I've been thinking - the main cast of The Wizard of Oz had pretty firm roots in radio - the exception being Bert Lahr, who was a vaudevillian first, then a movie actor. But he was a frequent guest on radio.
When he was in vaudeville, he was in a revue often that included Kate Smith and it's said he would often ad-lib and make fun of her huge dimensions.
Oh, if he only had a heart...
Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger and Jack Haley all had shows of their own. Judy Garland was very a frequent guest star and probably did 200 radio broadcasts or more.
Even the witches got in on the radio act: Billie Burke (Glenda the Good Witch) was on Rudy Vallee's show through the late 1930's and early forties and was on radio about 100 times. And while Margaret Hamilton (Miss Gulch/Wicked Witch of the West) got her feet wet (no pun intended) as a bit part player in films, she was a regular in 1958 on The Couple Next Door radio series.
©Jimbo 2010/2011
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