Judy Garland Getting Exploited Wasn’t the Only Terrible Thing ‘The Wizard of Oz’ Did, It Literally Put Her Life in Mortal Danger (2024)

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SUMMARY

• Judy Garland starred in The Wizard of Oz, where asbestos snow created health risks despite its magical cinematic effect.
• Buddy Ebsen’s severe reaction to aluminum makeup forced him out.
• Margaret Hamilton’s pyrotechnic accident and asbestos props reveal the hidden dangers behind The Wizard of Oz.

From performing in The Gumm Sisters to gaining international stardom for her role as Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz, Judy Garland was one of the most iconic actresses of her time. But the very movie that established her fame also exploited her in many ways. From the Munchkins making her life miserable on set to now the revelation that one element of the movie also put her life in mortal danger.

The snow that was in the movie to make it more cinematically pleasing was actually very harmful and could have had a very harmful effect on the actress.

How The Wizard of Oz Put Judy Garland’s Life in Danger?

The Wizard of Oz was truly a classic that launched actress Judy Garland to international stardom. While her memorable performance gained everyone’s attention, it also had several questionable elements attached to it. One of the movie’s most pivotal scenes is the poppy field sequence in which Dorothy and her companions are lulled into a deep sleep by a spell.

As Glinda the Good Witch counteracts the magic, snow gently falls presenting a beautiful cinematic vision in the movie. While it was indeed beautiful, the snow was far from safe and had several harmful effects. During that time, it was a common practice in Hollywood to use industrial-grade chrysotile asbestos to mimic the look of real snow.

Several decades later, the same asbestos is revealed to be a deadly carcinogen, that’s known to cause serious health conditions and diseases like mesothelioma (a rare and aggressive form of cancer). Interestingly, Asbestos wasn’t the only hazardous element on set as Buddy Ebsen (the original Tin Man) suffered a near-fatal reaction to the aluminum powder used in his makeup.

This also led to his hospitalization and eventually, he left the project. After him, Jack Haley was brought in to play the role and he himself had a very serious eye infection because of the makeup. Margaret Hamilton who played the Wicked Witch was severely burned during a pyrotechnic mishap. These practices detail just how difficult it was for the actors to work on set, that too with such dangerous elements.

Judy Garland Was Exploited on the Sets of The Wizard of Oz

Being a child actor is not at all easy, and for Judy Garland as well the road to stardom was a tough one. She signed under MGN when she was just 13 years old, after which she faced several health struggles. To maintain her perfect appearance, the actress would go for days without eating.

She also started taking barbiturates for her insomnia but developed an addiction to them. She passed away in 1969 due to an overdose of this medication and was just 47 years old at the time.

Her personal life was also quite controversial, and Garland was married five times. After her passing her ex-husband Sidney Luft with whom she was married from 1952 to 1965 detailed in his memoir (released posthumously in 2017 as he passed away in 2005) some shocking details about the actress.

In this, Luft claimed that the actors who played Munchkins on The Wizard of Oz had s**ually abused the actress on set. He added via People:

Before her death, even Garland detailed the actor’s behavior on set during a 1967 interview with Jack Paar. The actress added:

On the contrary, the Munchkin actors have denied these claims adding that they’ve worked hard for little pay.

Even Munchkin actress Margaret Pellegrini added via The Independent that the actors liked to go out for a few drinks. However, the situation never got out of hand, and everyone was on their best behavior during the filming.

You can stream The Wizard of Oz on Max.