Valerie Lee, one of the last surviving cast members from The Wizard of Oz, has passed away at 94.
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Stephen Cox, author of the 1996 book The Munchkins of Oz, announced Lee’s death, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Cox stated that Lee died on April 12 in the Reseda neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Lee was best known for portraying a Munchkin in The Wizard of Oz. Before her death, she was one of the last surviving cast members of the 1939 classic. According to Cox, Priscilla Montgomery Clark, who also played a Munchkin in the movie, is still alive at 96.
Born Valerie Shepard in Los Angeles on December 14, 1931, Lee was cast as a Munchkin in The Wizard of Oz alongside several of her classmates from the Bud Murray Dance School. She celebrated her 7th birthday on the MGM lot in Culver City, California, during filming. In her uncredited debut, Lee danced with her fellow Munchkins and Judy Garland’s Dorothy in the Munchkinland scene.
But The Wizard of Oz wasn’t Lee’s only claim to fame. According to IMDb, she also appeared in several Our Gang comedy shorts, including Time Out for Lessons (1939), Ye Olde Minstrels (1941), Doin’ Their Bit (1942), Benjamin Franklin, Jr. (1943), Election Daze (1943), and Dancing Romeo (1944).
While the Our Gang shorts were Lee’s only other acting credits besides The Wizard of Oz, she returned to the screen decades later in the 2024 TV documentary Mysteries of Oz: 85 Questions Answered.
After her time in Hollywood, Lee attended L.A. City College before spending over 25 years working at and eventually managing the bookstore at Cal State Northridge.
Lee was married to Robert Haynes from 1949 until his death in 2002. They had three children together: Elise, Sharon, and Larry.