Cummings looks at a second Parrish-Baum collaboration that ultimately never came to be, a book and stage play of ''Snow White'' in the late 1910s.
** New OZ exhibits at the University of Kansas, the West Bridgewater (Massachusetts) Library, and [http://www.sdc-arts.org/buell_current.html the Buell Children's Museum] in Pueblo, Colorado; plus a talk entitled "If I Only Had a Brain: Disability and Difference in the Oz Narrative" by [http://josheyler.wordpress.com/ Joshua R. Eyler] at Shippenburg University in Pennsylvania.
* Peter E. Hanff looks at how one man changed the ''Bugle'' from a humble newsletter to a comprehensive journal in "Martin's Marvels: Dick Martin's Graphical Contributions to the History of ''The Baum Bugle''". Accompanying this article is a color supplement of ''Bugle'' covers Martin contributed to, including examples of color separations; and "A Checklist of Cover Art for ''The Baum Bugle'' by Dick Martin".
* Peter Hanff looks at the serialization of ''Queen Zixi of Ix'' in ''St. Nicholas'' magazine in "''St. Nicholas'' Magazine and ''Queen Zixi of Ix'': The Transofrmation of American Fantasy", and also provides a checklist of the ''Queen Zixi'' (and some select other) content of Volume XXXII of ''St. Nicholas''.
* J. L. Bell examines the development of cartography in the Oz books in the award-winning "The Inspiring Maps of Oz".
* Marc Berezin discovers a book that may have been influenced by the Oz books in "The Sincerest Form of Flattery: ''The Amazing Land of Wew'' and the Land of Oz".
* "Keepers of the Record" presents reminiscences of three previous ''Bugle'' editors:
* Another book that may have been influenced by Oz is examined by Holly Dennis-Lucas in "From Oz to the Moon: ''The Magical Land of Noom''" (writen by Johnny Gruelle, famous for creating Raggedy Ann and Andy).
** "A Brief Reminiscence of My ''Bugle'' Editorship, 1996-2000" by William Stillman.
* Michael O. Riley looks back on his adventures as an Oz short story publisher in part one of "The Story of the Pamami Press".
** "Notes from an Old ''Bugle'' Editor" by Michael Gessel.
* Sophia Siobahn Wolohan Bogle presents another in her series about dealing with old books in need of repair in "Broken Book Options: Repair, Conserve, or Restore?"
** "The Call of a ''Bugle''—and Where It Led" by John Fricke.
* Kim McFarland recounts her adventures illustrating [http://www.lulu.com/shop/sherwood-smith/sky-pyrates-over-oz/hardcover/product-21394853.html ''Sky Pyrates Over Oz'', Sherwood Smith's conclusion to her Oz trilogy, in "The Oz Illustrator".
* "How It Began (Again)" looks at some mocked-up dummy pages, created by Dick Martin, for the Spring 1979 issue of the ''Bugle''.
* Nate Barlow examines the latest Oz story to reach the big screen, ''The Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return'' in "Dorothy's Return to the Big Screen: An Animated Oz Story".
* The inside back cover reproduces the earliest known map of Oz, a slide from the 1908 multimedia show ''The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays''.
* A recently rediscovered newspaper publication of "Joan of Arc", illustrated by John R. Neill and possibly meant to be published as part of Reilly and Britton's "Children's Stories That Neve Grow Old" series, is reproduced.
 
* In "Oz in the Spotlight", David Moyer reviews a recent drama about the story of Nick Chopper in ''The Woodsman''.
Also included with this issue:
* Reviewed in "The Oz Bookshelf":
* The craft project is a map of Oz to color.
** [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1608932575/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Wonderful World of Oz'' by John Fricke], reviewed by Alan Wise.
* In Issue No. 20 of ''The Oz Gazette'', the newsletter for younger Oz fans (of all ages):
** [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0062278010/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Wizard of Oz: The Official 75th Anniversary Companion'' by Jay Scarfone and William Stillman], reviewed by Mark Griffin.
** Editor-in-Chief Katie Jones and Number Nine outline efforts to clean up the Emerald City after the Nome King's recent occupation, and reveal the Gump as the new Head of Security.
** ''The Patchwork Girl of Oz: A Musical Wonderment in Two Acts and Five Scenes'' by L. Frank Baum, a proposal for a stage dramatization of Baum's new Oz book of 1913 that was never produced, published by the Pamami Press and reviewed by Paul R. Bienvenue.
** Polychrome reveals a puzzle where weather-related clues help you to unscramble Oz place names.
** Two more volumes in Peter Blystone's translations of Sergei Sukhinov's epic continuation of the Russian Magic Land ''Emerald City'' series, [http://www.lulu.com/shop/sergei-sukhinov/parcelius-the-alchemist/paperback/product-20947644.html ''Paracelius the Alchemist''] and [http://www.lulu.com/shop/sergei-sukhinov/battle-in-underground-land/paperback/product-20992472.html ''Battle in Underground Land''], reviewed by Alan Wise.
** Scraps opines on issues of writing Oz poetry.
** [http://www.lulu.com/shop/sherwood-smith/sky-pyrates-over-oz/hardcover/product-21394853.html ''Sky Pyrates Over Oz'' by Sherwood Smith], the long-missing conclusion to her trilogy about Dori and Em in Oz, reviewed by Atticus Gannaway.
** The Scarecrow gives story recommendations:
** Richard R. Rutter makes note of two new Korean editions of ''The Wizard of Oz''.
*** [https://www.amazon.com/Wizard-Meg-McLaren-illustrator-Sam/dp/1405286296/ ''The Wizard of Oz'', adapted by Meg McLaren and Sam Hay]
** Marcus Mébès has published a new edition of his poem, ''Sail Away to Oz'', which can be ordered [[mailto:baringer@gmail.com directly from the author].
*** "Dorothy and the Mushroom People" by Eric Shanower, from [https://www.abebooks.com/book-search/title/salt-sorcerer-stories/author/shanower-eric/used/ ''The Salt Sorcerer of Oz and Other Stories].
* In a sadly extended look at those who have contributed to Oz and recently passed away, "In Memoriam" remembers Ruth Duccini, Shirley Temple Black, Arthur Rankin, Jr., and Lou Scheimer.
*** [https://bookshop.org/p/books/snow-queen-hb-hans-christian-andersen/6431554?ean=9780062209504 ''The Snow Queen'' by Hans Christian Andersen].
* This issue's "Ozmusements" presents a word search based on ''Tik-Tok of Oz''.
** And throughout the issue, mysterious figures seem to be scouting out the country for nefarious purposes. But is someone scouting them out in turn?


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==April 13, 2014: Mila Kunis wins at MTV Movie Awards==
==December 7, 2024: Ruby Slippers Auction Sets New Movie Memorabilia Record==
Tonight, the MTV Movie Awards presented a box of golden popcorn to Mila Kunis, for her performance of Theodora, the Wicked Witch of the West, in ''Oz the Great and Powerful''. She won in the category of [http://www.mtv.com/ontv/movieawards/2014/best-villain/ Best Villain], and she beat out four men in the category. (Check out her acceptance speech [http://www.mtv.com/videos/misc/1030678/mila-kunis-wins-best-villain-for-oz-the-great-and-powerful.jhtml right here].)
[[File:Ruby_Slippers_2024.jpeg|right|400 px]]
The most notorious pair of Ruby Slippers used during production of the famous 1939 film version of ''The Wizard of Oz'' went up for auction today, and the final price shattered all records for the price paid for a piece of movie memorabilia. Of the four known pairs of Ruby Slippers known to still exist, this pair, "The Traveling Shoes", were stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in 2005 and recovered in 2018, when they acquired a new nickname, "The Stolen Pair". They were ultimately returned to owner Michael Shaw who decided it was time to sell them. Estimated to go for at least $3,000,000, online bidding reached $1,550,000 before live bidding on site at Heritage Auctions began. The estimate was quickly surpassed, and when bidding ended, the final bid was $28,000,000, far outpacing any previous price for movie memorabilia. With commission and other fees, the total final price paid was $32,500,000. The Ruby Slippers alone surpassed the previous record for an entire movie memorabilia auction, the $22,800,000 that Debbie Reynolds' collection was sold for in 2011.


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Other Oz items available in the auction:
* One of Margaret Hamilton's Wicked Witch of the West hats, and the only one known to carry Hamilton's name inside, earned the second highest price for an item from ''The Wizard of Oz'', $2,930,000
* Producer Mervyn LeRoy's script from the MGM art department, $50,000
* The screen door from the Gale farmhouse, $37,500
* Judy Garland's blonde wig from the first week of shooting, $30,000
* The MGM contract for songwriters Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harburg, $23,125


==April 6, 2014: Mickey Rooney==
Other items of interest at the auction included a sceen-used Jumanji board game from the eponymous movie; a crate used to hold bombs in the original 1933 version of ''King Kong''; a hoverboard from ''Back to the Future II''; Kevin's scarf, coat, hat, and mittens from ''Home Alone''; Wilson, Tom Hanks' volleyball co-star in ''Castaway''; and a screen-used golden ticket from '' Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory''.
[[File:jbto_scarecrow.jpg|frame|left|alt=Mickey Rooney as the Scarecrow|The Scarecrow, voiced by Mickey Rooney, in ''Journey Back to Oz'']] [[File:Mickey Rooney Wizard.jpg|frame|right|alt=Mickey Rooney on stage as Professor Marvel|Mickey Rooney as Professor Marvel, with Jessica Grové as Dorothy, in the 1998-99 touring stage show production of ''The Wizard of Oz'']] Mickey Rooney, one of Hollywood's greatest actors, whose career spanned more than eight decades, passed away today. Born Joseph Yule, Jr. on September 23, 1920, he debuted in his parents' vaudeville show as a toddler. He eventually made it to Hollywood, where he became one of the biggest box office stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood. He appeared in many films with his pal "Joots", Judy Garland, and the pair worked together on stage during the original New York showing of ''The Wizard of Oz'' in 1939 at the Capitol Theater. Rooney would become more closely associated with Oz twice, first as the voice of the Scarecrow in the 1974 animated movie ''Journey Back to Oz'', opposite Joots' daughter, Liza Minnelli. He later played both the Wizard and Professor Marvel in a touring stage version of ''The Wizard of Oz'' in 1998 and 1999, which included an extended run at Madison Square Garden. Mickey Rooney is survived by his eighth wife, Jan Chamberlin Rooney, eight children, two stepchildren, nineteen grandchildren, and many great-grandchildren.


(Information courtesy [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Rooney Wikipedia] and [http://www.latimes.com/obituaries/la-me-mickey-rooney-20140407,0,7494293,full.story#axzz2y6xMQNkx the Los Angeles Times].)
(Information and image courtesy [https://www.ha.com/heritage-auctions-press-releases-and-news/dorothy-s-ruby-slippers-from-the-wizard-of-oz-sell-for-32.5-million-at-heritage-auctions-to-become-world-s-most-valuable-movie-memorabilia.s?releaseId=5122&ic=hero-www-dorothyRubySlippers-resultsLearnMore-7388-120724 Heritage Auctions].)


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==February 12, 2014: Sid Caesar==
==December 2, 2024: Paul Maslansky 1933-2024==
[[File:Sid Caesar.jpg|frame|alt=Sid Caesar as the Wizard|An animated Sid Caesar as the Wizard in ''Dorothy in the Land of Oz'']] Sid Caesar, one of the earliest of American television stars and considered by many to be one of the funniest comedians of all time, died today at his home in Beverly Hills. He was 91. Best known in the 1950s for ''Your Show of Shows'' and ''Caesar's Hour'', he would later portray the Wizard, who narrated the animated television special ''Thanksgiving in the Land of Oz'' (later released on home video as ''Dorothy in the Land of Oz''). He would use his affinity for dialects and accents to voice a second character, the mince pie U. N. Crust, which was brought to life by the Powder of Life.
Longtime Hollywood producer Paul Maslansky died today in a hospital in San Robles, California. He was 91. His first credit was for the 1964 horror film ''Castle of the Living Dead'' with Christopher Lee, and he worked on many films in the 1970s and '80s. His biggest success was the ''Police Academy'' series, beginning in 1984 with the first movie which spawned several other movies, a television series, and an animated series. Another of his credits at the time was ''Return to Oz''. He is survived by his long-time partner Sally Emr, three children, and two grandchildren.
 
(Information courtesy [https://variety.com/2024/film/news/paul-maslansky-dead-police-academy-1236242106/ ''Variety''] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Maslansky Wikipedia].)


(Detailed information of Caesar's life can be found at [http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/13/arts/television/sid-caesar-comic-who-blazed-tv-trail-dies-at-91.html ''The New York Times''].)
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==November 3, 2024: Quincy Jones, 1933-2024==
[[File:Quincy_Jones.jpg|center|Quincy Jones in ''The Wiz''.|800 px]]


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Quincy Jones, the EGOT-winning musician and producer, passed away today at the age of 91. Born in 1933 in Chicago, Jones graduated from Garfield High School in Seattle (where the performing arts center is named for him). He soon started working with jazz bands all over the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia. He also worked in the early days of television with such artists as Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey, Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Charles, and Elvis Presley. He worked with Frank Sinatra and the Count Basie Orchestra on an album, and then broke into the movies when he composed the music for ''The Pawnbroker''. He would go on to work on movies such as ''In the Heat of the Night'', ''In Cold Blood'', ''The Italian Job'', ''Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice'', ''Cactus Flower'', and both versions of ''The Color Purple''. For television, he composed music for the original ''Ironside'', ''Sanford and Son'', and the original ''Roots'' (for which he earned his Emmy Award). Later, as a producer, he oversaw shows including ''The Fresh Prince of Bel Air'' and its successor, ''Bel Air'', and ''MadTV''. He won 28 Grammy Awards, the most for any producer and the third most of all time, including Album of the Year in 2023 for ''Harry's House''. He won a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical in 2016 as a producer for ''The Color Purple'', and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have given him two of their highest honors, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1995 and the Academy Honorary Award in 2024 (which will now be presented posthumously). Other accomplishments have included the Grammy Legend Award, the Kennedy Center Honors, the BET Humanitarian Award, the National Medal of Arts, and the Grand Commandeur de Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the government of France.


