Ruth Robinson Duccini, 95, one of the last ‘Oz’ Munchkins, dies

Ruth Robinson Duccini, one of the last members of the troupe of diminutive actors who played Munchkins in the 1939 film classic “The Wizard of Oz,” died Thursday after a brief illness at a hospice in Las Vegas, said her son, Fred Duccini. She was 95.

The actress, who lived for many years in Los Angeles before moving to Arizona and later Nevada, was one of 124 “little people,” then called midgets, who appeared with Judy Garland in the musical fantasy based on the novel by L. Frank Baum.

In her later years she appeared at “Oz” events across the country. She returned to Hollywood in 2007 when the Munchkins received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

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The only surviving “little person” Munchkin is Jerry Maren, 93, who portrayed a Lollipop Guild Munchkin, according to Stephen Cox, author of the book “The Munchkins of Oz.”

A full obituary will appear at www.latimes.com/obituaries.

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