Dear Editor: Jerry Maren, who portrayed the Lollipop kid in the 1939 classic “The Wizard of Oz,” was the last surviving Munchkin of the 125 little people who were in the film.

I had the pleasure of personally meeting him quite a few years ago at Fortunoff’s in Old Westbury. He, and fellow former Munchkins Karl Slover and Mickey Carroll had come to the store to a promotional session about the film. My wife and I stood on line and then we met them. It was quite an enjoyable experience.

We spoke with them for about 15 minutes, and before we left, he said to me, “You know, John, it’s people like you and your wife and all of these other people that are here today that will keep this movie alive long after we are all gone.”

He had tears in his eyes when he said that to us. I told him, “Mr. Maren, you can rest assured that we will always keep “The Wizard of Oz” in our hearts and never forget that there is no place like home.”

Now, Jerry Maren has joined Karl Slover, Mickey Carroll, Charlie Becker, Meinhard Rabe, Elsie Schultz, Margaret Pellegrini, and 117 other former Munchkins in that big Emerald City in the sky. A page in cinema history is now history, gone with the wind forever.

JOHN AMATO

Via email