==February 10, 2014: Shirley Temple Black==
In comparison to everything else, his contributions to Oz may not have had as much impact, but he was a crucial part of the 1978 film version of ''The Wiz'', where he was musical supervisor and producer. He also contributed new music, including for the songs "Can I Go On?" and "Is This What Feeling Gets? (Dorothy's Theme)". He also appeared onscreen in an uncredited cameo as the pianist in the Emerald City. It was during ''The Wiz'' that Quincy Jones first met with Michael Jackson, and he was so impressed with Jackson's work ethic playing the Scarecrow that Jones agreed to produce Jackson's forthcoming solo album ''Off the Wall''. They would later work together on two more Jackson albums, ''Thriller'' and ''Bad''. Jones would also produce and conduct on a song Jackson co-wrote, the 1985 charity anthem "We Are the World".
[[File:Temple.jpg|center|frame|Shirley Temple in her room in 1937. Note the row of Oz books behind her on the bottom shelf.]]
Shirley Temple Black, the Depression's biggest box office draw, died today at her home in Woodside, California, at the age of 85. Although a lifelong fan of the Oz books, she was passed over for the part of Dorothy in the famous 1939 film version of ''The Wizard of Oz'' when her studio, 20th Century Fox, would not loan her out to MGM. (Assistant Producer Arthur Freed was not impressed with her singing, anyway, and was still pushing for Judy Garland to play the part.) This was fine with Temple, as she didn't want to play Dorothy, she wanted to ''meet'' Dorothy! Although she retired from acting at age 22, she would return to the profession in the 1950s as host and star of the television series ''Shirley Temple's Storybook'', adapting fairy tales and other classic stories. She finally got to appear in an Oz story with the show's 1961 version of ''The Land of Oz'', in which Temple played both Ozma and Tip.


(Detailed information of Temple's life can be found at [http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/12/arts/shirley-temple-black-screen-star-dies-at-85.html?_r=0 ''The New York Times'']. More information about Shirley Temple and ''The Wizard of Oz'' can be found at [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jay-scarfone/the-truth-about-shirley-t_b_4779364.html ''The Huffington Post''].)  
(Information courtesy [https://apnews.com/article/quincy-jones-dead-a9e31c7e39c448d8971519f47a22dd21 The Associated Press] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quincy_Jones Wikipedia]. Photo courtesy [https://www.facebook.com/@ozclub The International Wizard of Oz Club's Facebook page].)


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==February 1, 2014: ''The Baum Bugle'' Winter 2013==
==September 30, 2024: Ken Page, 1954-2024==
[[File:Bbuglewinter13.jpg|right]] The latest issue of ''The Baum Bugle'', the journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, has been released, and is on its way to members. As this is the final issue for 2013, Club members who wish to keep receiving it and other Club benefits now need to renew.
[[File:Ken_Page.webp|left]]Ken Page, the character actor known for his work on stage and television, and in movies and video games, passed away in his sleep today at his home in St. Louis. He was 70. Soon after graduating college, he started his acting career at the famed Muny outdoor theater of St. Louis. He made his Broadway debut as Ted Ross's understudy as the Cowardly Lion in the original production of ''The Wiz'', a role he then took over after Ross left the show. He went on to play roles in shows such as ''Guys and Dolls'', ''Ain't Misbehavin' ''and ''Cats'' (as Old Deuteronomy) on Broadway, and playing the Cowardly Lion again in the Madison Square Garden production of ''The Wizard of Oz''. He would later return to the Muny to play both the Cowardly Lion and the Wizard in different productions of ''The Wizard of Oz''. He was also the voice of Oogie Boogie in ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'', a role he reprised in video games, concerts, and other presentations. He won a Theatre World Award in 1976, and a Drama Desk Award in 1978.
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In this issue:
(Information courtesy [https://oz.fandom.com/wiki/Ken_Page The Oz Wiki] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Page Wikipedia].)
* The front cover features a portrait of illustrator and Oz researcher Dick Martin, surrounded by portraits of some of the characters he drew for ''Merry Go Round in Oz'', ''Yankee in Oz'', ''The Enchanted Island of Oz'', ''The Forbidden Fountain of Oz'', and his own ''The Ozmapolitan of Oz''.
* Craig Noble looks back on his first year as Editor in Chief of the ''Bugle'' in his "Letter from the Editor".
* Oz Club President Carrie L. Hedges writes about two other Club publications, the calendar and [http://www.lulu.com/shop/search.ep?keyWords=Oziana&categoryId=100501 ''Oziana''], in "OZervations".
* Noted in "Oz and Ends":
** The large number of Oz-themed television projects now in development, including ''Warriors of Oz'' at Syfy, medical drama ''Dorothy'' at CBS, ''Emerald City'' at NBC, and ''Red Brick Road'' at Lifetime. The recent Oz episode of ''Supernatural'' on the CW was also noted.
** Jeremiah Boehr's [http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/43978 ''The Road to Oz'' LEGO set] and the attempt to get it made and put on the market. (Sadly, after this issue went to press, LEGO announced that they would not be releasing this set.)
** The box office take (and, in many markets, extended run) of the 3-D IMAX theatrical screening of the famous movie version of ''The Wizard of Oz''.
** The lawsuit filed by the estate of Jack Haley, Jr., against Warner Bros. for excluding the previous documentary, produced by Haley, on the new home video release in favor of a new, derivative work.
** Profiles of Oz fans Billy Ferguson on a [http://www.reelz.com/trailer-clips/71901/fan-addicts-bonus-webisode/ bonus webisode of the Reelz channel show ''FanAddicts!''], and [http://alumni.stanford.edu/get/page/magazine/article/?article_id=61576 Dick Rutter in ''Stanford Magazine''] for members of the Stanford Alumni Association.
** [http://www.farnsworthmuseum.org/exhibition/wonderful-world-oz-selections-willard-carrolltom-wilhite-collection The Oz exhibit currently on exhibit at the Farnsworth Art Museum] in Maine, and the whirlwind publicity tour Oz researcher and former ''Bugle'' editor and Club President John Fricke undertook publicizing his new book, [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1608932575/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Wonderful World of Oz''] (which in part ties in to the exhibit).
** Another Oz exhibit, [http://www.buffalolib.org/content/now-display/rare-book-room/baum-exhibit this one at the Buffalo Library].
** The auction of a dress worn by Judy Garland in the early days of making The Movie, but ultimately not seen in the finished movie when the first few weeks' filming was scrapped. The dress was expected to sell for about $80,000, but finally sold for $300,000!
** The announcement of [http://www.lulu.com/shop/sherwood-smith/sky-pyrates-over-oz/hardcover/product-21394853.html ''Sky Pyrates over Oz'' by Sherwood Smith], completing her trilogy of Oz books after poor sales and editorial decisions originally scrapped it. (The first two books were [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060296070/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Emerald Wand of Oz''] and [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060296097/thewonderwizardo/ ''Trouble under Oz''].)
** [http://bigstrawberry.com/product/the-wizard-of-oz-by-l-frank-baum/ A tablet/e-reader cover that looks like the first British edition of ''The Wizard of Oz''].
** [http://www.eventbrite.com/e/50-year-collection-of-judy-garland-wizard-of-oz-auction-march-29-2014-tickets-9491729017 The forthcoming auction of the collection of Elaine Willingham], who has been collecting Oz and Judy Garland memorabilia for over fifty years.
* Atticus Gannaway presents a biography and appreciation of the cover subject in "A Quiet Artist: The Life and Work of Dick Martin".
* David Maxine examines the papers of Eloise Jarvis McGraw, the late Royal Historian, and how she came to write the fortieth Oz book in "Grabbing the Brass Ring: The Writing of ''Merry Go Round in Oz''".
* "Oz Under Scrutiny" looks at reviews of ''Merry Go Round in Oz'' upon its original publication in 1963.
* In "Oz in the Spotlight":
** Freddy Fogarty reviews the 3-D IMAX theatrical release of ''The Wizard of Oz''.
** Ryan Jay looks at what it was like to cover the premiere of the 3-D IMAX ''Wizard of Oz".
** David Moyer reviews ''The Wonderful Remix of Oz'', a recent reimagined state production in New York City; and the revue [http://www.thewonderfulwizardofsong.com/ ''The Wonderful Wizard of Song: The Music of Harold Arlen''].
** Bill Campbell reviews a circus-themed production of ''The Wizard of Oz'', presented by Circus Juventus of St. Paul, Minnesota.
* In "The Oz Illustrator", Anna-Maria Cool recounts her adventures in illustrating Oz characters in both comics and books, and in particular her favorite character, the Sawhorse.
* In "Adventures in Oz", Walter Krueger writes the "Diary of a FanAddict", telling what happened when he [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx-gnZzfG48&feature=youtu.be appeared on the Reelz collecting show].
* Friends, colleagues and fans remember Margaret Pellegrini, the Munchkin actress who passed away in August in "Margaret: The Magical Munchkin".
* "Multi-MediOz" sees Ryan Jay reviewing the home video releases of the seventy-fifth anniversary edition of ''The Wizard of Oz'' movie.
* Reviewed in "The Oz Bookshelf":
** [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1611099048/thewonderwizardo/ ''Oz Reimagined'', edited by John Joseph Adams and Douglas Cohen], reviewed by Joe Bongiorno.
** [http://www.lulu.com/shop/sergei-sukhinov/the-sorceress-villinas-secret/paperback/product-20714205.html ''The Sorceress Villina's Secret''], [http://www.lulu.com/shop/sergei-sukhinov/the-sorcerers-sword/paperback/product-20714222.html ''The Sorcerer's Sword''], and [http://www.lulu.com/shop/sergei-sukhinov/eternally-youthful-stella/paperback/product-20947627.html ''Eternally Youthful Stella''], all by Sergei Sukhinov and translated by Peter L. Blystone, volumes three, four, and five of Sukhinov's epic continuation of the Magic Land series, reviewed by Alan Wise.
** [http://wonderfulbooksofoz.com/shop/wizard-of-oz-books/nelebels-fairyland-pamami-press-l-frank-baum-2013-hand-bound-book/ ''Nelebel's Fairyland'' by L. Frank Baum], the second edition of this book published by Pamami Press, reviewed by Paul R. Bienvenue.
** [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0578124459/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Law of Oz and Other Stories'' by Paul Dana], reviewed by Mari Ness.
** A new edition of [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1605436828/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum, with new illustrations by Gavin L. O'Keefe], reviewed by Dennis Anfuso.
* David L. Greene remembers Oz writer Hugh Pendexter III in "In Memoriam".
* The back cover is a portrait of Margaret Pellegrini, with a dedication of the issue to her.


Also included as an insert is an announcement of the 2014 Oz Club Research Table, to be judged at the National Convention in Chittenango, in June. For more information or how to enter, write to [mailto:research@winkies.org research@winkies.org].
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==January 30, 2014: Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Hal Sutherland==
==September 28, 2024: Ryan Bunch Receives 2024 L. Frank Baum Memorial Award; Oz Club Contest Winners==
The world of animation recently lost two of its biggest names, both of whom had connections with Oz.
Tonight, the L. Frank Baum Memorial Award, the highest honor that the International Wizard of Oz Club bestows, went to Ryan Bunch. Currently President of the Club, he has also served on the Board of Directors and as Vice-President. He has also chaired conventions and written for the Club's journal, ''The Baum Bugle''. His recent book, [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0190843144/thewonderwizardo/ ''Oz and the Musical''], examines how different dramatic interpretations of Oz on stage demonstrate the evolution of musical theater.
* Arthur Rankin, Jr., died today at his home in Bermuda. He was 89. He is best remembered, alongside his associate Jules Bass, for ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'' and numerous other animated holiday specials. They also made theatrical films (most notably ''The Last Unicorn'') and television series. One of their earliest shows was the 1960-61 series ''Tales of the Wizard of Oz'', which became the basis for the 1964 television special ''Return to Oz''. Rankin/Bass would return to the world of Oz for one of their last animated holiday specials, ''The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus'', based on the book of the same name by Oz creator L. Frank Baum. (Information courtesy Marc Berezin and [http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/05/business/arthur-rankin-jr-who-brought-rudolph-and-santa-to-tv-dies-at-89.html ''The Los Angeles Times''].)


* Hal Sutherland died January 16 of gallbladder disease. He was 85. With his partner, the late Lou Scheimer, Sutherland founded Filmation Studios in 1962 to produce animated series for television, which included such characters as Superman, Aquaman, Archie, Fat Albert, Lassie, and the Hardy Boys, as well as animated spinoffs of television series such as ''Gilligan's Island'' and ''Star Trek''. One of Filmations' few theatrical ventures was ''Journey Back to Oz'', released in the United States in 1974. (Information courtesy [http://www.cartoonbrew.com/rip/hal-sutherland-filmation-co-founder-and-director-rip-95357.html Cartoon Brew].)
Also tonight, the winners of the Oz Club's annual writing and art contests were announced:
* The Fred Otto Prize for Fiction:
** First place, "The Fairy King of Oz" by Jesse Jury
** Second place, "The Final Fate of the Phanfasms" by Aaron Solomon Adelman
* The C. Warren Hollister Prize for Non-Fiction:
** First place, "Ozma's Enduring Appeal 120 Years Later" by Leighton Suen
** Second place, "Puzzle Adventures in Oz" by Tyler B. Wright
* The Rob Roy MacVeigh Prize for Art:
** First place, "A Gathering of Ozians" by Rob Lauer
** Second place, "Glinda" by David Valentin


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==January 16, 2014: Ruth Robinson Duccini==
==July 20, 2024: The 2024 Winkie Award==
Ruth Robinson Duccini, one of the last two living Munchkin actors from the famous 1939 film version of ''The Wizard of Oz'', passed away to day after a brief illness. She was ninety-five. Born in Rush City, Minnesota on July 23, 1918, Ruth Robinsin was working as a telephone operator and entertainer in Minneapolis when word got out about the casting call for ''The Wizard of Oz'', and her troupe drove to Culver City and all were hired. During production, she met Fred Duccini, another little person who had a good job at a nearby hotel and decided not to be in the movie, at the restaurant where the Munchkin actors regularly ate. After production wrapped up, she moved back to Minneapolis, but the outbreak of World War II saw her moving back to California to work as a riveter at Douglas Aircraft. Her size allowed her to work on the wings from the inside. There, she reunited with Fred, and they were married in 1943. They had two children, and when Ruth and Fred retired, the Oz circuit found them, and they made many appearances at Oz events around the country. Ruth only other movie was the 1981 movie, ''Under the Rainbow'', a satire of the making of ''The Wizard of Oz''. Ruth Duccini was predeceased by her husband in 1994, and is survived by her son, daughter, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The sole remaining little person to have played a Munchkin in ''The Wizard of Oz'' is now Jerry Maren.
Tonight, the 2024 edition of the Winkie Award was presented by OzCon International to Cindy Ragni. Cindy has been a long-time supporter of OzCon, presenting on many topics. In recent years, she has also coordinated the dealers' room (all while also running her own space in it). Her contributions were recognized by her fellow OzCon members, who voted that she receive the convention's highest award.
 
