'Wizard of Oz' Munchkin Margaret Pellegrini dies

PHOENIX, AZ -- Margaret Pellegrini, one of the original Munchkins from the 1939 classic movie "The Wizard of Oz," has died. She was 89.

Pellegrini suffered a stroke Monday at her Glendale, Ariz., home and died Wednesday at a Phoenix-area hospital.

Her death was confirmed by Ted Bulthaup, a Woodbridge, Ill., resident who owns a Chicago theater where Pellegrini and other Munchkins have made special appearances. He says he learned of it from Pellegrini's relatives.

With her death, only two of the original 124 Munchkins in the movie are still alive.

Pellegrini was a guest speaker at grade schools across the Phoenix metropolitan area for many years. The Arizona Republic reports she usually appeared in costume and told stories about her time as a Munchkin. She also talked about the movie's moral lessons.

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