Wizard of Oz curse from excruciating burns, poisoning and Judy Garland's pill addiction

Elaine Merk Binder, who was amongst the final surviving munchkins from the beloved film The Wizard of Oz,has died aged 94.

The heartbreaking news was confirmed by her daughter Annette Phillips to TMZ, though no cause of death was revealed. Binder successfully auditioned for the movie in 1938 and was chosen as one of eight children who would perform dance and vocal numbers as part of the Munchkin cast.

The 1939 fantasy classic left numerous cast members with lasting damage - both physical and psychological - and sent its leading lady, Judy Garland, spiralling into substance abuse that would eventually claim her life at just 47.

The Wizard of Oz, based on L. Frank Baum's 1900 children's tale The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, represented one of cinema's earliest forays into Technicolor and secured five Academy Award nominations, yet it failed commercially and couldn't recoup its then-enormous $2.7million budget during its initial run.

The film only turned a profit for Hollywood giant Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer following its 1949 re-release.

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Yet it remains remarkable that the entire cast emerged alive from filming, as numerous mishaps, ghastly injuries and four separate directors seemed to validate the notion of a Wizard of Oz curse.

"Health and safety regulations weren't the same as they are now, and studios were allowed to get away with treating their stars appallingly," explains Dr Ellen Wright, senior lecturer in cinema and TV history at De Montford University.

"It was just how they worked, their stars were treated like workhorses. They were signed into contracts for seven years that they couldn't get out of, and they were asked to do awful things. If they refused they were penalised."

Judy was merely 16 during filming, having begun performing on stage alongside her sisters as part of a vaudeville troupe.

Once locked into her MGM deal, her life became controlled entirely by studio bosses.

She was placed on a rigid regime of chicken soup, black coffee and cigarettes, whilst being given tablets to suppress her hunger.

Studio chief Louis B. Mayer would continuously monitor the teenager's weight and looks.

"He would apparently refer to her lovingly as 'my little hunchback', says Ellen. "He was hateful to her, all the time, so unsurprisingly she ended up with chronic body dysmorphia. "Standing at merely 4 feet 11.5 inches, Judy was already petite, yet had every bite of food monitored by her handlers.

"Her chest was strapped down and her frame compressed into restrictive corsets to create the illusion of the innocent young Dorothy."

"There was a birthday party thrown for her by the studio, but it was a couple of weeks early to fit into her schedule. She couldn't even celebrate her birthday on the right day!" says Ellen. "They photographed the party for the fan magazines but she wasn't allowed a slice of her own cake because it would make her fat."

Judy had been given amphetamines by her mother from the young age of nine, and her substance dependency escalated during the exhausting filming schedule.

She would begin each day with her 'pep pills' - speed - to elevate her energy levels, but would become so stimulated by evening that she required barbiturates to achieve sleep."

"They had us working days and nights on end," Judy later told her biographer Paul Donnelley. "They'd give us pills to keep us on our feet long after we were exhausted.

"Then they'd take us to the studio hospital and knock us out with sleeping pills­... Then after four hours they'd wake us up and give us the pep pills again so we could work 72 hours in a row. Half of the time we were hanging from the ceiling but it was a way of life for us."

When production concluded, Judy had become completely dependent - and her substance abuse plagued her throughout her remaining years.

"She suffered from this chronic sense of not being enough," says Ellen. "She was clearly a talented young woman, but Mayer bullied all the fight out of her."

The film's leading lady wasn't the only one to endure hardship during production. The initial Tin Man actor, Buddy Ebson, was rushed to hospital and nearly perished from toxic aluminium poisoning merely 10 days into shooting.

"His makeup was pure powdered aluminium, which he was inhaling for hours and hours, but the studio weren't aware this could be potentially fatal," explains Ellen.

Buddy had already laid down all the vocals for the Tin Man, so the studio decided to reshoot his scenes with a stand-in, Jack Haley.

Despite the makeup team discreetly switching to an aluminium paste instead of powder to achieve the Tin Man's signature silver look, Haley ended up with an eye infection from the metallic irritant.

Bert Lahr, who portrayed the Lion, succumbed to heat exhaustion after donning his 100lb fur costume for hours on end under the sweltering Kleig lights. He was forced to consume his lunch through a straw and had to lie down on planks to eat.

Ray Bolger, who took on the role of the Scarecrow, suffered permanent facial damage from the prosthetic mask he wore.

And Terry, the little dog who played Toto, didn't escape unscathed: her paw was sprained when one of the cast accidentally stepped on it, leading to a two-week recovery period at Judy's home.

One of the most severe injuries on set was sustained by Margaret Hamilton, a teacher and part-time actor hired to play the green-faced Wicked Witch of the West.

A pyrotechnic blunder resulted in her copper-based makeup catching fire, leaving her with agonising third-degree burns on her face and arms.

"She point blank refused to do any more stunts after that, so the studio had to hire a body-double to film the stunts instead," says Ellen.

Tragically, Hamilton's replacement Betty Danko suffered horrific burns whilst filming the Witch's dramatic arrival in Munchkinland, when the smouldering broomstick she was perched on detonated. She was hospitalised for 11 days and left with permanent scarring across her legs.

"They were just another cog in the machine," says Ellen. "The big stars were remunerated fairly handsomely, they had the big houses, the expensive cars.

"But a lot of the time the houses weren't theirs, the cars were on tick, the clothes they wore were loaned out by the wardrobe department, and the argument was, 'we pay you well so we can treat you like s***'. They were in a gilded cage.

"Some of the stuff they were asked to do was unbelievably dangerous, and they just had to do it."

Judy and Ray were even forced to tumble about in asbestos during a sequence where Dorothy and the Scarecrow drift off to sleep in a meadow of poppies, which transforms into a snowy tempest.

"That's what they used as snow, they had no idea it was carcinogenic so she was just inhaling all of that asbestos," says Ellen.

"There were very few stars who could command any say-so because you were up against a formidable machine that had you in its grasp. You did what they told you - whether that was rolling around in asbestos, being bullied or being fed loads of drugs. "

Sadly, Judy died at the age of 47 from an overdose of barbiturates, leaving her three children - Liza Minnelli, Lorna and Joey Luft.

Despite raking in millions throughout her dazzling career, her estate was valued at a mere $40,000 - equivalent to £200,000 in today's money - by the time of her death.

"Judy brought so much joy to so many people but she could never see that in herself," Ellen reveals. "All that money, all that success and she never really loved herself."

For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.

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