(Information courtesy the [http://www.latimes.com/obituaries/la-me-ruth-robinson-duccini-20140117,0,2097250.story#axzz2qbpZQihn ''Los Angeles Times''] and [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1581822693/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Munchkins of Oz'' by Stephen Cox].)


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==November 23, 2013: ''Oziana'' 2013==
==June 25, 2024: Bill Cobbs 1934-2024==
[[File:Oziana2013.jpeg|left]] The 2013 edition of ''Oziana'', the annual literary publication of the International Wizard of Oz Club, is now available to order. Editor Marcus Mébès has collected six stories with the theme of "Traditional Oz" for this issue.
[[File:Master_Tinker.png|left]]Bill Cobbs, the Emmy Award-winning character actor passed away today at his home in Riverside, California. He was 90. Born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1934, Wilbert Francisco Hobbs was an Air Force radio technician for eight years, then went on to sell office supplies for IBM and cars. In 1970, at the age of 36, he went to New York City to try his hand at acting. Like most in the profession he struggled at first, but eventually he broke into small theatrical productions. He also started getting small roles in films and on television. His films included ''Air Bud'', the ''Night at the Museum'' series, ''The Hudsucker Proxy'', and ''That Thing You Do''. On television, he was a regular on ''I'll Fly Away'' and ''Go On'', and had guest appearances on such shows as ''The Drew Carey Show'', ''Jag'', ''Star Trek: Enterprise'' (where he played the inventor of the transporter), ''One Tree Hill'', ''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' and ''Rugrats''. He won an Emmy Award in 2020 for Outstanding Limited Performance in a Daytime Program for ''Dino Dana''. But to Oz fans, he will be remembered as Master Tinker in ''Oz the Great and Powerful''.


(information courtesy [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Cobbs Wikipedia].)
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The stories are:


* "Foiled by the Iffin: Another Adventure of the Computer Wizard of Oz" by Phyllis Ann Karr, illustrated by Dennis Anfuso. Karr continues her series of adventures from previous years' issues about the Computer Wizard, a very nice Oz villain who uses computers in his attempts to conquer Oz. He never succeeds, but this year he is trying to recruit the Reddies from ''Jack Pumpkinhead in Oz''. The story revisits many characters and places from that book.
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==June 3, 2024: ''The Baum Bugle'' Spring 2024==
[[File:Bbspring24.jpeg|left|400 px]]
The first issue of the year of ''The Baum Bugle'', the journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, is now making its way into members' mailboxes. This issue celebrates Oz in the 1950s, a decade not usually known for being terribly Ozzy.  


* "The Harvest Ball" by Gina Wickwar, illustrated by Luciano Vecchio and Marcus Mébès (Vecchio's full page illustration of the characters dancing has been colored and reused as the front cover). During the annual Harvest Ball, Jack Pumpkinhead comes up with a way to harmlessly enchant the corn maze to make it more challenging and interesting. But when it turns out that Glinda's away, one of her apprentices tries to do the job in her place, with problematic results.
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In this issue:
* The front cover assembles some of Dale Ulrey's artwork from her interpretations of ''The Wizard of Oz'', ''The Tin Woodman of Oz'', and ''Jaglon and the Tiger Fairies''.
* The inside front cover reproduces an original piece by Ulrey for Fred Meyer.
* "Letters" sees Oz Club President Ryan Bunch extoll [the upcoming 2024 Oz National Convention] in Charlotte, North Carolina, while ''Bugle'' editor-in-chief Sarah K. Crotzer tells about the happy coincidences that brought this issue together.
* News items from "The Bugle Bulletin":
** Brady Schwind of the Lost Art of Oz project reveals [https://www.lostartofoz.com/blog/lost-art-found-discovering-dorothy-and-the-wizard the discovery of five of the original paintings that became color plates in ''Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz''].
** Another suspect has been charged in the 2005 theft of the Ruby Slippers in Minnesota, and the now-recovered pair will be auctioned off in December.
** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1dvX9Vs0ns The first teaser trailer for ''Wicked'' debuts during the Super Bowl broadcast].
** The current revival of [https://wizmusical.com/ ''The Wiz'' opens on Broadway].
** [https://movieworld.com.au/attractions/wizard-of-oz A new ''Wizard of Oz'' precinct] is opening later this year at the Warner Bros. Movie World amusement park in Gold Coast, Australia.
** Gregory Maguire is writing an eighth book set in his version of Oz, this time a prequel: ''Elphie: A Wicked Childhood'', due to be published in October.
** A decoupaged lion at [https://www.ucitylibrary.org/ the Universal City Public Library in Universal City, Missouri] includes pages from several Oz books on its hide.
** [https://hellorayo.co.uk/hits-radio/birmingham/news/comedian-joe-lycett-behind-birmingham-banksy-mural/ The perpetrator of Oz-themed graffiti in Birmingham, England comes forward].
** Oz has appeared recently in television shows such as [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYCzqMzQxd4 ''Saturday Night Live''], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd8TE1ytxbY ''The Masked Singer''], and ''Jeopardy!''
** A claim for the Judy Garland dress found at Catholic University of America has been denied, and the school can put it up for auction.
** The Dassel History Center in Dassel, Minnesota, [https://dassel.com/hs/page/changing-exhibits honors hometown girl Hildred Olson], a Munchkin in the famous film version of ''The Wizard of Oz''.
** Recently passed Oz luminaries remembered in "Beyond the Shifting Sands" are actor [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinton_Battle Hinton Battle], who originated the role of the Scarecrow in ''The Wiz''; Sergey Stefanovich Sukhinov, who wrote a number of books continuing the saga of Russia's counterpart to Oz, Magic Land; and Oz Club member Virginia Fowler.
** Now available on YouTube:
*** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZmQlmQgSgI ''The Will.of.Oz''], an homage to ''The Wizard of Oz'' performed to the music of the Black Eyed Peas.
*** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxQKltWI0NA "Oh, my!" another musical tribute to Oz].
*** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq3M4tKhsRM "The Bricklayer"], a music video by indie rockers Mylo Bybee.
* In "Somewhere Over the Rainbow I Wake Up Screaming", Sarah K. Crotzer discovers an early use of "Over the Rainbow" as a movie leitmotif in one of the earliest examples of ''film noir'', 1941's https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Wake_Up_Screaming ''I Wake Up Screaming''].
* In "Discovering Dale Ulrey", Jane Albright uncovers the life and career of the artist Reilly and Lee wanted to reillustrate the Oz books, and why she only did it for two of the books.
* Oz games collector and expert Sara K. Crotzer uses "Collectors' Corner" to examine [https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/17760/the-wonderful-wizard-of-oz ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' game] issued by E. E. Fairchild in 1957. (The board is reprinted in color on the inside back cover.)
* In "Oz in the Arts", Anthony Whitaker reviews [https://wizmusical.com/ the current national production of ''The Wiz''] during its Chicago stop last winter, before it made it to Broadway.
* "The Bugle Review" features:
** [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-witch-of-maracoor-gregory-maguire/19880153?ean=9780063094062 ''The Witch of Maracoor'' by Gregory Maguire''], reviewed by Alan Wise.
** After forty years, the updated and revised second edition of the bibliography [https://www.lulu.com/search?contributor=CJ+Hinke&adult_audience_rating=00 ''Oz in Canada'' by C. J. Hinke], reviewed by Cynthia Ragni.
** The graphic novel [https://bookshop.org/p/books/tin-man-justin-madson/17400871 ''Tin Man'' by Justin Madison], reviewed by J. L. Bell.
** The game [https://www.nobleknight.com/P/2148122827?UTM_Campaign=BGG_Shop_Now&awid=1292 ''Lands of Oz'', designed by Charlie Hoopes with art by Zachery Tullsen], reviewed by Sarah K. Crotzer.
* "Adventures in Oz" sees Jane Albright interviewing original Mousketeer Bobby Burgess about his life and career, including his role as the Scarecrow in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okKCRIMRLMQ&ab_channel=jeffsabu ''The Rainbow Road to Oz''].
* The back cover reprints a portrait of the Wizard from Dale Ulrey's dust jacket for Reilly and Lee's 1956 edition of ''The Wizard of Oz''.


* "Jinnicky Saves Christmas" by Nathan M. DeHoff, illustrated by Shawn Maldonado. While flying about in his jinnrickasha on Christmas Eve, the Red Jinn stumbles across a plot by some disgruntled elves to sabotage Santa's annual trip to deliver presents. Well, Jinnicky can't just sit by and do nothing, can he?
Also included with this issue:
* An art project that allows you to create your own moving Oz pictures.
* The latest edition of ''The Oz Gazette'', the newspaper of all that's happening in Oz:
** Ryan Bunch, the new President of the International Wizard of Oz Club, makes his first diplomatic visit to the Emerald City.
** Editor Katie Jones tells what's going on in this issue.
** Dorothy presents a brief history of Oz newspapers, on both sides of the Deadly Desert.
** Two editors meet as Katie Jones interviews Sarah K. Crotzer of ''The Baum Bugle''.
** "Emerald City Book Report" turns a page on [''The Ozmapolitan of Oz''].
** ''Ozmapolitan of Oz'' author and artist Dick Martin gets a write-up.
** The latest excerpt from ''The Royal Book of Oz'' (the one in Oz, not the one you can buy in stores here) is about the Tin Woodman himself, Nick Chopper.


* "The Love-Bug of Oz", written and illustrated by Ed McCray. Mombi and the Nome King are both searching the Wicked Witch of the West's old castle for some overlooked magic that hasn't already been collected. When the Nome King finds a love bug in a jar, he decided to go to the Emerald City and cause some mischief. Mombi follows him, hoping to get in on things as well.
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* "The Way of a Lion" by Jared Davis, illustrated by Sam Milazzo. A young lion cub hopes to grow up and become like his father. But when a disaster takes away both of his parents, he must grow up quickly without any guidance, and worries that he will never be as good as other lions. Winner of the 2013 Fred Otto Award for fiction at this year's Winkie Convention.
==March 18, 2024: Second Suspect Charged in Theft of the Ruby Slippers; Slippers Go On Tour Before Auction==
A second suspect has been charged in the 2005 theft of a pair of the Ruby Slippers from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids. Minnesota. Jerry Sal Saliterman, 76, of Crystal, Minnesota was arraigned in federal court in St. Paul, and charged with felony theft of a major artwork and witness tampering, the latter a threat to distribute graphic videos of a woman to prevent her from talking to the FBI. As Saliterman is in a wheelchair and uses an oxygen tank, he was not deemed a flight risk and released on his own recognizance. His attorney intends to file a plea of not guilty. Details about the charges, or Saliterman's connection to Terry John Martin, who pled guilty to stealing the Ruby Slippers late last year, are still unknown at this time.


* "Witches of the West" by Darrell Spradlyn and Marcus Mébès, illustrated by Spradlyn. The Wicked Witch of the West, in an effort to consolidate and expand her power, pays a visit to Gloma, the ruler of the Black Forest (as seen in ''The Wishing Horse of Oz''). As Gloma is a good witch and wants to be left alone, it does not go well. One of Spradlyn's illustrations is colored and used as the back cover.
In related news, Michael Shaw, the owner of the Ruby Slippers at the time of the theft (he had loaned them to the museum) has bought back the Ruby Slippers from his insurance company, and received them in February. He has now turned them over to Heritage Actions, a firm that specializes in selling movie memorabilia and other rare items, for safekeeping and consignment. Heritage plans to put the Slippers on display in an international tour before auctioning them off in December this year.


''Oziana 2013'' can be ordered from [http://www.lulu.com/shop/gina-wickwar/oziana-2013/paperback/product-21313902.html Lulu.com].
(Information courtesy [https://www.breakingnews.ie/world/second-man-charged-over-theft-of-wizard-of-oz-ruby-slippers-1602790.html Breakingnews.ie] and [https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/03/17/second-man-indicted-in-oz-ruby-slipper-theft Minnesota Public Radio].)


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==October 18, 2013: Lou Scheimer==
==March 14, 2024: ''The Baum Bugle'' Winter 2023==
Lou Scheimer, the former producer and main driving force at the Filmation animation studio, passed away today after a brief illness. He was just shy of his eighty-fifth birthday. His studio was responsible for such Saturday morning cartoon shows as ''Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids'', the animated ''Star Trek'', ''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'' and its spin-off, ''She-Ra, Princess of Power'', and series featuring DC Comics heroes Superman, Batman, and Aquaman. Filmation also made movies, however, one of which was the animated sequel ''Journey Back to Oz''.
[[File:Bbwinter23.jpeg|right|500 px]]
The latest issue of ''The Baum Bugle'', the journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, is making its way to members' doors now. It's a little late, but since this is technically still the winter of 2023-24, it's catching up again. This issue celebrates Dorothy's third and furriest friend on the Yellow Brick Road, the Cowardly Lion, as ''The Cowardly Lion of Oz'' (the novel) turns 100.


