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Meinhardt Raabe, who portrayed the Munchkin coroner in the "Wizard of Oz," will be buried Tuesday morning near his hometown in Jefferson County.
The public is welcome to attend the visitation for Raabe, starting at 10 a.m., in Immanuel Lutheran Church in Farmington, on county Highway B, three miles east of Johnson Creek. A funeral service will begin at 11.
Small in stature, at 4 feet, 7 inches tall, Raabe parlayed his role in the 1939 film into a lifelong adventure. He appeared at Wizard of Oz festivals around the country and joined the remaining Munchkins when they were honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles.
Raabe, 94, had one of the few speaking roles among the Munchkins, the group of little people who gathered to celebrate the death of the Wicked Witch of the East. In song, Raabe made the official declaration: "As coroner, I must aver, I thoroughly examined her. And she's not only merely dead, she's really most sincerely dead."
The movie, however, was just one part of his life. Raabe worked for 30 years as a spokesman for the Oscar Mayer Co., became a licensed pilot and served in the Civil Air Patrol.
Raabe is survived by a sister, Marion Zieglemann, of Watertown.
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Another WELS celebrity is the late Buffalo Bob, from the Howdy Doody show. Wikipedia says he died Presbyterian, but a WELS pastor told me Bob played organ for WELS churches in North Carolina. Wickedpedia is often wrong on details, so corrections are welcome.
Yes, the first Clarabell was Bob Keeshan, who would go on to become the venerable Captain Kangaroo. Originally, he was just an NBC go-fer who handed props to and ran errands for Buffalo Bob. However, it was decided that since he was seen on camera, he should have a costume. Thus, Clarabell was born. (fiftiesweb.com)
