{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2023}} {{Short description|American actor (1919–2009)}} {{for|the lottery winner|Michael Carroll (lottery winner)}} {{more citations needed|date=May 2009}} {{Infobox person | name = Mickey Carroll | image = | imagesize = | caption = | birth_name = Michael Finocchiaro | birth_date = {{birth date|1919|7|8}} | birth_place = St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2009|5|7|1919|7|8}} | death_place = Crestwood, Missouri, U.S. | othername = | occupation = Actor | years_active = 1936–1939; 2007 | spouse = | website = }}
'''Mickey Carroll''' (born '''Michael Finocchiaro'''; July 8, 1919 – May 7, 2009) was an American actor who worked in radio and film, and was one of the last surviving actors who portrayed a Munchkin in the 1939 film ''The Wizard of Oz''.
==Early life and career== Born Michael Finocchiaro in St. Louis, Missouri, Carroll was the son of Italian immigrants.<ref name=NYT1>{{cite news|title=Mickey Carroll, an 'Oz' Munchkin, Dies at 89|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/08/arts/08carroll.html|accessdate=April 23, 2014|newspaper=New York Times|date=May 8, 2009}}</ref> He was born along with a twin sister, who, unlike Carroll, was of average size.<ref name=cox1>{{cite book|last=Cox|first=Stephen|title=The Munchkins remember: "The Wizard of Oz" and beyond|date=1989|publisher=E.P. Dutton|isbn=9780525484868|page=[https://archive.org/details/munchkinsremembe0000coxs/page/56 56]|url=https://archive.org/details/munchkinsremembe0000coxs/page/56}}</ref>
As a child Carroll began dance lessons at the Fox Theater in St. Louis.<ref name=stlouis1>{{cite web|title=Mickey Carroll|url=http://explorestlouis.com/visit-explore/discover/st-louis-celebrities/mickey-carroll/|publisher=Explore St. Louis|accessdate=April 23, 2014}}</ref> At 17 he was one of six bellhops in the "Call for Phillip Morris" live radio ads, and at 18 was appearing in shows with Mae West.
While under contract to MGM, he went to school with Judy Garland<ref name=stlouis1 /> and Mickey Rooney. It was Garland herself who offered him a part in ''The Wizard of Oz''. {{Citation needed|date=May 2009}} Carroll was cast as Munchkinland's "Town Crier". His costume consisted of a purple cloak with a yellow flower sticking out of his striped vest. He also marched as a "Munchkin Soldier", and as one of the candy-striped "Fiddlers" who escorted Dorothy down the yellow brick road towards the Emerald City.<ref name=fox1>{{cite news|title=One of Last Surviving 'Wizard of Oz' Munchkins Mickey Carroll Dies|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/one-of-last-surviving-wizard-of-oz-munchkins-mickey-carroll-dies/|access-date=April 23, 2014|newspaper=Fox News}}</ref>
Soon after the success of the film, Carroll left show business. In the mid-1940s, he returned to St. Louis to run the family business making cemetery monuments, known as Standard Monument Company (founded 1911), which operated a shop and showroom on St. Charles Rock Road in Wellston. After Carroll sold it in 1996, he filled his time with charity work.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/08/arts/08carroll.html|title='Wizard of Oz' Munchkin Mickey Carroll dies at 89|newspaper=The New York Times |date=May 8, 2013|accessdate=August 13, 2013}}</ref>
In November 2007, Carroll, along with six of the other remaining Munchkins, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.<ref>"Munchkins of 'Oz' get a star on Walk of Fame". USA Today. November 21, 2007. Retrieved August 8, 2013.</ref> Thanks to the popularity of ''The Wizard of Oz'', Carroll made many appearances that year, serving as a grand marshal in parades, appearing on nationwide radio and TV shows, and signing thousands of autographs for fans. He helped raise money for several different charities.
==Death== On May 7, 2009, Carroll died in his sleep at the home of his caretaker in Crestwood, Missouri. He had a heart ailment and complications from Alzheimer's disease. After his death, his family sued his caretaker, to whom Carroll had transferred all assets four months before his death.<ref name=Joness1>{{cite book|last=Jones|first=Stephen|title=The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 21|date=2010|publisher=Running Press|isbn=9780762439973|page=447}}</ref>
After a funeral Mass at the New Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis on Lindell Blvd., he was entombed at Calvary Cemetery Shrine Mausoleum in St. Louis.<ref name=cemetery1>{{cite web|title=Calvary Cemetery in Zip Code 63115|url=http://63115.com/local/historic/calvary-cemetery|publisher=63115|accessdate=April 23, 2014}}</ref>
==Filmography== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- | 1938 || ''Gold Diggers in Paris'' || Actor || Uncredited |- | 1939 || ''The Wizard of Oz'' || Munchkin Fiddler || Uncredited, final film role |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/stltoday/obituary.aspx?n=mickey-carroll&pid=127041935 AP Obituary] in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch * {{IMDb name|0140937}} * [http://www.munchkinmickeycarroll.com/ Official Mickey Carroll web site]
{{Oz}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carroll, Mickey}} Category:1919 births Category:2009 deaths Category:American male child actors Category:American male film actors Category:American male radio actors Category:American actors with dwarfism Category:American people of Italian descent Category:Male actors from St. Louis Category:Burials at Calvary Cemetery (St. Louis) Category:20th-century American male actors