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In this issue:
* The front cover features Bert Lahr, in full make-up as the Cowardly Lion from The Movie, all dressed up for "If I Were King of the Forest"
* The inside front cover is a 1944 studio portrait of Lahr (no Lion make-up)
* Featured on the contents page is an illustration of the Cowardly Lion by Michael Hague
* In "Letters", Oz Club President Ryan Bunch reflects on the current rise in popularity of Oz, with ''The Wiz'' back on Broadway and ''Dee and Friends in Oz'' on Netflix, while ''Bugle'' editor Sarah K. Crotzer laments how the Cowardly Lion gets overlooked, and she aims to reverse that with this issue.
* News events cited in "The Bugle Bulletin":
** A November auction of Hollywood memorabilia that included items from the Ray Bolger estate (including scores for "If I Only Had a Brain" and "Over the Rainbow") and a letter by ''Wizard of Oz'' lyricist E. Y. "Yip" Harburg
** Oz on the radio [https://www.npr.org/2023/08/28/1196486400/how-the-dust-bowl-depiction-from-the-wizard-of-oz-left-a-lasting-impact-on-kansa at NPR] and BBC Radio 5.
** The debut of [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPAZCfmc0mQ&t=7s&ab_channel=NetflixJr. ''Dee and Friends in Oz''] on Netflix around the world
** André de Shields, who originated the title role of ''The Wiz'' on Broadway, being honored with a street renamed for him in his hometown of Baltimore
** Through the Tube! celebrates the Cowardly Lion and Bert Lahr with the following clips:
*** Lahr appears as the Mystery Guest in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUvlkBZ9hJ4 a 1964 episode of the game show ''What's My Line?''] (shouldn't that be ''What's My Lion?''); Lahr enters and signs in at the 15:30 mark
*** A scene from the Discovery Channel in 2000 about [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoU2PSf4eIU&ab_channel=abc the restoration of the Cowardly Lion's costume]
*** Bert Lahr sings "Song of the Woodsman", a 1936 song by ''Oz'' composers Harburg and Arlen, in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji9YFoXr81M&ab_channel=OmnibusWithAlistairCooke a 1958 clip from the show ''Omnibus'']
* Blair Frodelius is honored by the International Wizard of Oz Club with its highest award, the L. Frank Baum Memorial Award
* Jane Lahr remembers growing up with her father, Bert, in "The Cowardly Lion and Dad"
* Atticus Gannaway takes a tongue-in-cheek look at this year's centenary book in "Profiles in Cowardice: Revisiting ''The Cowardly Lion of Oz'' at 100"
* Ryan Bunch presents the next in the series of pull-out music scores of songs from the Ruth Plumly Thompson play ''A Day in Oz'' with "The Cowardly Lion's Lament"
* "Oz Under Scrutiny" looks back at what critics thought of ''The Cowardly Lion of oz'' when it was first published
* "Coming and Going" has some short musings and anecdotes from Sara K. Crotzer on ''The cCowardly Lion of Oz''
* Eric Gjovaag reports on the 2023 edition of OzCon International, back in July in California
* "Collector's Corner" sees Sarah K. Crotzer and Peter E. Hanff describing one of the earliest and rarest of all Oz collectibles, ''The Wogglebug Game of Conundrums'' from 1905
* Robert B. Luehrs looks at some of the smaller and/or lesser-known felines of the series in "The Supercilious Cats of Oz"
* "Oz in the Arts" sees Dewey Davis-Thompson reviewing ''Oz: A New Musical'' by the freeFall Theatre Company of St. Petersburg, Florida, performed in June and July of 2023
* Put under the microscope in "The Bugle Review" this issue are:
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0CFZBYD3H/thewonderwizardo/ ''The First Edition of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'': A New Bibliographic Description'' by Michael O. Riley], reviewed by Paul Bienvenue
** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1476687978/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Characters of Oz: Essays on Their Adaptation and Transformation'', edited by Dina Schiff Massachi] and reviewed by Scott Cummings
** The Japanese game [https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/402552/qing-ixue-toozunomo-shu-shi-the-blue-slippers-and ''青い靴とオズの魔術師 (The Blue Slippers and the Wizard of Oz)''], reviewed by Sarah K. Crotzer
** Other books noted but not reviewed:
*** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0BP45V4RW/thewonderwizardo/ ''Dorothy and Santa in Oz: The Further Adventures of Dorothy Gale'' by Gene Mederos]
*** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0BT1M5X6K/thewonderwizardo/ ''Farmer Boy of Oz'' by Josie Ann Tyler]
*** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0CJXGD4Q4/thewonderwizardo/ ''Fleischer and the Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum and Edward Gross]
*** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0C2P6KS59/thewonderwizardo/ ''Hairdresser of Oz'' by Josie Ann Tyler]
*** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1728271304/thewonderwizardo/ ''Road to the Wizard: A Topsy-Turvy Tale of Oz'' by Meg Cannistra] (a tie-in with the new ''Ghostwriter'' series on AppleTV+)
*** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1737802228/thewonderwizardo/ ''Straw Soul'' by K. A. Silva]
*** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0BSY99CVW/thewonderwizardo/ ''Sundays at Sam's'' by Phyllis Ann Karr], a collection of stories that includes some of her Oz works
*** [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0BHBS56XT/thewonderwizardo/ ''Zombies of Oz'' by John Cosper]
* The inside front cover reprints the color plate of Notta Bit More dressed as a fish from ''The Cowardly Lion of Oz''
* And the back cover reproduces a painting of the Cowardly Lion by Dick Martin


==September 30, 2013: ''The Baum Bugle'', Autumn 2013 issue==
Other items slipped into this issue include:
[[File:bbautumn13.jpg|right]] The latest issue of [https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Baum-Bugle-a-journal-of-Oz/204803745304 ''The Baum Bugle''], the tri-annual journal of [http://www.ozclub.org/The_International_Wizard_of_Oz_Club.html the International Wizard of Oz Club], has made it back from the printers and should be on its way to members now. This issue celebrates one hundred years of one of the most beloved books in the series, ''The Patchwork Girl of Oz''.
* A registration form for [http://www.ozconinternational.com/ the 2024 edition of OzCon International]
* An ad for the new edition of the bibliography ''Oz in Canada'' by C. J. Hinke, which comes in both [https://www.lulu.com/shop/cj-hinke/oz-in-canada/hardcover/product-krjyqm.html?q=Oz+in+Canada&page=1&pageSize=4 hardback] and [https://www.lulu.com/shop/cj-hinke/oz-in-canada-pb/paperback/product-kedkww.html?q=Oz+in+Canada&page=1&pageSize=4 paperback]
* This issue's craft is a color-and-cut-out Cowardly Lion marionette
* And in the latest issue of ''The Oz Gazette'', the newsletter for younger (or at least young-ish) Oz fans:
** The lead story is of the Cowardly Lion leading the coup against the Nome King's reign
** "A Letter from the Editor" introduces the new editor, Katie Jones! It seems she's no longer Oz Club Member on Special Assignment
** "Emerald City Book Report" examines a book that's now one hundred years old, ''The Cowardly Lion of Oz''
** "Why Is the Lion So Cowardly?" and "Prehistory Lesson" looks at some of the issues raised in ''The Cowardly Lion of Oz''
** Glinda looks bark at what her Great Book of Records recorded happening in 1923
** And in an extract from ''The Royal Book of Oz'' (the book in Oz, not the Oz story from 1921), Prof. H. M. Wogglebug, T. E., presents a profile of the Cowardly Lion


In this issue:
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* The front cover features an original illustration of Scraps, Ojo, and Bungle by [http://www.ldiehl.com/ Laura Diehl].
==January 30, 2024: Hinton Battle 1956-2024==
* "Letter from the Editor" by Craig Noble previews what's to come in this issue.
[[File:Hinton_Battle.webp|right]]
* "OZervations" by Club President Carrie L. Hedges touches on the forthcoming redesign of the Club's website, a holiday card contest, the 2014 Club Research Table, and [http://www.oz-stravaganza.com/home/history-of-l-frank-baum/all-things-oz/l-frank-baum-munchkin-memorial the L. Frank Baum Munchkin Memorial] (a flyer was included in this issue to solicit donations).
Hinton Battle, the actor who first played the Scarecrow in ''The Wiz'' on Broadway, passed away today at the age of 67 in Los Angeles after a long illness. Battle was only eighteen years old when he made his Broadway debut in ''The Wiz'' in 1974, after having taken over for a sick castmate during previews on the road. That early success gave him many years to play other roles in other shows, including ''Dancin', Sophisticated Ladies'', ''Dreamgirls'', ''The Tap Dance Kid'', ''Miss Saigon'', and ''Chicago'' on Broadway, and ''Ragtime'' on tour. His movie credits include the film adaptation of ''Dreamgirls'' and, on television, ''Quantum Leap'' (as the evil observer Thames in the Evil Leaper trilogy), ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (as the demon Sweet in the musical episode "Once More With Feeling"), ''Touched By an Angel'', the TV movie ''Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story'' as Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, and the first pilot for the unproduced American version of the British comedy ''Red Dwarf'' as the Cat. Battle also directed and choreographed the Off-Broadway production ''Evil Dead: The Musical'' and released an album, ''Untapped'', in 1986. He won Tony Awards for ''Sophisticated Ladies'', ''The Tap Dance Kid'', and ''Miss Saigon''. He also won the NAACP Image Award and Fred Astaire Award for ''The Tap Dance Kid''.
* Margaret Williams Pellegrini is remembered.
* In "Oz and Ends":
** New Oz comic books, [http://www.carpetbombcomics.com/oz/ ''The Steam Engines of Oz''] from Arcana, and ''Oz'' from [http://www.zenescope.com/ Zenescope].
** "Ding! Dong! The Witch Is Dead" making it into the [http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/22093181 British Top Ten] after the death of Margaret Thatcher.
** The ''Temple Run: Oz'' game app, tied in with the ''Oz the Great and Pwerful'' movie.
** An animated movie version of [http://www.examiner.com/article/christmas-cannes ''The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus''], set to be released for the 2014 holiday season.
** ''Groove on Down the Road'', a hip-hop inspired version of ''The Wizard of Oz'' with influence from ''The Wiz'', which debuted in London this past summer.
** The [http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=oz.htm final box office numbers] and [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00C7JGDBW/thewonderwizardo/ home video release] of ''Oz the Great and Powerful''.
** The IMAX theatrical release of [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00CNW9Z6I/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Wizard of Oz'' in 3-D] (that's the famous 1939 movie version with Judy Garland).
** A [http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/362653 ''Wizard of Oz'' LEGO display], complete with spinning tornado, at the Brickworld convention in Chicago.
** ''Oz'', this year's summer show by the [http://www.circusjuventas.org/ Circus Juventas] youth circus in Minnesota.
** ''Wizard of Oz: Unscripted'' at [http://www.comedysportzhouston.com/index.jsp ComedySportz Houston].
** The FBI's investigation into [http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/victim_assistance/seeking-victim-information/gigapix-studios-inc-and-oz3d-llc Gigapix Studios] and its attempt to produce a 3-D computer animated version of ''The Wizard of Oz''.
** L. Frank Baum's induction into [http://chicagoliteraryhof.org/PersonDetail.aspx?PersonID=57 the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame].
* Marcus Mébès looks back at one hundred years of Scraps' history in "Patching Together History".
* Anita Schmaltz compares the novel to early twentieth century entertainment in "A Calico Chaos: L. Frank Baum Parades a Fantastical Circus in ''The Patchwork Girl of Oz''".
* "Piecing Together the ''Patchwork Girl'' Art: A Conjectural Study" by J. L. Bell examines John R. Neill's art in ''The Patchwork Girl of Oz'', and why so much of it is so repetitive.
* "Oz Under Scrutiny", edited and annotated by Craig J. Noble, looks at contemporary reviews of ''The Patchwork Girl of Oz''.
* Andre De Shields, who originated the title role in ''The Wiz'' on Broadway, looks back at his life and the influence Oz has had on it in "Easin' On Down the Yellow Brick Road: A Black Man's Journey to Oz".
* The ''Bugle'''s series on the collecting and care of Oz books presents "Four Common Repairs for Cloth-Bound Books: Inner Hinges, Tipping-In Plates, Cleaning Cloth Covers, and Dust Jacket Repiars" by Sophia Siobhan Wolohan Bogle.
* Michael O. Riley presents "A New Bibliographic Description of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz''".
* In "Adventures in Oz", Tom Lavelle explains "How I Collected the Oz Books…Twice".
* In "The Oz Illustrator", Eric Shanower explains how he draws the Patchwork Girl.
* In "Multi-MediOz", Ryan Jay pulls back the curtain on the extras on the various home video releases of ''Oz the Great and Powerful''.
* Reviewed in "The Oz Bookshelf":
** [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0785155546/thewonderwizardo/ ''Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz''] and [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0785164049/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Road to Oz''], graphic novel adaptations written by Eric Shanower, illustrated by Skottie Young, reviewed by Ken Cope.
** [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1593932928/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Wizard of MGM: Memoirs of A. Arnold Gillespie (Art Director/HEad of Special Effects from 1924-1965)''], edited by Philip J. Riley and Robert A. Welch, reviewed by Mark Griffin.
** [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1484974980/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Complete, Incomplete Adventures of Donald Gardner and the Silver Shoes: Two Novels, Revised Editions''] by Paul Miles Schneider (a collection and revision of his two earlier novels, ''Silver Shoes'' and ''The Powder of Life''), reviewed by Mari Ness.
* Craig J. Noble presents a crossword puzzle over ''The Patchwork Girl of Oz'' in "Ozmusements.
* And the back cover presents an illustration of Scraps by Nei Ruffino, as seen on the cover of issue nine of the comic book ''The Legend of Oz: The Wicked West''.


Also included with this issue are [http://shop.ozclub.org/category.sc?categoryId=8 a membership renewal form] for 2014, and [http://ozconinternational.com/registration.html a registration form for the 2014 Winkie Convention] in San Diego.
(UPDATE: To honor Battle and his career and influence on Broadway, all forty-one Broadway theaters dimmed their marquee lights on March 12.)


(Information courtesy of [https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2024/01/31/hinton-battle-dead-the-wiz-scarecrow/72428810007/ ''USA Today''], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinton_Battle Wikipedia], [https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/hinton-battle-31283 the Internet Broadway Database], [http://www.iobdb.com/CreditableEntity/33207 the Internet Off-Broadway Database], [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0061507/ the Internet Movie Database], and [https://www.nypl.org/blog/2024/02/08/hinton-battle-tap-dance-kid-buffy the New York Public Library].)
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==August 7, 2013: Margaret Williams Pellegrini==
==January 29, 2024: Terry Jon Martin Sentenced for Theft of the Ruby Slippers==
[[File:Margaret 1939.gif|left|frame|Margaret Williams as the Flowerpot Munchkin]] [[File:Margaret 2013.jpg|right|frame|Margaret Pellegrini in recent years]]Margaret Williams Pellegrini, one of the last surviving cast members of ''The Wizard of Oz'', died this morning of complications of a stroke she suffered earlier this year. She was 89. Born in Sheffield, Alabama on September 23, 1923, Margaret Williams was discovered while helping out her brother-in-law sell potato chips at the Tennessee State Fair. Members of Henry Kramer's Midgets spotted her and encouraged her to join their troupe. She gave them her address, and was eventually contacted by a booking agent to come to Hollywood and make ''The Wizard of Oz''. Because there were so few female Munchkin actors, and she was one of the smallest, Williams ended up playing a number of different roles in the Munchkin scenes, including a Flowerpot Munchkin and a Sleepyhead. After making ''Oz'', she traveled with some midget troupes, but left show business when she married ex-fighter Willie Pellegrini. They had two children, plus grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Margaret would make one other film appearance, in 1971's ''Johnny Got His Gun''. When Oz festivals and events started popping up, she was one of the most visible guests, usually appearing in a reproduction of her Flowerpot Munchkin costume. She had some of the clearest memories and largest collections of materials of her time in Oz, which made her especially popular. She was awarded the L. Frank Baum Memorial Award, the highest honor of the International Wizard of Oz Club, in 2011.
Terry Jon Martin, the man who pled guilty to stealing the Ruby Slippers in 2005, has been sentenced. Due to his advanced age and medical condition, he was sentenced to time served and will not go to jail. Martin is currently in hospice care and on oxygen therapy for chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, and is not expected to live more than a few months longer. He was also ordered to pay the Judy Garland Museum $23,500 in restitution, which he will pay in monthly installments of $300.


