Longest living 'Wizard of Oz' munchkin, Jerry Maren, dead at 98 following battle with dementia

Jerry Maren passed away a couple of weeks ago in May. He was well-known for being the last munchkin from the movie The Wizard of Oz.

TMZ reported that the stars cause of death wasn’t revealed. However, the star had suffered from dementia in the later years of his life.

Jerry Maren died at the age of 98. His funeral was reportedly held over the weekend at Forest Lawn in Hollywood.

He passed away at a San Diego nursing care facility. In 2016, there were multiple reports that relayed that he’d died from pancreatic cancer which wasn’t true.

He posted a video on Instagram to say that he was alive and well. His friend, Steve Cox, also came out saying Maren did not have cancer.

Maren was born Gerard Marenghi on January 24, 1920, in Boston, Massachusetts. He was an American actor who portrayed a member of the Lollipop Guild in the 1939 MGM film The Wizard of Oz.

The second last surviving munchkin was Ruth Duccini who died on January 16, 2014. His father, Emil Marenghi, worked at a shoe factory.

He had five sisters and four brothers, who were all of the average height. Maren was married to Elizabeth Barrington from 1975 until her death at the age of 69 on January 27, 2011.

The actor lived in southern California. Some of his movie credits included Our Gang, At The Circus, and Battle for the Planet of the Apes.

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