Frank Cucksey

Frank Cucksey
Born
Francis Henry Cucksey

(1919-01-05)January 5, 1919
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
DiedSeptember 16, 1984(1984-09-16) (aged 65)
Sarasota, Florida, U.S.
Other names"Cookie"
Height4 ft 5 in (135 cm)
SpouseAnna Mitchell

Francis "Frank" "Cookie" Cucksey (January 5, 1919 – September 16, 1984) was an American actor, singer, and circus performer, best known for his role as a Munchkin in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.[1][2][3][4]

Early life and family

Francis Henry Cucksey was born in Brooklyn, New York City on January 5, 1919, the son of Charles Cucksey and Helen Cramer. Cucksey was born with dwarfism and was 4 feet and 5 inches (135 cm) tall.[1][5][6]

He married Anna "Ann" Mitchell Sholter (a fellow stage performer with dwarfism)[7] on December 19, 1950, in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada.[8] Their marriage was covered in Billboard magazine.[9]

Career

In the 1930s and 1940s, Cucksey worked as a performer at various night clubs as well as in uncredited roles in film and television.[2] Cucksey was cast in the 1939 MGM film The Wizard of Oz by Leo Singer, the proprietor of Singer's Midgets.[10] During the film, Cucksey portrayed a Munchkin townsperson/villager that gave Dorothy (played by Judy Garland) some flowers.[2][11] Notably, he was one of the two Munchkin actors whose actual voices were used for Munchkin dialogue during the film (the rest were created by studio voices recorded at a slow speed).[12]

He is credited as one of the two singers of the song "We Thank You Very Sweetly" in the Munchkinland Musical Sequence of the film's soundtrack, as he recited the famous line "You've killed her so completely, that we thank you very sweetly" as an introduction to Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead.[13][14][15][16]

In 1941, Cucksey was a member of the original Broadway cast of the musical revue, "Crazy with the Heat."[17][18] In 1949, Cucksey was a singer in the cast of the national touring show, the "Hollywood Midget Movie Stars Revue" which sold-out to audiences across the country and held performances for several years.[19][20]

Beginning in the late 1940s, Cucksey worked as a performer, tour guide, and host/ringmaster for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and Circus Hall of Fame, with the billing name of "Cookie Cucksey."[2] Alongside his wife Anna, Cucksey was also a touring performer with the Strates Shows in the 1950s, including performances at Madison Square Garden.[21][22]

For over 25 years, Cucksey also worked as a fire department dispatcher and volunteer fire department captain for the South Trail Fire District in Sarasota, Florida.[23] Because he worked without pay, he was offered to live at the department for free. He retired from his role in 1978 with the honorary title of deputy chief.[2]

In his later life he appeared at Wizard of Oz events and provided interviews along with several of the other surviving actors who portrayed Munchkins in the film.[24][25]

Death and legacy

He died on September 16, 1984, in Sarasota, Florida at the age of 65. He is buried at Palms Memorial Park in Sarasota.[2]

On November 20, 2007, the Munchkin actors were collectively given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

References

  1. ^ a b "Nate Eagle's Hollywood Midgets". Archived from the original on 8 December 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Frank H. Cucksey Obituary". Sarasota Herald. 18 September 1984. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  3. ^ Rushdie, Salman (2019-07-25). The Wizard of Oz. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-83902-079-7.
  4. ^ Sherman, Fraser A. (2005). The Wizard of Oz Catalog: L. Frank Baum's Novel, Its Sequels and Their Adaptations for Stage, Television, Movies, Radio, Music Videos, Comic Books, Commercials, and More. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-1792-6.
  5. ^ "Little People, Midgets, Dwarves | Show History". showhistory.com. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
  6. ^ Sabine, Gordon and Patricia (1984). Books that Made the Difference.
  7. ^ The New Yorker. Vol. 34. F-R Publishing Corporation. 1958. p. 71.
  8. ^ Bragg, Rick (2001-08-28). Somebody Told Me: The Newspaper Stories of Rick Bragg. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-375-72552-4.
  9. ^ "Marriages". Billboard. 23 December 1950. p. 43. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  10. ^ Harmetz, Aljean (2013). The Making of the Wizard of Oz (75th Anniversary Updated ed.). Chicago: Chicago Review Press. p. 193. ISBN 978-1613748329.
  11. ^ Scarfone, Jay; Stillman, William (2004). The Wizardry of Oz: The Artistry and Magic of the 1939 M-G-M Classic. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 978-1-55783-624-3.
  12. ^ Roger Catlin (4 July 2002). "We're Off To Sing The Wizard". Hartford Courant. Archived from the original on 21 September 2014. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  13. ^ "The Wizard of Oz [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] – Original Soundtrack – Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  14. ^ "The Wizard of Oz (1939)". IMDB. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  15. ^ Cox, Stephen (2002). The Munchkins of Oz. Cumberland House. ISBN 978-1-58182-269-4.
  16. ^ Institute, American Film (1993). The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Film entries, A - L. F. Feature films 3. 1931-1940. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-07908-3.
  17. ^ "Frank Cucksey, Performer". Playbill. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  18. ^ Dietz, Dan (2015-02-02). The Complete Book of 1940s Broadway Musicals. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4422-4528-0.
  19. ^ "Big Dough for Eagle". Billboard. 28 May 1949. p. 72. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  20. ^ "Eagle Sets Midget Show Personnel". Billboard. 14 May 1955. p. 62.
  21. ^ "Strates Scores in Wilmington, Del". Billboard. 29 April 1950. p. 72. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  22. ^ "9 Acts with R-B Side Show". Billboard. 27 April 1957. p. 70. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  23. ^ Smallest Fireman Meets Smallest Fire Engine. Ward's Automobile Topics. 1966. p. 66.
  24. ^ Cox, Stephen (1989). The Munchkins Remember: "The Wizard of Oz" and Beyond. E.P. Dutton. ISBN 978-0-525-48486-8.
  25. ^ Journal of Library History, Philosophy, and Comparative Librarianship: JLH. School of Library Science, Florida State University. 1985.

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