Margaret Pellegrini was preceded in death by her husband and two children; she is survived by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Her autobiography is due to be published later this year.
Not knowing about ''The Wizard of Oz'' or the Slippers' cultural significance, career criminal Martin was coerced into stealing the Ruby Slippers as "one last score" because he believed the shoes to be adorned with real rubies. He was disappointed to learn that they were artificial, and gave the slippers to an associate, never to hear from him again. After the FBI recovered the slippers in 2018, Martin quickly became a suspect and charged with the theft last year. Martin pleaded guilty in October 2023.


(Information courtesy ''The Munchkins of Oz'' by Stephen Cox, and [http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-margaret-pellegrini-20130808,0,3512643.story the ''Los Angeles Times''].)
(Information courtesy [https://wtop.com/national/2024/01/dying-thief-who-stole-wizard-of-oz-ruby-slippers-from-minnesota-museum-will-likely-avoid-prison/ WTOP News, Washington, DC].)


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==June 25, 2013: ''The Baum Bugle'', Spring 2013 issue==
==January 29, 2024: ''The Baum Bugle'' Autumn 2023==
[[File:bbspring13.jpg|left]]The latest issue of ''The Baum Bugle'', the journal of the [http://www.ozclub.org/The_International_Wizard_of_Oz_Club.html International Wizard of Oz Club], has been sent out and is making its way to members. Although some Club leaders have expressed regret over how late it was, it's only a few days into summer. Considering the checkered past of the ''Bugle'' getting to members in a timely manner, long-time members probably don't mind much at all!
[[File:bbautumn23.jpeg|right|500 px]]
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The publication schedule of [https://www.ozclub.org/publications/the-baum-bugle/ ''The Baum Bugle''], the journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, may have fallen a little behind, as the Autumn 2023 issue is now making its way to Club members in early 2024. Still, it's coming a lot sooner than many issues have managed over the decades, and as always the wait is worth it, as Editor in Chief Sarah K. Crotzer and her team have put together another exemplary issue.


In this issue:
In this issue:
*The front cover shows Oz and Theodora traversing the Ozian landscape in a scene from the new movie ''Oz the Great and Powerful''.
* The front cover reprints one of W. W. Denslow's color plates form ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' to celebrate fifty years of one of the most important works of Oz scholarship, ''The Annotated Wizard of Oz''.
*"Letter from the Editor" introduces the new editor, Craig Noble, and his connections and history with Oz.
* The inside front cover reprints the cover of sheet music, drawn by W. W. Denslow, from ''The Land of Nod'', a musical that Denslow contributed to in other ways (as we will discover in this issue).
*President Carrie Hedges delivers some "OZervations" on how members can assist the Club in its mission, including how to become a member of "Ozma's Honor Roll".
* In "Letters", new Club President Ryan Bunch recalls the thrill of receiving new editions of the ''Bugle'' when he was a new, young member of the Club, while editor Sarah K. Crotzer's overview of the issue focuses on her relationship with ''The Annotated Wizard of Oz''.
*In "Oz and Ends":
* News reports highlighted in "The Bugle Bulletin":
**Legendary animator Don Bluth's Ozzy background for a live stage adaptation he produced, and the attempt to sell it on ebay.
** Terry Martin pleads guilty to stealing the Ruby Slippers in 2005
**Peter Blystone's translations of [http://www.lulu.com/shop/search.ep?contributorId=1165735 Sergei Sukhinov's epic ten-volume epic about Magic Land], Russia's version of Oz.
** ''Wicked'' celebrates twenty years of performances on Broadway (plus updates on the film adaptation)
**The forthcoming [http://www.rte.ie/ten/news/2013/0124/442936-wicked/ Irish premiere of ''Wicked''], scheduled to start November 27.
** ''The Wiz'' goes on tour on its way to Broadway
**[http://www.flickr.com/photos/65323335@N02/sets/72157633268958876/ A display of Oz dolls] in Columbus, Ohio, during the April conference of Artistic Figures in Cloth and Clay.
** A model of the Gale farmhouse, used during production of the famous film version of ''The Wizard of Oz'', sells for $537,000 at auction
**The attempt to sell [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/wizard-ozs-original-cowardly-lion-418025 one of the original Cowardly Lion costumes] from The Movie to the forthcoming Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
** Kansas native and University of Kansas alumnus Grady Dick wears a ruby-sequined jacket, inspired by another Kansas native, to the NBA draft, where he went to the Toronto Raptors (whose colors include ruby red)
**A new short film, [http://www.monstersculptor.com/films.htm ''The Green Ruby Pumpkin''], which include some familiar-looking trick-or-treaters on Halloween.
** Ozians who recently passed away and remembered in "Beyond the Shifting Sands":
**''The Wizard of Oz'' topping the list of [http://www.scholastic.com/100movies/ Scholastic Magazine's 100 Greatest Movies for Kids].
*** Betty Ann Bruno, a child Munchkin in the 1939 movie
**''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' interactive children's museum exhibit at [http://www.slpl.org/slpl/library/wizardofoz.asp the St. Louis Central Library].
*** Piper Laurie, the award-winning actress whose roles included Ethel Gumm, Judy Garland's mother, in the television biopic ''Rainbow'', and Aunt Em in ''Return to Oz''
**New versions of classic games, coming soon for The Movie's seventy-fifth anniversary. They include ''Monopoly'', ''The Game of Life'', and ''Memory Challenge''.
*** Oz Club members Lary Abramson, Herm Bieber, Susan Higbee, and Rita Reif
**Long-time Oz collector Maureen Stapleton donating her collection to the Oconomowoc Historical Society and Museum in Wisconsin.
** Treasures found on YouTube highlighted in Through the Tube!
**Recent Oz exhibits and events, such as:
*** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmPiyRjC0gE&ab_channel=RobertLamont%3ATinPanAlleyChannel A medley of pumpkin-themed songs related to W. W. Denslow], presented by Robert Lamont at the 2023 National Oz Convention
***The "Returning to Oz: The Afterlife of Dorothy" conference in Machester, England, in February.
*** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WBmQwf8TCM&ab_channel=RobertLamont%3ATinPanAlleyChannel More Ozzy music by Lamont], including selections from ''The Songs of Father Goose''
***"Visions of Oz: A Celebration of Art from Over the Rainbow" in Los Angeles, in March.
*** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbnGZ6p5ZPE&ab_channel=TheOfficialOzClub Blair Frodelius reads "Denslow's Night Before Christmas"]
***The Oz-themed play area and garden at EPCOT during its annual International Flower and Garden Festival, at Walt Disney World this past spring.
* Michael Patrick Hearn is interviewed about his Oz journey and how it resulted in his first book in "The Journey to the ''Annotated Wizard'' Part One: Origins"
**The possibly forthcoming ''The Wizard of Oz'' meets ''Game of Thrones'' television series ''Red Brick Road''.
* "Oz Under Scrutiny" reprints some of the early reviews of ''The Annotated Wizard of Oz''
**The demise and possible forthcoming resurrection of [https://www.facebook.com/OzFestival the Chesterton Oz Festival] in Indiana.
* Robert Lamont looks at what other shows the first Oz illustrator contributed to at the turn of the century in "The Musical Fantasies of W. W. Denslow"
*A round-up of coverage of ''Oz the Great and Powerful'':
* Ruth Berman, charter member of the Club, examines her work in [https://thewizardofoz.info/wiki/Dunkiton_Press reprinting old newspaper pieces by Oz contributors] in "Dunkiton Press: A Checklist of Pamphlets"
**Ryan Jay gives a personal account of covering the movie in "My Road to ''Oz the Great and Powerful'': A TV Journalist's Behind the Curtain at Disney's PR Machine".
* "Oz in the Arts" reviews:
**Freddy Fogarty reviews the movie in "''Oz the Great and Powerful'': A Fresh Take on an Old Tale".
** The short film [https://www.tinwoods.com/ ''The Tin Woods''], reviewed by Sarah K. Crotzer
**Scott Hedley presents the "''Oz the Great and Powerful'' Movie Merchandise and Collectibles Checklist".
** The documentary movie [https://www.criterion.com/films/33490-lynch-oz ''Lynch/Oz''], about the connections between ''The Wizard of Oz'' and the works of director David Lynch, reviewed by Paul Dana
*In the first part of a new series on the collecting and care of Oz books, Mochael O. Riley ponders the question of "Collecting Oz Books: Repair, Restore, or Conserve?"
** The stage show ''The Wizard of Oz'' as presented by the American Contemporary Theater in San Fransisco in June 2023, reviewed by Paul Dana
*J. L. Bell looks at one of the most controversial chapters in the Oz books in "The Troublesome Tottenhots: The Long History Behind Baum's 'Little Brown Folks'".
* In conjunction with ''The Tin Woods'', Sara K. Crotzer interviews co-creator Nick Boxwell
*In response to ''Oz the Great and Powerful'', Jared Davis looks at earlier ''Wizard of Oz'' prequels in "Imagining Oz Before Dorothy".
* "The Bugle Review" sees Dee Michel reviewing [https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/queer-oz-tison-pugh/1142693122?ean=9781496845320 ''Queer Oz: L. Frank Baum's Trans Tales'' by Tison Pugh]
*Robert Baum meets family history in "L. Frank Baum LIVE or How I Spent an Hour with My Great Grandfather".
* Jane Albright remembers one of the last Munchkins, Betty Ann Bruno, and the rest of her extraordinary life in "Maka Koa Munchkin"
*Greg Hunter presents a previously unknown story illustrated by Jon R. Neill in "Children's Stories That Never Grow Old: Lincoln the Boy".
* The inside back cover has some pre-production art by Ann Tseng for ''The Tin Woods''
*Isabelle Melançon shows how to draw the [http://namesakecomic.com/ ''Namesake''] version of Ozma as her collaborator, Megan Lavey-Heaton, looks behind the curtain at the creation of the webcomic.
* The back cover reproduces an advertising poster by W. W. Denslow from 1895
*In "The Oz Bookshelf", books reviewed include:
 
**[http://www.lulu.com/shop/sergei-sukhinov/gingemas-daughter/paperback/product-20664255.html ''Gingemma's Daughter''] and [http://www.lulu.com/shop/sergei-sukhinov/the-fairy-of-the-emerald-city/paperback/product-20675744.html ''The Fairy of the Emerald City''], the first two volumes of Sergei Sukhinov's story of Magic Land, newly translated by Peter Blystone and reviewed by Alan Wise.
Also included in this issue:
**[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1423170911/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Art of Oz the Great and Powerful'' by Grant Curtis with photographs by Merie Wallace], reviewed by Atticus Gannaway.
* A 3-D art project of Dorothy sleeping in the poppy field
**[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1613748108/thewonderwizardo/ ''Everything Oz: Make Munchkin Placecards, Over the Rainbow Cake, "I'm Melting" Witch Candles, and Much More'' by Christine Leech and Hannah Read-Baldrey], reviewed by Mari Ness.
* The latest issue of ''The Oz Gazette'', the Oz newspaper for younger Oz fans (no matter what their actual age). In this issue:
**[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1457515644/thewonderwizardo/ ''The Hackers of Oz'' by Tom Mula], reviewed by Wise.
** Now that he's finally finagled himself into becoming the King of Oz, the Nome King lifts the ban on magic in Oz
*"In Memoriam" by David Moyer remembers the life of long-time Oz Club Munchkin Evan McCord
** "A Letter from the Editor" sees the installation of the newest editor: The Nome King!
*Craig Noble contributes a crossword puzzle based on ''Oz the Great and Powerful'' in "Ozmusements".
** "A Halloween Bestiary" presents a guide to identifying some of more sinister creatures encountered in the Oz books
*And the back cover features Ozma and Dorothy as drawn by Isabelle Melançon.
** Katie Jones, Club Member on Assignment looking for Oz creatures in the Great Outside World, finds a dragon in San Francisco—who, it turns out, has also been looking for Katie
** And Oz's most famous professor has another confounding contest in this issues installment of "What Did the Wogglebug Say?"


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==June 23, 2013: Richard Matheson==
==January 3, 2024: ''Oziana'' 2023==
One of the most prolific and influential of modern science-fictions writers, Richard Matheson, died today. His career spanned over fifty years, and included acclaimed novels (''I Am Legend'', ''Stir of Echoes'', ''The Shrinking Man'', ''What Dreams May Come'' and ''Hell House'', with his most recent, ''Generations'', coming out just last year), short stories ("Button, Button" and "Real Steel", both of which were adapted not only as movies, but also episodes of ''The Twilight Zone''; and "Duel", the basis for the television movie that became Steven Spielberg's first directing credit), movies (he adapted many of his own stories into screenplays, including ''The Incredible Shrinking Man''), and television ("Terror at 20,00 Feet" and "Little Girl Lost" for ''The Twilight Zone'', and "The Enemy Within" for ''Star Trek'', among many others). He received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 1984, the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Horror Writers Association in 1991, and was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2010. Among his admirers were Stephen King, Anne Rice, Ray Bradbury, and Spielberg. Matheson died just days before he was due to receive the Visonary award at the Saturn Awards ceremony; it was presented posthumously. Among his many credits was ''The Dreamer of Oz'', the 1990 television movie about the life of L. Frank Baum, for which Matheson co-wrote the story with David Kirschner, and wrote the screenplay.
[[File:Oziana 2023.jpeg|right]]
 
[https://www.lulu.com/search?sortBy=RELEVANCE&page=1&q=Oziana+2023&pageSize=10&adult_audience_rating=00 The 2023 edition of ''Oziana''], the literary journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, is now for sale to the general public, now that premium copies have gone to members of the International Wizard of Oz Club who pledge extra funds for their memberships. Although a publication of the International Wizard of Oz Club, ''Oziana'' is available to anyone, whether or not they are a member of the Club, who wishes to buy it.
(Information courtesy [http://www.blastr.com/2013-6-24/richard-matheson-author-i-am-legend-dies-86 Blastr], [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0558577/ The Internet Movie Database], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Matheson Wikipedia].)


