"The Wizard of Oz" Hanging: Is There a Suicide Scene in "The Wizard of Oz"?

Rumors Have Persisted for Decades, but is There Any Truth to Them?

The first time ever I heard about the suicide scene in "The Wizard of Oz" -- where a munchkin or "little person" can be seen hanging -- was my last year of college. It was 1987 and a good friend of mine, a collector of Laser Discs (the giant pre-cursors of CDs and DVDs), asked if I wanted to come over for a "The Wizard of Oz" party. It was during the get-together that several of the dozen-or-so guests brought up the hanging on the set in one scene of "The Wizard of Oz." Intrigued because I had never noticed a hanging person in all the many times I'd seen the classic movie, I paid close attention to where the unfortunate stagehand was said to be hanging...

For those who have never heard the story of the hanging stagehand or the hanging munchkin (the more recent incarnation of the story), it is really quite simple. In the 1939 classic, "The Wizard of Oz," at the end of the Tin Man discovery and resurrection scene (where they bring the Tin Woodsman to life), the newly created trio of friends start down the Yellow Brick Road. As they turn and exit right, there is movement in the background -- in the woods. Legend has it that an unfortunate stagehand fell, hanging himself from a prop. Snopes.com, a website dedicated to debunking urban myths and hoaxes, notes that the story of the lovelorn munchkin hanging himself due to depression over unrequited love for another "little person" came about around 1989, when "The Wizard of Oz" was re-released for its 50th anniversary.