By Gary Nunn

Updated yesterday at 9:09pm)

I've spent the best part of the last fortnight urgently trying to track down a 98-year-old former actor to ask him if he molested Judy Garland.

Garland was 16 when she starred in 1939 movie, The Wizard of Oz. The claim she was molested by the actors who played the munchkins comes from the actress's late husband, Sid Luft, in a re-released book (due out in September), Judy and I: My Life with Judy Garland. He reportedly writes:

"They'd make Judy's life miserable on set by putting their hands under her dress … The men were 40 or more years old. They thought they could get away with anything because they were so small."

Even the staunchest #MeToo applauder would, surely, agree that anyone accused of such an act deserves, at the very least, a right of reply. Especially if trial by media is to be the justice they're served. To either apologise and attempt to atone for their acts, or to refute the allegations.
The last living munchkin

Jerry Maren, 98, is the last remaining munchkin from the Wizard of Oz and now lives in a residential home in the US. As such, he's the last living person who can respond to or refute these allegations.
Jerry Maren wizard of oz munchkin
Photo: No male icon is exempt in the #MeToo era, whether hulking like Harvey Weinstein or tiny like a munchkin. (Reuters: Mario Anzuoni)

But nobody seems to have tried very hard. Journalists got distracted when, the day after the revelations, Stephen Hawking died and everyone looked the other way.

Not me. This is one of the most iconic films of all time, with one of the most enduring icons as its star. It has widely been reported how terribly a 16-year-old Judy Garland was treated by Hollywood's studio system.

If she, too, was a victim of male predators — no matter how cute they appeared — the public has a right to know the truth.

But the public also has a right to know if Maren wants to respond to these new allegations. If he wants to refute them, he ought to be given that chance. Otherwise, when future generations Google them, this story will forever tarnish their name.

And Maren — one of the "Lollipop Guild" who handed a lollipop to Dorothy — is personally implicated. Australian media outlets such as Sunrise in this tweet and on screen, reported the allegations using a picture of a young Garland next to Maren himself (in green).

Who decides what stories are told?

Media player: "Space" to play, "M" to mute, "left" and "right" to seek.
Video: Jerry Maren played the green Lollipop Guild munchkin in The Wizard of Oz (ABC News)

Toto 'paid more than munchkins'

If Maren wasn't one of the actors responsible for this alleged behaviour, his name is already sullied with this reporting, none of which made mention of trying to find him and offer him the right of reply. Some media even falsely reported that Maren died in 2013, which is either lazy journalism or fake news. He didn't — as just a few phone calls and emails would attest.

Garland herself previously claimed the munchkins were "drunks" who partied all night. The police rounded them up in butterfly nets, she claimed. One reportedly asked her on a date.

Maren has previously responded to the "drunken" allegations saying Toto was paid more than them and they couldn't get drunk on their meagre salary of $50 a week.
Judy Garland in the Wizard of Oz
Photo: Judy Garland previously claimed the munchkins were were "drunks" who partied all night.

Mark Povinelli, president of the Little People of America, told me: "I contacted a friend close to Jerry Maren. Unfortunately, due to Jerry's health, he hasn't been in a condition to give an interview for a while now.

"He has refuted these accusations in the past and I am sure he'd do the same now if he were able to.

"I appreciate your sincerity in trying to give a voice to the actors being referenced in the book but I was told that Jerry would rather not bring any more attention to it."
Not the first allegations

Those allegations he refuted in the past were very different. They were in response to the actors, in Judy Garland's words, being "little drunks". These new allegations are more serious — the sexual molestation of a minor, in the workplace.
Munchkin star on the Walk of Fame
Photo: The legacy of Hollywood's most enigmatic stars is at stake. (Mario Anzuoni: Reuters)

I contacted longtime friend of Maren, Philip M. Potempa, a diarist for The Chicago Tribune Media Co. Maren seems to want to refute these new allegations too, at least through those he has worked with on books (including his autobiography, Short and Sweet). He told me:

"I spoke with a buddy of mine who has written a few book on the munchkins. From what he advised me, there's no merit to any of these allegations and it's an attempt at further promotion for the book."

For what it's worth, Maren seemed to respect Garland, previously saying she was "wonderful" to work with: "We expected her to be a snobby movie star. She was more excited at meeting us than we were at meeting her."

He also said: "I'd never met any little people. I was the only small person in my family. Making the film was the greatest fun I ever had in my life."

We've reached peak #MeToo when no male icon is exempt from being held to account, no matter whether hulking like Harvey Weinstein or tiny like Maren.

Assault is assault, no matter whether it's 1939 or 2018. But the principle of fairness hasn't changed in that time either. Maren is innocent until proven guilty.

There's a chance he's been thrown under the bus by a book publisher flogging a book by a dead man talking about his ex-wife.

What I've discovered is this. In an attempt to take the allegations seriously, research them robustly and get a credible response on the record so the legacy of some of Hollywood's most enigmatic stars isn't forever tarnished without a fair response, just one thing emerged clearly.

You're simply led down the yellow brick road.

Gary Nunn is a freelance writer. Twitter: garynunn1

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-04/why-it-was-so-important-to-find-the-last-surviving-munchkin/9610256