In this issue:
* "A Portrait of Ozma" by Jane Albright, with illustrations by Anna-Maria Cool, sees a new royal portrait artist come to the Emerald City. But the brushes he picked up on his travels have a surprising effect on the completed paintings. Cool also illustrated the front cover with portraits of Oz characters, tying in with this story.
* "A Rotten Pumpkin" by Suren Oganessian, illustrated by David Bishop, tells the tale of Jack Pumpkinhead trying out a different expression on his latest face, with unpleasant results.
* "Button-Bright and the Professor" by J. L. Bell, illustrated by Marcus Mébès, is about Professor Wogglebug wanting to use Button-Bright as a test subject for his new direction-finding pill, but Button-Bright wants nothing to do with it. But matters chance when a creature stalks them both in the Munchkin forest.
* "Together" by Carter Lappin, with an illustration by David Bishop, is about Dorothy and Ozma both needing some alone time and isolation to get away from it all and think, but they both end up in the same place.
* "Fortune Favors the Wogglebug" by Paul Dana, illustrated by Dennis Anfuso, tells how Professor Wogglebug lamented the passing of L. Frank Baum, and wondering how the children in the great outside world would ever hear stories about Oz again. Then a mysterious message comes in over the telegraph…
* "Glinda and the Glass Cat" by J. L. Bell, with illustrations by Anna-Maria Cool, sees how Glinda deals with Bungle harassing some of her more fragile subjects. Several communities and peoples from the books make new appearances.
* Finally, the back cover illustration, "Oz on Parade" by David Bishop, shows several Oz celebrities heading off somewhere—perhaps to the 2024 issue…
<br clear=all>
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==June 22, 2013: Oz Club Honors==
==Rumor Control==
The International Wizard of Oz Club presented two of its highest honors at its Winkie Convention tonight. The Winkie Award, voted on by convention members, was presented to Anna Wyatt for her many years of attendance and assistance. And the Club's highest honor, the L. Frank Baum Memorial Award, was presented to Eric Gjovaag for his many contributions to Oz research and fiction, assistance at the Winkie Convention, and being one of the first Oz fans with a major presence on the Internet.
(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.)


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==Rumor Control==
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]).
(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.)


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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:
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 [http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/aug/06/eddie-redmayne-wizard-of-oz-author-l-frank-baum here] and [http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/eddie-redmayne-to-play-author-l-frank-baum-in-biopic-road-to-oz-268 here].)
*''Dark Oz 3-D'', based on the old Caliber comic book.
*''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 [http://www.templehillent.com/ Temple Hill].
*A non-musical, faithful adaptation of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' from New Line and [http://www.templehillent.com/ Temple Hill].
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*[http://www.independentstoriesinc.com/WonderfulWizard.htm ''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.
*[http://www.independentstoriesinc.com/WonderfulWizard.htm ''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.
*[http://valleywind.com/legendofoz/ ''Legend of Oz''], a modern retelling of ''The Wizard of Oz'' from Valley Wind Productions in Ottawa.
*[http://valleywind.com/legendofoz/ ''Legend of Oz''], a modern retelling of ''The Wizard of Oz'' from Valley Wind Productions in Ottawa.
*Yes, it looks like a film version of ''Wicked'' is currently in pre-planning at Universal. But this is a long way off, and a lot can happen. However, the success of the play most likely means that there will be a film version some day. Winnie Holzman, who wrote the book for the play, has already been tapped to write the script.
*[http://www.heyuguys.co.uk/2010/06/16/are-the-polish-brothers-planning-their-own-trip-to-oz/ ''Oz''], a new telling of ''The Wizard of Oz''.
*[http://www.heyuguys.co.uk/2010/06/16/are-the-polish-brothers-planning-their-own-trip-to-oz/ ''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.
*A still unnamed horror movie set in the 1920s with Dorothy meeting Alice in Bedlam Asylum.
*[http://www.ozlandthefilm.com/ ''OzLand''], with the protagonists wandering post-apocalyptic America and finding a copy of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz''.
*[http://variety.com/2013/film/news/afm-film-sharks-toons-up-animas-feature-save-oz-exclusive-1200806821/ ''Save Oz''], an animated movie from Mexico about a winged monkey who decides to defeat the Wicked Witch on his own terms, with a little help from some of Oz's greatest heroes.
*[http://www.screendaily.com/festivals/berlin/european-film-market/mcnamara-to-direct-young-santa/5066468.article ''Young Santa'']., based on L. Frank Baum's book ''The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus'' and directed by Sean McNamara.
*[http://www.screendaily.com/festivals/berlin/european-film-market/mcnamara-to-direct-young-santa/5066468.article ''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.
*Not entirely Oz, strictly speaking, but the Judy Garland biography ''Get Happy'' may be made into a movie, featuring Anne Hathaway as Garland.


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*[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/warner-horizon-turn-oz-fantasy-420517 ''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.
*[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/warner-horizon-turn-oz-fantasy-420517 ''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.
*[http://www.deadline.com/2013/08/cbs-developing-wizard-of-oz-themed-medical-drama-from-timbermanbeverly/ ''Dorothy''], an Oz-themed medical drama in development at CBS
*[http://www.deadline.com/2013/08/cbs-developing-wizard-of-oz-themed-medical-drama-from-timbermanbeverly/ ''Dorothy''], an Oz-themed medical drama in development at CBS
*[http://www.deadline.com/2013/08/nbc-buys-wizard-of-oz-drama-from-matt-arnold-as-frank-baums-classic-becomes-the-hottest-tv-property-this-season/ ''Emerald City''], a "modern" Oz series in development at NBC, and picked up for the 2014-15 season.
*[http://www.cinemablend.com/television/Tim-Kring-Developing-Wizard-Oz-Drama-Dorothy-Must-Die-CW-58899.html ''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.
*[http://www.cinemablend.com/television/Tim-Kring-Developing-Wizard-Oz-Drama-Dorothy-Must-Die-CW-58899.html ''Dorothy Must Die''], in which Dorothy has returned to Oz and become a dictator, in development at the CW.
*''Warriors of Oz'', a post-apocalyptic version in development at Syfy.
*''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.
* 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.
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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 [http://www.aintitcool.com/node/31184 stories like this]...
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 [http://www.aintitcool.com/node/31184 stories like this]...
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It seems the [http://www.hash.com/2007web/ Hash, Inc.], animated production of [http://wiki.hash.com/index.php?title=Main_Page_Two ''The Tin Woodman of Oz''] was successful enough that they're going ahead with their next production, ''The Scarecrow of Oz''. This one even has test footage on YouTube, which looks something like this:
<html><center><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0PN379JK76g&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0PN379JK76g&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object></center></html>
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A [http://www.toonzentertainment.com/toonzEntertainment/santa-claus.html computer animated production of Baum's 1902 book ''The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus''] is currently in the works. The producers are Hyde Park Entertainment, Toonz Entertainment, and Gang of 7 Animation. As with all movie projects, a lot can happen before release, which could cause them be delayed, or not to appear at all. Keep an eye on this website's news and events pages for details if they get closer to actually coming out.


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*''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…)
*''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.)
*A television 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.
*''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.)
*''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.)
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*''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 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 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 Bollywood adaptation of ''The Wizard of Oz'' in India.
*A movie version of American McGee's (later cancelled) ''Oz'' video game.
*A movie version of American McGee's (later cancelled) ''Oz'' video game.

Latest revision as of 22:57, 14 March 2025

(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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(For more Oz news, check out The Daily Ozmopolitan. For the latest Oz not-quite-news, see the Rumor Control section of this page.)

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Wicked and Wicked: For Good Accolades and Awards

With high profile movie releases, naturally Wicked and Wicked: For Good will receive acclaim during the film award seasons. Here, then, we will keep track of awards presented to the Wicked movies and their cast and crew, plus nominations for awards to be given later. Keep an eye on this list or the Wikipedia page as more news comes in.

The awards are presented here in the chronological order they were presented:

  • September 27, 2024: International Cinematographers "Manaki Brothers" Film Festival, SUMOLIGHT Creative Energy Award: Alice Brooks (Cinematographer) and Dave Smith (Gaffer)
  • November 18, 2024: Heartland Film Festival, Truly Moving Picture Award: Wicked
  • November 23, 2024: The International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography Camerimage, Production Designer Award: Nathan Crowley
  • December 4, 2024: National Board of Review
    • Best Film: Wicked
    • Best Director: Jon M. Chu
    • Spotlight Award: the creative collaboration of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande
  • December 5, 2024: American Film Institute Awards, Top 10 Films of the Year: Wicked (alongside nine other movies)
  • December 8, 2024: Washington DC Area Film Critics Film Critics Association
    • Best Feature: Wicked
    • Best Production Design: Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales
  • December 8, 2024: Astra Film and Creative Arts Awards
    • Best Picture: Wicked
    • Best Actress: Cynthia Erivo
    • Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande (tied with Zoe Saldaña for Emilia Pérez)
    • Best Director: Jon M. Chu
    • Best Casting: Tiffany Little Canfield and Bernard Telsey
    • Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
    • Best Marketing Campaign: Wicked
    • Best Production Design: Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales
  • December 9, 2024: Celebration of Black Cinema and Television, Actress Award—Film: Cynthia Erivo
  • December 9, 2024: Michigan Movie Critics Guild, Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande
  • December 9, 2024: Atlanta Film Critics Circle, Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande
  • December 9, 2024: San Diego Film Critics Society
    • Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande
    • Best Production Design: Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales
    • Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
  • December 13, 2024: African-American Film Critics Association, Innovator Award: Paul Tazewell
  • December 13, 2024: Las Vegas Film Critics Society
    • Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
    • Best Family Film: Wicked
  • December 15, 2024: St. Louis Film Critics Association, Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
  • December 16, 2024: Phoenix Film Critics Society
    • Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande
    • Best Costume Design: Wicked
  • December 16, 2024: Seattle Film Critics Society, Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
  • December 16, 2024: Iowa Film Critics Association, Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande (tied with Isabella Rossellini in Conclave)
  • December 16, 2024: Southeastern Film Critics Association, Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande
  • December 21, 2024: Nevada Film Critics Society
    • Best Actress: Cynthia Erivo
    • Best Visual Effects: Pablo Helman
  • December 30, 2024: TiBS Editors Choice Awards:
    • Best Actress: Cynthia Erivo
    • Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande
    • Best Director: Jon M. Chu
    • Best Ensemble: Wicked
  • January 2, 2025: Capri Hollywood-International Film Festival Award, Best Sound: Wicked
  • January 2, 2025: Critics Association of Central Florida
    • Best Cast: Wicked
    • Best Production Design: Wicked
    • Best Sound Design: Wicked
  • January 3, 2025: Palm Springs International Film Festival
    • Creative Impact in Acting Award: Cynthia Erivo
    • Rising Star Award: Ariana Grande
  • January 3, 2025: Oklahoma Film Critics Circle, Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande
  • January 4, 2025: DiscussingFilm Global Critic Award, Best Production Design: Wicked
  • January 5, 2025: Golden Globe Awards, Cinematic and Box Office Achievement: Wicked
  • January 10, 2025: Music City Film Critics Association, Best Music Film: Wicked
  • January 10, 2025: Minnesota Film Critics Association, Best Costume Design: Wicked
  • January 12, 2025: Puerto Rico Critics Association
    • Best Comedy/Musical: Wicked
    • Best Production Design: Wicked
    • Best Costume Design: Wicked
  • January 13, 2025: North Dakota Film Society, Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
  • January 13, 2025: Hawaii Film Critics Society
    • Best Art Direction: Wicked
    • Best Costume Design: Wicked
    • Best Visual Effects: Wicked
  • January 14, 2025: Portland Critics Association, Best Supporting Performance (Female): Ariana Grande
  • January 16, 2025: North American Film Critics Association, Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande
  • January 24, 2025: Denver Film Critics Society, Best Supporting Performance by an Actor, Female: Ariana Grande
  • January 26, 2025: Satellite Awards
    • Best Supporting Actress—Motion Picture: Ariana Grande
    • Best Production Design: Wicked
    • Best Costume Design: Wicked
    • Best Sound: Wicked
    • Make-Up Award: Wicked
  • January 27, 2025: Online Film Critics Society, Technical Achievement Award — Choreography: Wicked
  • February 6, 2025: Costume Designers Guild Awards, Excellence in Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film: Paul Tazewell
  • February 7, 2025: Set Decorators Society of America, Best Achievement in Décor/Design of a Comedy or Musical Feature Film: Lee Sandales and Nathan Crowley
  • February 7, 2025: Critics' Choice Movie Awards
    • Best Director: Jon M. Chu
    • Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
    • Best Production Design: Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales
  • February 7, 2025: AACTA Awards, Audience Choice Award for Favourite Film: Wicked
  • February 9, 2025: Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Virtuoso Award: Ariana Grande
  • February 9, 2025: AARP Movies for Grownups Awards, Best Screenwriter: Winnie Holzman
  • February 12, 2025: Artios Awards, Outstanding Achievement in Casting – Big Budget Feature (Comedy): Bernard Telsey, Tiffany Little Canfield, Ryan Bernard Tymensky, Tamsyn Manson
  • February 13, 2025: Dorian Awards
    • Supporting Film Performance of the Year: Ariana Grande
    • "We're Wilde About You" Rising Star Award: Jonathan Bailey
    • Galeca LGBTQIA+ Film Trailblazer: Cynthia Erivo
  • February 15, 2025: Art Directors Guild Awards, Excellence in Production Design for a Fantasy Film: Nathan Crowley
  • February 15, 2025: Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild
    • Best Period and/or Character Make-Up in a Feature-Length Motion Picture: Frances Hannon, Alice Jones, Nuria Mbornio, Johanna Nielsen, Branka Vorkapic
    • Best Period and/or Character Hair Styling in a Feature-Length Motion Picture: Frances Hannon, Sarah Nuth, Sim Camps, Gabor Kerekes
  • February 16, 2025: BAFTA Film Awards
    • Best Production Design: Wicked
    • Best Costume Design: Wicked
  • February 17, 2025: Black Reel Awards
    • Outstanding Soundtrack: Wicked
    • Outstanding Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
  • February 17, 2025: Latino Entertainment Journalists Society
    • Best Production Design: Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales
    • Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
  • February 22, 2025: NAACP Image Awards
    • Outstanding Costume Design: Paul Tazewell
    • Outstanding Soundtrack/Compilation Album: Wicked: The Soundtrack
  • February 23, 2025: Online Film and Television Association
    • Best Production Design: Wicked
    • Best Costume Design: Wicked
    • Best Adapted Song: "Defying Gravity"
  • February 23, 2025: Golden Reel Awards, Outstanding Achievement in Music Editing–Feature Motion Picture: Catherine Wilson, Robin Baynton
  • February 28, 2025: International Cinematographers Guild Publicists Awards, Maxwell Weinberg Award for Motion Picture Publicity Campaign: Wicked
  • March 2, 2025: Academy Awards
    • Best Costume Design: Wicked
    • Best Production Design: Wicked
  • March 11, 2025: Queerties
    • Drama Movie: Wicked
    • Film Performance: Jonathan Bailey
    • Next Big Thing: Wicked: For Good
  • March 14, 2025: American Cinema Editors Awards, Best Edited Feature Film – Comedy or Musical: Myron Kerstein

The following are pending nominations:

  • March 17, 2025: iHeartRadio Music Awards, Favorite Soundtrack: Wicked: The Soundtrack
  • March 27, 2025: GLAAD Media Awards, Outstanding Film — Wide Theatrical Release: Wicked

January 3, 2025: Saliterman to Plead Guilty to Hiding Ruby Slippers

Jerry Hal Saliterman, accused of theft of a major artwork and witness tampering in connection with the 2005 theft of the Ruby Slippers in Minnesota, now plans to plead guilty to the charges in a court appearance on January 10. It is not currently known how Saliterman is connected to Terry John Martin, who pled guilty to stealing the slippers in 2023. Saliterman originally pled not guilty when first charged in March of 2024, but his age (77) and poor health may have resulted in a deal that allows him to stay out of jail like Martin.

