Judy Garland’s infamously difficult, traumatizing childhood has become a disturbing Hollywood legend in the year since her untimely death at age 47. But now, a new autobiography claims that Garland’s experiences on the set of Victor Fleming’s “The Wizard of Oz” are worse than previously reported. According to Garland’s late husband Sid Luft, whose autobiography “Judy and I: My Life with Judy Garland” is finally being posthumously published, says that she was frequently groped and molested by the actors playing the Munchkins.
“They would make Judy’s life miserable on set by putting their hands under her dress,” he writes in the book. “The men were 40 or more years old. They thought they could get away with anything because they were so small.” The book does not name any of the actors who were allegedly involved.
Before this new revelation, there were plenty of previous rumors about the behavior of the Munchkin actors, including reports of drunk and lewd behavior. “They had sex orgies in the hotel, and we had to have police on just about every floor,” claimed “Oz” producer Mervyn LeRoy in 1939.
In a 1967 interview with Jack Paar, Garland claims the Munchkin actors were drunks and that one of them once asked her out to dinner, but she never made any public accusations in her lifetime.
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“Judy and I: My Life with Judy Garland” is currently available to purchase on Amazon.
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