Charlie Becker

Karl "Charlie" Becker (November 24, 1887–December 28, 1968) was a German-American actor. He was 3'9" in height, and is probably best known for appearing as the Mayor of Munchkinland in The Wizard of Oz (1939).

Becker was born near Frankfurt in the town of Muschenheim. As a teenager, he worked as a butcher, but often struggled to use the knives and other equipment, and was ridiculed by his fellow workers. When he was about nineteen, he began performing in travelling "midget shows", and eventually joined the Singer Midgets, a famous troupe led by Leo Singer of Austria. The Singer Midgets moved to the United States during World War I, and became popular on the vaudeville circuits. Becker became friends with George Burns, Will Rogers, and other stars of the time.^[1]

Becker appeared in a few films during the 1920s and 1930s. These included Spangles (1926), The Terror of Tiny Town (1938), and, most notably, The Wizard of Oz (1939), in which he played the Mayor of Munchkinland.^[2] He was chosen for the role because of his large belly, round face, and facial hair, which were thought to be mayoral features.^[3] Because of his thick German accent, however, his voice had to be dubbed.^[4] On the set of The Wizard of Oz, Becker met his future wife, Jessie Kelley, who played another Munchkin. The two married in 1940, and settled in California, where they sometimes worked as stand-ins for child actors. Later in his life, Becker opened his own sausage business.^[2]

Becker died of a stroke in California on December 28, 1968. Some controversy emerged in 1984 when obituaries for the actor Prince Denis stated that he had played the Mayor of Munchkinland.^[5] In reality, Denis had played the Sergeant-at-Arms.^[6]

Notes

1. ^ Cox, 169-171.
2. ^ ^{a b} Cox, 171-173.
3. ^ Rabbe and Kinske. 63.
4. ^ Maren and Cox. 29-30.
5. ^ Cox, 173.
6. ^ Raabe and Kinske. 77.

References

• Stephen Cox. The Munchkins of Oz. Cumberland House Publishing. 2002.
• Jerry Maren and Stephen Cox. Short and Sweet: The Life and Times of the Lollipop Munchkin. Cumberland House Publishing, 2006.
• Meinhardt Raabe and Daniel Kinske. Memories of a Munchkin: An Illustrated Walk Down the Yellow Brick Road. Back Stage Books, 2005.

Persondata
Name	Becker, Charlie
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Date of birth	1887
Place of birth
Date of death	1968
Place of death