(Information courtesy U. S. News and World Reports.)

December 13, 2024: The Baum Bugle's Celebratory 200th Issue

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The Autumn 2024 issue of The Baum Bugle, the journal of the International Wizard of Oz, has come back from the printers and is on its way to members' mailboxes. This is the two hundredth issue of the Bugle, so the journal celebrates itself, for once.

In this issue:

  • The wraparound cover pays tribute to the first illustrated cover of the Bugle (for the May 1959 issue), showing many different illustrators' versions of the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman
  • The inside front cover reproduces Maxfield Parrish's cover for the January 1917 issue of Metropolitan.
  • In "Letters", Oz Club President Ryan Bunch reflects on winning the L. Frank Baum Memorial Award during a hurricane, while Bugle editor Sarah K. Krotzer looks at the production of this issue within the overall history of the journal.
  • In "The Bugle Bulletin":
    • The Club opens its archive with reprints of selected articles from past issues of The Baum Bugle.
    • The town of Salina, New York breaks ground on a new community center at the site of Rose Lawn, the Baum family estate. The center will include a Baum-themed museum.
    • Gregory Maguire's writing another book set in his version of Oz. Elphie, coming out March 25, 2025, will recount tales of the childhood of Elphaba, who will later become the Wicked Witch of the West.
    • The stolen pair of Ruby Slippers, now recovered, are on tour and will go up for auction in December.
    • The latest revival of The Wiz surpasses one hundred performances on Broadway.
    • The release of the first Wicked movie is moved up to November 22, 2024.
    • Marvelous: A Musical Opera based on The Marvelous Land of Oz premieres in Sisterville, West Virginia on April 5, 2025
    • "Beyond the Shifting Sands" recognizes the passing of Ken Page, who understudied for Ted Ross in the original Broadway production of The Wiz before taking over the role himself.
  • One of the original charter members of the International Wizard of Oz Club, Ruth Berman, looks back on how it all started in "A Gleam in Justin's Eye: Oz Club Origins".
  • In "In Search of Snow White: The Unrealized Dream of Maxfield Parrish and L. Frank Baum", Scott Cummings looks at a second Parrish-Baum collaboration that ultimately never came to be, a book and stage play of Snow White in the late 1910s.
  • Peter E. Hanff looks at how one man changed the Bugle from a humble newsletter to a comprehensive journal in "Martin's Marvels: Dick Martin's Graphical Contributions to the History of The Baum Bugle". Accompanying this article is a color supplement of Bugle covers Martin contributed to, including examples of color separations; and "A Checklist of Cover Art for The Baum Bugle by Dick Martin".
  • J. L. Bell examines the development of cartography in the Oz books in the award-winning "The Inspiring Maps of Oz".
  • "Keepers of the Record" presents reminiscences of three previous Bugle editors:
    • "A Brief Reminiscence of My Bugle Editorship, 1996-2000" by William Stillman.
    • "Notes from an Old Bugle Editor" by Michael Gessel.
    • "The Call of a Bugle—and Where It Led" by John Fricke.
  • "How It Began (Again)" looks at some mocked-up dummy pages, created by Dick Martin, for the Spring 1979 issue of the Bugle.
  • The inside back cover reproduces the earliest known map of Oz, a slide from the 1908 multimedia show The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays.

Also included with this issue:

  • The craft project is a map of Oz to color.
  • In Issue No. 20 of The Oz Gazette, the newsletter for younger Oz fans (of all ages):
    • Editor-in-Chief Katie Jones and Number Nine outline efforts to clean up the Emerald City after the Nome King's recent occupation, and reveal the Gump as the new Head of Security.
    • Polychrome reveals a puzzle where weather-related clues help you to unscramble Oz place names.
    • Scraps opines on issues of writing Oz poetry.
    • The Scarecrow gives story recommendations:
    • And throughout the issue, mysterious figures seem to be scouting out the country for nefarious purposes. But is someone scouting them out in turn?

December 7, 2024: Ruby Slippers Auction Sets New Movie Memorabilia Record

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The most notorious pair of Ruby Slippers used during production of the famous 1939 film version of The Wizard of Oz went up for auction today, and the final price shattered all records for the price paid for a piece of movie memorabilia. Of the four known pairs of Ruby Slippers known to still exist, this pair, "The Traveling Shoes", were stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in 2005 and recovered in 2018, when they acquired a new nickname, "The Stolen Pair". They were ultimately returned to owner Michael Shaw who decided it was time to sell them. Estimated to go for at least $3,000,000, online bidding reached $1,550,000 before live bidding on site at Heritage Auctions began. The estimate was quickly surpassed, and when bidding ended, the final bid was $28,000,000, far outpacing any previous price for movie memorabilia. With commission and other fees, the total final price paid was $32,500,000. The Ruby Slippers alone surpassed the previous record for an entire movie memorabilia auction, the $22,800,000 that Debbie Reynolds' collection was sold for in 2011.

Other Oz items available in the auction:

  • One of Margaret Hamilton's Wicked Witch of the West hats, and the only one known to carry Hamilton's name inside, earned the second highest price for an item from The Wizard of Oz, $2,930,000
  • Producer Mervyn LeRoy's script from the MGM art department, $50,000
  • The screen door from the Gale farmhouse, $37,500
  • Judy Garland's blonde wig from the first week of shooting, $30,000
  • The MGM contract for songwriters Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harburg, $23,125

Other items of interest at the auction included a sceen-used Jumanji board game from the eponymous movie; a crate used to hold bombs in the original 1933 version of King Kong; a hoverboard from Back to the Future II; Kevin's scarf, coat, hat, and mittens from Home Alone; Wilson, Tom Hanks' volleyball co-star in Castaway; and a screen-used golden ticket from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

(Information and image courtesy Heritage Auctions.)


December 2, 2024: Paul Maslansky 1933-2024

Longtime Hollywood producer Paul Maslansky died today in a hospital in San Robles, California. He was 91. His first credit was for the 1964 horror film Castle of the Living Dead with Christopher Lee, and he worked on many films in the 1970s and '80s. His biggest success was the Police Academy series, beginning in 1984 with the first movie which spawned several other movies, a television series, and an animated series. Another of his credits at the time was Return to Oz. He is survived by his long-time partner Sally Emr, three children, and two grandchildren.

(Information courtesy Variety and Wikipedia.)

November 3, 2024: Quincy Jones, 1933-2024

Quincy Jones in The Wiz.

Quincy Jones, the EGOT-winning musician and producer, passed away today at the age of 91. Born in 1933 in Chicago, Jones graduated from Garfield High School in Seattle (where the performing arts center is named for him). He soon started working with jazz bands all over the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia. He also worked in the early days of television with such artists as Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey, Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Charles, and Elvis Presley. He worked with Frank Sinatra and the Count Basie Orchestra on an album, and then broke into the movies when he composed the music for The Pawnbroker. He would go on to work on movies such as In the Heat of the Night, In Cold Blood, The Italian Job, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, Cactus Flower, and both versions of The Color Purple. For television, he composed music for the original Ironside, Sanford and Son, and the original Roots (for which he earned his Emmy Award). Later, as a producer, he oversaw shows including The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and its successor, Bel Air, and MadTV. He won 28 Grammy Awards, the most for any producer and the third most of all time, including Album of the Year in 2023 for Harry's House. He won a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical in 2016 as a producer for The Color Purple, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have given him two of their highest honors, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1995 and the Academy Honorary Award in 2024 (which will now be presented posthumously). Other accomplishments have included the Grammy Legend Award, the Kennedy Center Honors, the BET Humanitarian Award, the National Medal of Arts, and the Grand Commandeur de Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the government of France.

In comparison to everything else, his contributions to Oz may not have had as much impact, but he was a crucial part of the 1978 film version of The Wiz, where he was musical supervisor and producer. He also contributed new music, including for the songs "Can I Go On?" and "Is This What Feeling Gets? (Dorothy's Theme)". He also appeared onscreen in an uncredited cameo as the pianist in the Emerald City. It was during The Wiz that Quincy Jones first met with Michael Jackson, and he was so impressed with Jackson's work ethic playing the Scarecrow that Jones agreed to produce Jackson's forthcoming solo album Off the Wall. They would later work together on two more Jackson albums, Thriller and Bad. Jones would also produce and conduct on a song Jackson co-wrote, the 1985 charity anthem "We Are the World".

(Information courtesy The Associated Press and Wikipedia. Photo courtesy The International Wizard of Oz Club's Facebook page.)

September 30, 2024: Ken Page, 1954-2024

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Ken Page, the character actor known for his work on stage and television, and in movies and video games, passed away in his sleep today at his home in St. Louis. He was 70. Soon after graduating college, he started his acting career at the famed Muny outdoor theater of St. Louis. He made his Broadway debut as Ted Ross's understudy as the Cowardly Lion in the original production of The Wiz, a role he then took over after Ross left the show. He went on to play roles in shows such as Guys and Dolls, Ain't Misbehavin' and Cats (as Old Deuteronomy) on Broadway, and playing the Cowardly Lion again in the Madison Square Garden production of The Wizard of Oz. He would later return to the Muny to play both the Cowardly Lion and the Wizard in different productions of The Wizard of Oz. He was also the voice of Oogie Boogie in The Nightmare Before Christmas, a role he reprised in video games, concerts, and other presentations. He won a Theatre World Award in 1976, and a Drama Desk Award in 1978.

(Information courtesy The Oz Wiki and Wikipedia.)


September 28, 2024: Ryan Bunch Receives 2024 L. Frank Baum Memorial Award; Oz Club Contest Winners

Tonight, the L. Frank Baum Memorial Award, the highest honor that the International Wizard of Oz Club bestows, went to Ryan Bunch. Currently President of the Club, he has also served on the Board of Directors and as Vice-President. He has also chaired conventions and written for the Club's journal, The Baum Bugle. His recent book, Oz and the Musical, examines how different dramatic interpretations of Oz on stage demonstrate the evolution of musical theater.

Also tonight, the winners of the Oz Club's annual writing and art contests were announced:

  • The Fred Otto Prize for Fiction:
    • First place, "The Fairy King of Oz" by Jesse Jury
    • Second place, "The Final Fate of the Phanfasms" by Aaron Solomon Adelman
  • The C. Warren Hollister Prize for Non-Fiction:
    • First place, "Ozma's Enduring Appeal 120 Years Later" by Leighton Suen
    • Second place, "Puzzle Adventures in Oz" by Tyler B. Wright
  • The Rob Roy MacVeigh Prize for Art:
    • First place, "A Gathering of Ozians" by Rob Lauer
    • Second place, "Glinda" by David Valentin

July 20, 2024: The 2024 Winkie Award

Tonight, the 2024 edition of the Winkie Award was presented by OzCon International to Cindy Ragni. Cindy has been a long-time supporter of OzCon, presenting on many topics. In recent years, she has also coordinated the dealers' room (all while also running her own space in it). Her contributions were recognized by her fellow OzCon members, who voted that she receive the convention's highest award.

June 25, 2024: Bill Cobbs 1934-2024

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Bill Cobbs, the Emmy Award-winning character actor passed away today at his home in Riverside, California. He was 90. Born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1934, Wilbert Francisco Hobbs was an Air Force radio technician for eight years, then went on to sell office supplies for IBM and cars. In 1970, at the age of 36, he went to New York City to try his hand at acting. Like most in the profession he struggled at first, but eventually he broke into small theatrical productions. He also started getting small roles in films and on television. His films included Air Bud, the Night at the Museum series, The Hudsucker Proxy, and That Thing You Do. On television, he was a regular on I'll Fly Away and Go On, and had guest appearances on such shows as The Drew Carey Show, Jag, Star Trek: Enterprise (where he played the inventor of the transporter), One Tree Hill, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Rugrats. He won an Emmy Award in 2020 for Outstanding Limited Performance in a Daytime Program for Dino Dana. But to Oz fans, he will be remembered as Master Tinker in Oz the Great and Powerful.

(information courtesy Wikipedia.)

June 3, 2024: The Baum Bugle Spring 2024

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The first issue of the year of The Baum Bugle, the journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, is now making its way into members' mailboxes. This issue celebrates Oz in the 1950s, a decade not usually known for being terribly Ozzy.


In this issue:

Also included with this issue:

  • An art project that allows you to create your own moving Oz pictures.
  • The latest edition of The Oz Gazette, the newspaper of all that's happening in Oz:
    • Ryan Bunch, the new President of the International Wizard of Oz Club, makes his first diplomatic visit to the Emerald City.
    • Editor Katie Jones tells what's going on in this issue.
    • Dorothy presents a brief history of Oz newspapers, on both sides of the Deadly Desert.
    • Two editors meet as Katie Jones interviews Sarah K. Crotzer of The Baum Bugle.
    • "Emerald City Book Report" turns a page on [The Ozmapolitan of Oz].
    • Ozmapolitan of Oz author and artist Dick Martin gets a write-up.
    • The latest excerpt from The Royal Book of Oz (the one in Oz, not the one you can buy in stores here) is about the Tin Woodman himself, Nick Chopper.

