Judy Garland was among the cast and crew of The Wizard of Oz who accused the Munchkins of wild behavior, including drunken orgies. Her third husband, Sidney Luft, even said they molested her when she was 16. “Dirty little 40-year-old men put their hands under her dress.” One evening actor David Niven reportedly walked by the Culver Hotel where police were staging a raid. He was told that the Munchkins, who’d been accused of disturbing the peace, were resisting arrest and their hands were two small for cuffs. Nine officers soon emerged, carrying pillow cases filled with writhing bodies. None of these claims have been substantiated. While the little people were not all model citizens, most were hardworking actors glad to have a job during the Depression. Read more about the Munchkins and the movie in A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. (see NOVELS).
