Meinhardt Raabe, 1915-2010

Meinhardt Raabe (r.) receiving his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, 2007

You might not recognize the name Meinhardt Raabe, but you'll certainly recognize the one role he played in his brief Hollywood career, that of the coroner of the Munchkins in The Wizard of Oz. It was he who informed the Munchkins that the Wicked Witch of the East was dead -- really, most sincerely dead. Raabe died yesterday morning at a retirement home in Florida at the age of 94.

Raabe, it turns out, had quite the life. Away from Hollywood, he was the first "Little Oscar" for the Oscar Meyer wiener company, touring the country with the Wienermobile and promoting the goodness of Oscar Meyer's products. Raabe also served in World War II, at least with the Civil Air Patrol, where he was the shortest of all the pilots.

Raabe's death leaves just four of the Munchkins from the movie still alive. At the time the Munchkins received their collective star back in 2007, there were nine alive, of whom seven were able to attend.