March 18, 2024: Second Suspect Charged in Theft of the Ruby Slippers; Slippers Go On Tour Before Auction

A second suspect has been charged in the 2005 theft of a pair of the Ruby Slippers from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids. Minnesota. Jerry Sal Saliterman, 76, of Crystal, Minnesota was arraigned in federal court in St. Paul, and charged with felony theft of a major artwork and witness tampering, the latter a threat to distribute graphic videos of a woman to prevent her from talking to the FBI. As Saliterman is in a wheelchair and uses an oxygen tank, he was not deemed a flight risk and released on his own recognizance. His attorney intends to file a plea of not guilty. Details about the charges, or Saliterman's connection to Terry John Martin, who pled guilty to stealing the Ruby Slippers late last year, are still unknown at this time.

In related news, Michael Shaw, the owner of the Ruby Slippers at the time of the theft (he had loaned them to the museum) has bought back the Ruby Slippers from his insurance company, and received them in February. He has now turned them over to Heritage Actions, a firm that specializes in selling movie memorabilia and other rare items, for safekeeping and consignment. Heritage plans to put the Slippers on display in an international tour before auctioning them off in December this year.

(Information courtesy Breakingnews.ie and Minnesota Public Radio.)

March 14, 2024: The Baum Bugle Winter 2023

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The latest issue of The Baum Bugle, the journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, is making its way to members' doors now. It's a little late, but since this is technically still the winter of 2023-24, it's catching up again. This issue celebrates Dorothy's third and furriest friend on the Yellow Brick Road, the Cowardly Lion, as The Cowardly Lion of Oz (the novel) turns 100.

In this issue:

  • The front cover features Bert Lahr, in full make-up as the Cowardly Lion from The Movie, all dressed up for "If I Were King of the Forest"
  • The inside front cover is a 1944 studio portrait of Lahr (no Lion make-up)
  • Featured on the contents page is an illustration of the Cowardly Lion by Michael Hague
  • In "Letters", Oz Club President Ryan Bunch reflects on the current rise in popularity of Oz, with The Wiz back on Broadway and Dee and Friends in Oz on Netflix, while Bugle editor Sarah K. Crotzer laments how the Cowardly Lion gets overlooked, and she aims to reverse that with this issue.
  • News events cited in "The Bugle Bulletin":
    • A November auction of Hollywood memorabilia that included items from the Ray Bolger estate (including scores for "If I Only Had a Brain" and "Over the Rainbow") and a letter by Wizard of Oz lyricist E. Y. "Yip" Harburg
    • Oz on the radio at NPR and BBC Radio 5.
    • The debut of Dee and Friends in Oz on Netflix around the world
    • André de Shields, who originated the title role of The Wiz on Broadway, being honored with a street renamed for him in his hometown of Baltimore
    • Through the Tube! celebrates the Cowardly Lion and Bert Lahr with the following clips:
  • Blair Frodelius is honored by the International Wizard of Oz Club with its highest award, the L. Frank Baum Memorial Award
  • Jane Lahr remembers growing up with her father, Bert, in "The Cowardly Lion and Dad"
  • Atticus Gannaway takes a tongue-in-cheek look at this year's centenary book in "Profiles in Cowardice: Revisiting The Cowardly Lion of Oz at 100"
  • Ryan Bunch presents the next in the series of pull-out music scores of songs from the Ruth Plumly Thompson play A Day in Oz with "The Cowardly Lion's Lament"
  • "Oz Under Scrutiny" looks back at what critics thought of The Cowardly Lion of oz when it was first published
  • "Coming and Going" has some short musings and anecdotes from Sara K. Crotzer on The cCowardly Lion of Oz
  • Eric Gjovaag reports on the 2023 edition of OzCon International, back in July in California
  • "Collector's Corner" sees Sarah K. Crotzer and Peter E. Hanff describing one of the earliest and rarest of all Oz collectibles, The Wogglebug Game of Conundrums from 1905
  • Robert B. Luehrs looks at some of the smaller and/or lesser-known felines of the series in "The Supercilious Cats of Oz"
  • "Oz in the Arts" sees Dewey Davis-Thompson reviewing Oz: A New Musical by the freeFall Theatre Company of St. Petersburg, Florida, performed in June and July of 2023
  • Put under the microscope in "The Bugle Review" this issue are:
  • The inside front cover reprints the color plate of Notta Bit More dressed as a fish from The Cowardly Lion of Oz
  • And the back cover reproduces a painting of the Cowardly Lion by Dick Martin

Other items slipped into this issue include:

  • A registration form for the 2024 edition of OzCon International
  • An ad for the new edition of the bibliography Oz in Canada by C. J. Hinke, which comes in both hardback and paperback
  • This issue's craft is a color-and-cut-out Cowardly Lion marionette
  • And in the latest issue of The Oz Gazette, the newsletter for younger (or at least young-ish) Oz fans:
    • The lead story is of the Cowardly Lion leading the coup against the Nome King's reign
    • "A Letter from the Editor" introduces the new editor, Katie Jones! It seems she's no longer Oz Club Member on Special Assignment
    • "Emerald City Book Report" examines a book that's now one hundred years old, The Cowardly Lion of Oz
    • "Why Is the Lion So Cowardly?" and "Prehistory Lesson" looks at some of the issues raised in The Cowardly Lion of Oz
    • Glinda looks bark at what her Great Book of Records recorded happening in 1923
    • And in an extract from The Royal Book of Oz (the book in Oz, not the Oz story from 1921), Prof. H. M. Wogglebug, T. E., presents a profile of the Cowardly Lion

January 30, 2024: Hinton Battle 1956-2024

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Hinton Battle, the actor who first played the Scarecrow in The Wiz on Broadway, passed away today at the age of 67 in Los Angeles after a long illness. Battle was only eighteen years old when he made his Broadway debut in The Wiz in 1974, after having taken over for a sick castmate during previews on the road. That early success gave him many years to play other roles in other shows, including Dancin', Sophisticated Ladies, Dreamgirls, The Tap Dance Kid, Miss Saigon, and Chicago on Broadway, and Ragtime on tour. His movie credits include the film adaptation of Dreamgirls and, on television, Quantum Leap (as the evil observer Thames in the Evil Leaper trilogy), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (as the demon Sweet in the musical episode "Once More With Feeling"), Touched By an Angel, the TV movie Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story as Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, and the first pilot for the unproduced American version of the British comedy Red Dwarf as the Cat. Battle also directed and choreographed the Off-Broadway production Evil Dead: The Musical and released an album, Untapped, in 1986. He won Tony Awards for Sophisticated Ladies, The Tap Dance Kid, and Miss Saigon. He also won the NAACP Image Award and Fred Astaire Award for The Tap Dance Kid.

(UPDATE: To honor Battle and his career and influence on Broadway, all forty-one Broadway theaters dimmed their marquee lights on March 12.)

(Information courtesy of USA Today, Wikipedia, the Internet Broadway Database, the Internet Off-Broadway Database, the Internet Movie Database, and the New York Public Library.)

January 29, 2024: Terry Jon Martin Sentenced for Theft of the Ruby Slippers

Terry Jon Martin, the man who pled guilty to stealing the Ruby Slippers in 2005, has been sentenced. Due to his advanced age and medical condition, he was sentenced to time served and will not go to jail. Martin is currently in hospice care and on oxygen therapy for chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, and is not expected to live more than a few months longer. He was also ordered to pay the Judy Garland Museum $23,500 in restitution, which he will pay in monthly installments of $300.

Not knowing about The Wizard of Oz or the Slippers' cultural significance, career criminal Martin was coerced into stealing the Ruby Slippers as "one last score" because he believed the shoes to be adorned with real rubies. He was disappointed to learn that they were artificial, and gave the slippers to an associate, never to hear from him again. After the FBI recovered the slippers in 2018, Martin quickly became a suspect and charged with the theft last year. Martin pleaded guilty in October 2023.

(Information courtesy WTOP News, Washington, DC.)

January 29, 2024: The Baum Bugle Autumn 2023

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The publication schedule of The Baum Bugle, the journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, may have fallen a little behind, as the Autumn 2023 issue is now making its way to Club members in early 2024. Still, it's coming a lot sooner than many issues have managed over the decades, and as always the wait is worth it, as Editor in Chief Sarah K. Crotzer and her team have put together another exemplary issue.

In this issue:

  • The front cover reprints one of W. W. Denslow's color plates form The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to celebrate fifty years of one of the most important works of Oz scholarship, The Annotated Wizard of Oz.
  • The inside front cover reprints the cover of sheet music, drawn by W. W. Denslow, from The Land of Nod, a musical that Denslow contributed to in other ways (as we will discover in this issue).
  • In "Letters", new Club President Ryan Bunch recalls the thrill of receiving new editions of the Bugle when he was a new, young member of the Club, while editor Sarah K. Crotzer's overview of the issue focuses on her relationship with The Annotated Wizard of Oz.
  • News reports highlighted in "The Bugle Bulletin":
    • Terry Martin pleads guilty to stealing the Ruby Slippers in 2005
    • Wicked celebrates twenty years of performances on Broadway (plus updates on the film adaptation)
    • The Wiz goes on tour on its way to Broadway
    • A model of the Gale farmhouse, used during production of the famous film version of The Wizard of Oz, sells for $537,000 at auction
    • Kansas native and University of Kansas alumnus Grady Dick wears a ruby-sequined jacket, inspired by another Kansas native, to the NBA draft, where he went to the Toronto Raptors (whose colors include ruby red)
    • Ozians who recently passed away and remembered in "Beyond the Shifting Sands":
      • Betty Ann Bruno, a child Munchkin in the 1939 movie
      • Piper Laurie, the award-winning actress whose roles included Ethel Gumm, Judy Garland's mother, in the television biopic Rainbow, and Aunt Em in Return to Oz
      • Oz Club members Lary Abramson, Herm Bieber, Susan Higbee, and Rita Reif
    • Treasures found on YouTube highlighted in Through the Tube!
  • Michael Patrick Hearn is interviewed about his Oz journey and how it resulted in his first book in "The Journey to the Annotated Wizard Part One: Origins"
  • "Oz Under Scrutiny" reprints some of the early reviews of The Annotated Wizard of Oz
  • Robert Lamont looks at what other shows the first Oz illustrator contributed to at the turn of the century in "The Musical Fantasies of W. W. Denslow"
  • Ruth Berman, charter member of the Club, examines her work in reprinting old newspaper pieces by Oz contributors in "Dunkiton Press: A Checklist of Pamphlets"
  • "Oz in the Arts" reviews:
    • The short film The Tin Woods, reviewed by Sarah K. Crotzer
    • The documentary movie Lynch/Oz, about the connections between The Wizard of Oz and the works of director David Lynch, reviewed by Paul Dana
    • The stage show The Wizard of Oz as presented by the American Contemporary Theater in San Fransisco in June 2023, reviewed by Paul Dana
  • In conjunction with The Tin Woods, Sara K. Crotzer interviews co-creator Nick Boxwell
  • "The Bugle Review" sees Dee Michel reviewing Queer Oz: L. Frank Baum's Trans Tales by Tison Pugh
  • Jane Albright remembers one of the last Munchkins, Betty Ann Bruno, and the rest of her extraordinary life in "Maka Koa Munchkin"
  • The inside back cover has some pre-production art by Ann Tseng for The Tin Woods
  • The back cover reproduces an advertising poster by W. W. Denslow from 1895

Also included in this issue:

  • A 3-D art project of Dorothy sleeping in the poppy field
  • The latest issue of The Oz Gazette, the Oz newspaper for younger Oz fans (no matter what their actual age). In this issue:
    • Now that he's finally finagled himself into becoming the King of Oz, the Nome King lifts the ban on magic in Oz
    • "A Letter from the Editor" sees the installation of the newest editor: The Nome King!
    • "A Halloween Bestiary" presents a guide to identifying some of more sinister creatures encountered in the Oz books
    • Katie Jones, Club Member on Assignment looking for Oz creatures in the Great Outside World, finds a dragon in San Francisco—who, it turns out, has also been looking for Katie
    • And Oz's most famous professor has another confounding contest in this issues installment of "What Did the Wogglebug Say?"

January 3, 2024: Oziana 2023

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The 2023 edition of Oziana, the literary journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club, is now for sale to the general public, now that premium copies have gone to members of the International Wizard of Oz Club who pledge extra funds for their memberships. Although a publication of the International Wizard of Oz Club, Oziana is available to anyone, whether or not they are a member of the Club, who wishes to buy it.

In this issue:

  • "A Portrait of Ozma" by Jane Albright, with illustrations by Anna-Maria Cool, sees a new royal portrait artist come to the Emerald City. But the brushes he picked up on his travels have a surprising effect on the completed paintings. Cool also illustrated the front cover with portraits of Oz characters, tying in with this story.
  • "A Rotten Pumpkin" by Suren Oganessian, illustrated by David Bishop, tells the tale of Jack Pumpkinhead trying out a different expression on his latest face, with unpleasant results.
  • "Button-Bright and the Professor" by J. L. Bell, illustrated by Marcus Mébès, is about Professor Wogglebug wanting to use Button-Bright as a test subject for his new direction-finding pill, but Button-Bright wants nothing to do with it. But matters chance when a creature stalks them both in the Munchkin forest.
  • "Together" by Carter Lappin, with an illustration by David Bishop, is about Dorothy and Ozma both needing some alone time and isolation to get away from it all and think, but they both end up in the same place.
  • "Fortune Favors the Wogglebug" by Paul Dana, illustrated by Dennis Anfuso, tells how Professor Wogglebug lamented the passing of L. Frank Baum, and wondering how the children in the great outside world would ever hear stories about Oz again. Then a mysterious message comes in over the telegraph…
  • "Glinda and the Glass Cat" by J. L. Bell, with illustrations by Anna-Maria Cool, sees how Glinda deals with Bungle harassing some of her more fragile subjects. Several communities and peoples from the books make new appearances.
  • Finally, the back cover illustration, "Oz on Parade" by David Bishop, shows several Oz celebrities heading off somewhere—perhaps to the 2024 issue…


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 television 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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