Wizard of Oz History & Information
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In the beginning there was L. Frank Baum, an American
author, who wrote the original “The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz” in 1900. Baum
was born in Chittenango, New York, in 1856. He based most of the Oz adventures
on the time when he lived in the town of Aberdeen, South Dakota, making
his living as an actor in the theatre.
In 1882 he married Maude Gage and settled down in Chicago.
They had four sons. In 1898, he was an editor of “The Show Window,” an
art magazine. In 1899, Baum published his first book, with a collection
of short stories for children called “Mother Goose in Prose” which was
followed by a book of jingles titled “Father Goose, His Book.”
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Baum began telling the Oz stories to his neighborhood children
and his own, telling of a little boy and his adventures in a far away land.
The little boy eventually became a girl, and the girl was eventually named
Dorothy, after his ill-fated niece.
According to family legend, one night Baum was sitting
in his living room, entertaining the neighborhood children with the Ozarian
adventures of Dorothy, when a curious child spoke, “Oh, Please Mr. Baum!
Where do they live?” Baum was speechless and was looking around the room
for an idea until his eyes fell upon his filing cabinet. The top
draw was labeled A-N, and the bottom draw was labeled O-Z. Looking back
at the child, he spoke in excitement, “Oz....Oz is where they live!”
In his spare time he began to expand his writing abilities
with the Oz stories. When he finished writing them he called the book,
“The Emerald City.” Before it became “TheWonderful Wizard Of Oz”
it was known as “From Kansas to Fairyland,” “The Fairyland Of Oz,” and
“The Land Of Oz.” The Illustrations in the original book were by
W. W. Denslow, who was the first person to depict the people in the Land
of Oz.
W. W. Denslow's first drawings of Dorothy, Toto and their
Ozian Friends were due to the success of “The Wizard Of Oz.” It encouraged
Baum to write a musical based on his story. The show’s success was due
to the acting combination of vaudeville stars, David C. Montgomery and
Fred A. Stone. The musical moved to Broadway in 1903 and played in New
York for over 290 performances. It toured the country until 1911.
| In addition to “The Wizard” on stage, Baum wrote other
children's stories based on the Oz story. The sequel was called “The Marvelous
Land Of Oz,” published in 1904. Baum dedicated the sequel to Montgomery
and Stone, it’s original title being “The Further Adventures Of The Scarecrow
and the Tin Woodman.” The second Oz book was illustrated by John R. Neill.
Baum’s unsuccessful theatrical adaptation of The Land Of Oz opened in 1905
as “The Woggle Bug.” But the failure didn’t affect his creative flow. The
Oz book continued over periods of financial gain and loss, until Baum’s
death in 1919. |
About Chaffey's Wizard of Oz Poster
Chaffey High School's
"The Wizard of Oz"
poster was created by
Dennis Durstch
Class of 1999.
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