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 Karl Slover, R.I.P. 
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Post Karl Slover, R.I.P.
I love reading obituaries – who doesn't?

Karl Slover (who died Tuesday at the age of 93) had been one of the last surviving actors who had played a Munchkin in the 1939 classic film The Wizard of Oz. He had been born in what is now the Czech Republic, the only child in his family to have been born a dwarf.

Talk about horrible, ignorant, superstitious parents. Here is what they did to Karl Slover as a child, as told by John Fricke, author of 100 Years of Oz:

John Fricke wrote:
In those uninformed days, his father tried witch doctor treatments to make him grow. Knowing Karl and his triumph over his early life, you can’t help but celebrate the man at a time like this.

He was buried in the backyard, immersed in heated oil until his skin blistered, and attached to a stretching machine, all in the attempt to make him taller. Eventually he was sold by his father at age 9 to a traveling show in Europe.


You can read the full obituary of Karl Slover's amazing life here.

-- Nephele


Thu Nov 17, 2011 9:20 am
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Cania
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Post Re: Karl Slover, R.I.P.
Such monstrous treatment by his family :(

I bet he was glad to be sold to the circus after suffering that (I know I would prefer it).

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Thu Nov 17, 2011 9:23 am
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Manisha
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Post Re: Karl Slover, R.I.P.
Oh my gods! That's awful! The sad thing is that I'm sure this happened pretty frequently to people considered 'different' back then. No doubt superstitious, ignorant people to this very day still try things like this. I can only hope that at least in some instances the life in the circuses and traveling troops was better than what life would have been like with the family. Being sold because your different...what a shame!

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Thu Nov 17, 2011 9:54 am
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Malbolge
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Post Re: Karl Slover, R.I.P.
Poor guy. I'm glad he was able to get away from his family.


Thu Nov 17, 2011 10:01 am
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Post Re: Karl Slover, R.I.P.
That is pretty demented, but him getting sold to the circus was probably a good thing, it gave him a chance to better himself so he could finally move to the U.S.. Not to mention it was likely far more of a family then his birth family.

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Fri Nov 18, 2011 2:12 am
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Cania
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Post Re: Karl Slover, R.I.P.
ow.

[absolutely, positively straining to keep this thread from veering off topic]

ow.

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Sat Nov 19, 2011 7:41 pm
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Stygia
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Post Re: Karl Slover, R.I.P.
It's very sad indeed. I don't think he received such a cruel treatment because there were old superstitious times and anything like that. Unfortunately, irresponsible parents are non-chronological . :cry:


Wed Nov 30, 2011 2:04 pm
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Maladomini
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Post Re: Karl Slover, R.I.P.
DarkPhoenix11 wrote:
That is pretty demented, but him getting sold to the circus was probably a good thing, it gave him a chance to better himself so he could finally move to the U.S.. Not to mention it was likely far more of a family then his birth family.


[nods] Unfortunately, this was often the case with human oddities as recently as the early Twentieth. It probably saved his life, too.

And 93 is especially old, for a little person. Those who don't die from health issues associated with their conditions often turn to consumption because of society's stigmas (but then, you see that with any stigmatised people).

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Wed Nov 30, 2011 2:39 pm
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