Priscilla Montgomery Clark Was a Munchkin in Wizard of Oz When She Was 9. Now 95, She’s One of the Last Surviving Stars

One of only three surviving actors with personal memories of making ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ 95- year-old Priscilla Montgomery Clark recounts her role as a Munchkin

Jeanette Fern, Rae-Nell Laskey, Priscilla Montgomery, Jerry Maren, Betty Ann Cain, Judy Garland and Olga Nardone sitting on the steps of Munchkinland during a break in filming ‘The Wizard of Oz’. Photo: Stephen Cox Collection

While she danced alongside Jimmy Stewart in It’s a Wonderful Life, charmed Spanky in Our Gang comedies and caught the eye of Cary Grant in The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, Priscilla Montgomery Clark, 95, says by far she receives the most fan mail these days for her role as a Munchkin in MGM’s 1939 beloved masterpiece The Wizard of Oz starring Judy Garland.

For Oz, which experienced a deficit of female little people to portray Munchkins, Clark was one of a dozen talented young girls of typical height (average age 8 to 10) chosen from the Bud Murray Dance Studio in Los Angeles to fill out the cast of 124.

The child actors worked on the set part of the day and were whisked away for their schooling the rest of the day. When the cameras rolled, some of the young girls were relegated to the background, however director Victor Fleming seemingly noticed Clark’s talent and infectious smile and placed her in key shots where she was clearly visible.

“I never wanted to be an actress, I always loved dancing and that was a big part of my childhood,” says Clark. “I didn’t have an agent, but I was lucky to be cast in several films that miraculously have survived over time.”

Priscilla Montgomery in ‘Wizard of Oz’ in 1939.Warner Bros Home Entertainment

It’s not difficult to find her in the crowd, either: In the climax of the Munchkinland scene, when Glinda directs Dorothy to “follow the yellow brick road,” Clark can be seen next to the good witch briefly spiking the lens — a no-no in movie-making where the actor looks directly into the camera.

“I never realized I did that until someone pointed it out many years later,” she admits.

Her personal recollections of filming The Wizard of Oz at age 9 range from glamorous to grim: “At that age, I noticed the costumes and the gowns, as any girl my age probably would,” she says. “I vividly remember standing near Billie Burke (Glinda) in that beautiful pink, sparkly gown with her jeweled crown — and Judy Garland’s deep red shoes. In the lights, everything glistened. And the set with the tiny houses was massive and glorious. It took your breath away,” Clark recalls today from her home in Southern California.

“One vivid memory that will always stay with me was the day Margaret Hamilton was injured during her scene,” Clark continues of the woman who portrayed the Wicked Witch of the West. “On that day, I still remember that Miss Hamilton was ready to do her scene in her black gown and green makeup. She noticed that a group of us children were placed near the area where she would make her terrifying entrance with the flames and smoke. She took the time to come over to us specifically and said to us, ‘Now what you’re about to see is not real, it’s only pretend, so I don’t want you to be scared. It’s all play acting for the camera.’ It was so sweet.”

Priscilla Montgomery now.Bob Satterfield

Tragedy struck production that afternoon as Hamilton’s trap door malfunctioned and the enormous plume of fire and orange smoke badly burned the actress during one of the takes.

“All of a sudden a loud siren went off in the sound stage and there were a lot of men rushing to that area in a panic. I’ll always remember that,” Clark says. “We found out that her face and hands were burned and she left filming and returned, like a trouper, a few weeks later.”

Clark was born in 1929 and raised in Alhambra, Calif., during the Depression. Her mother escorted her to the studios and gently encouraged her work in films at a young age. “My mother was not a stage mother, she didn’t push me to work in films. I simply loved being a part of it all. My parents saved all of my earnings from the film work and eventually that is what paid for my college at a time when people didn’t have much money and not as many girls went to college, so I felt so fortunate.”

Two years into her studies at Whittier College, the young dancer left school to wed her teenage sweetheart Revelle “Bud” Clark in 1949 (a marriage which lasted 74 years until his death last year). She and Bud raised two daughters, Cynthia and Carolyn.

Over the years, Clark never took for granted her experience in Oz, knowing there was a bit of magic in it all. Although the movie was not necessarily a staple in their household when it was broadcast annually on television, her daughters (and now her grandchildren and great grandchildren) still proudly remind her often that she was part of a beloved motion picture which has enchanted generations.

In the 1980s, when nearing retirement, the Clarks purchased a cabin cruiser boat which they christened “Munchkkin” including a small shore boat attached behind which they named “Toto.” (“Munchkkin was spelled with two K’s for our granddaughters, Katie and Kelly, and the I and N represented our grandsons, Isaac and Nick,” she explains.)

The Clarks saw both of their granddaughters get married in formal ceremonies in the 2000s — but not without sentimental surprises along the way.

“At Katie’s wedding, when Bud and I were being escorted down the aisle to our seats, all of a sudden ‘Over the Rainbow’ began playing. We just couldn’t believe it; I couldn’t stop the tears.” A few years later, granddaughter Kelly was getting married. On the special day, minutes before the ceremony began, Kelly privately summoned her grandmother into the bridal room where she lifted her full length gown to reveal a pair of custom-made crystal ruby slippers.

“Talk about tears flowing,” Clark says proudly.

Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Judy Garland and Bert Lahr in the ‘Wizard of Oz’.Silver Screen Collection/Getty

One of the highlights of her life, she adds, was also being invited to partake in the unveiling of a star for the Munchkins on the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007. It was there that Clark was reunited with the actress she knew best from the film, fellow Munchkin Margaret Williams Pellegrini. “Margaret and I became friends during the filming and after we were finished she lived with our family in Alhambra for a while,” Clark explains.

“Over the years we lost touch. She got married, I got married and you know how that goes. Lives happen and we didn’t see each other. Margaret searched for me and couldn’t find me, so finally seeing her after sixty-some years was so special to me. I got to introduce Margaret to my family and that meant the world to both of us.”

Today, Clark is a widow who struggles with a few health concerns but keeps a positive attitude and busy “surrounded by the love of my family,” she says. As a professed Christian, she continues to rely on her faith to keep herself going, she points out, and counts her many blessings.

“The Wizard of Oz was certainly one of them. I receive fan mail from all over the world and I do my best to keep up with it,” she says. “People have told me in such heartfelt letters how the film has affected them. It really touches me.”