‘Little Rascals’ and ‘Wizard of Oz’ Actress Dead at 94: RIP to Valerie Lee

Valerie Lee, one of the last surviving members of The Wizard of Oz cast, has died. She was 94.

Lee died on Sunday in the Reseda neighborhood of Los Angeles, author Stephen Cox, who penned the 1996 book The Munchkins of Oz, confirmed, as per The Hollywood Reporter.

Lee, who played a child Munchkin in the 1939 classic film, danced alongside Judy Garland’s Dorothy as the Munchkins led her out of Munchkinland and sent her on her journey to see the Wizard of Oz.

Born Valerie Shepard on Dec. 14, 1931, in Los Angeles, The Wizard of Oz was Lee’s film debut, and she celebrated her 7th birthday on the MGM lot while shooting the movie, having been hired alongside several other young people from the Bud Murray Dance School in L.A. to play Munchkin villagers.

Lee went on to appear in Our Gang comedy shorts including Time Out for Lessons (1939), Ye Olde Minstrels (1941), Doin’ Their Bit (1942), Benjamin Franklin, Jr. (1943), Election Daze (1943) and Dancing Romeo (1944). (She also appeared in the 2024 documentary Mysteries of Oz: 85 Questions Answered.)

Following her short stint in Hollywood, Lee went on to attend L.A. City College before going on to spend almost three decades working for and managing the bookstore at Cal State Northridge.

Lee was married to Robert Haynes from 1949 until his death in 2002, and they had three children — Elise, Sharon and Larry. Lee is also survived by her sister, Pamela; grandchildren Jennifer, Elizabeth, Richard and Corinne; and two great-grandchildren.

Cox noted that with Lee’s death, 96-year-old Priscilla Montgomery Clark, who also played a child Munchkin, is the last surviving person to have appeared in The Wizard of Oz.

The Wizard of Oz remains one of the most beloved films of all time, and the U.S. Library of Congress has dubbed it the most-seen film in cinematic history. Garland starred in the film as Dorothy Gale, with Ray Bolger playing the Scarecrow, Jack Haley as the Tin Man, Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion, Frank Morgan as the Wizard of Oz, Billie Burke as Glinda the Good Witch and Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the West.