Reprinted with permission,
Courtesy, Asbury Park Press, a Gannett Co. newspaper.
BY
ELEANOR O'SULLIVAN
ASBURY PARK PRESS STAFF WRITER
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, - "Hi, Anthony!
Would you like an autographed picture? I'm the one in green," Jerry
Maren said to a youngster Wednesday at Monmouth Medical Center's
day-stay facility for children with cancer and blood disorders.
Anthony Bono of Hazlet gazed uncertainly at Maren, who at 86
is one of nine surviving actors who portrayed the little people
known as Munchkins in the 1939 Judy Garland movie "The Wizard
of Oz."
Maren came well-equipped for the autograph signing. He carried
a plastic bag filled with color photos from the movie showing
Garland accepting a lollipop from his character. Maren hoisted
a large lollipop when he sang his signature song, which he broke
into at a moment's notice Wednesday morning.
"I represent the Lollipop Guild, the Lollipop Guild, the Lollipop
Guild, and in the name of the Lollipop Guild, we welcome you
to Munchkinland, or, Monmouth Medical Center," Maren sang strongly
and with a pleasant lilt.
Warm applause followed.
"How old are you, Anthony? Five? Two! You're a big boy; that's
good!" Maren and his wife of 31 years, Elizabeth Barrington,
said in unison.
The couple, who said they attend six "Wizard of Oz" festivals
in the United States annually, were on a tour of the center's
children's hospital to help raise awareness of the work being
done by the Valerie Fund, a nationwide network of day-stay centers
for children. About 1,500 children are seen at the medical center's
Valerie Fund each year, said its clinical director, nurse practitioner
Susan Dulczak.
Patient Jeremiah Pierrecius, 3, and his father, Tele Pierrecius,
both of Asbury Park, shook hands with Maren and his wife. The
Marens said they met through a mutual friend and fellow member
of the Little People of America.
"Nope, we don't have any children. He's my baby!" Elizabeth
Barrington quipped.
The couple walked through the center's hallways arm in arm,
with smiles and waves for passers-by.
Freckle-faced Daniel Knox, 10, of Hazlet, a patient, stopped
by with his mother, Patricia Knox, for a quick chat with Maren.
"He does like the Munchkins, but it's my daughter who just loves
the movie. She's watched it quite a bit," Patricia Knox, a Belfast,
Northern Ireland, native said.
The Marens turned heads on their tour. Both wore blue baseball
caps — her's read "Munchkin by Marriage," while his said "The
Lollipop Kid." They were escorted by John Baghsarian Jr., proprietor
of Earth Treasures Jewelers of Eatontown, which is sponsoring
the Marens' trip to New Jersey from their custom-made home in
Los Angeles' Hollywood Hills.
Maren will attend the jewelers' estate sale Friday and Saturday,
which includes "Wizard of Oz" memorabilia, Baghsarian said.
Maren will sign autographs and sell memorabilia from the movie,
from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and from 4 to 6 p.m. today in the medical
center's lobby. The public is invited, said Renee M. Amellio,
director of marketing and communications for Monmouth Medical
Center, an affiliate of the St. Barnabas Health Care System.
Thirty percent of the proceeds from the sale will go to the Monmouth
Medical Center Foundation, a fund-raising arm of the hospital.
Maren, born Jerry Marenghi in Boston, in 1920, said he has about
100 film and TV credits, including a guest appearance on "Seinfeld" and
a "Twilight Zone" episode. He said he was paid about $50 a
week for his work in "The Wizard of Oz," and that he and his
fellow little people were "treated pretty good, but they didn't
want us to be too social with Judy or the other stars. We kept
pretty much to ourselves."
Maren said there were 124 Munchkins in the movie. The activities
of the surviving Munchkins can be accessed at www.ozmunchkinland.com on
the Web.
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