copyright March 2015
(Picture provided by: http://thefilmspectrum.com/?p=3634)
I have always believed that nothing in life is random; that there is no such thing as coincidence. And though I don’t believe in fate, I do believe in destiny and once in a while...we are just lucky enough to see it.
I think it’s important to understand that point because certain things happen in life that are so far out of the realm of being “random" or “happenstance" that I believe they exist as markers. The universe telling us that everything in it, was and is, on purpose; and more importantly, you and I are not accidents, and our existence, was and is, on purpose.
With that in mind I want to share an amazing story with you that I was finally able to verify this evening. I first heard it on a Paul Harvey broadcast years ago. It is a story about one of my favorite movies of all time...the Wizard of Oz.
When MGM began planning the filming of the Wizard of Oz in 1938 (it was released in 1939) the production team under the direction of Victor Fleming was given a task. MGM did not want a costume designer to make the Wizard’s coat, which it was decided needed to be a classic Edwardian jacket.
The idea was that it could easily be found in one of the many costume houses in Hollywood, but after weeks of going through every costume shop in the city, the design team found that it might not be as easy as they thought.
Undaunted they turned to New York. If it could not be found in Hollywood certainly they would find a coat fit for a wizard in New York, but after going through every costume house on and off the island, again they came up empty handed.
Determined not to give up they decided to go to Chicago and again, after going to very costume shop there, they began to think that they may never find the perfect coat, and in fact, it may not even exist.
But as they walked back to catch the last train out of Chicago going back to Los Angeles, they happened on a “used” clothing store, what we call a “thrift" shop today. Why they stopped there, no one knows, but they did. And as soon as they walked there it was hanging on a rack at the back of the store. A used Edwardian coat. A perfect Edwardian coat. A coat truly fit for a Wizard. They bought it immediately and brought it back to Los Angeles to begin shooting.
To everyones amazement the coat fit Frank Morgan perfectly. Frank Morgan was the actor who played Professor Marvel, the kings guard, and of course-- the Wizard of Oz himself. And they did not have to make a single alteration. The coat fit him as if it had been made for him.
Now in the late 1930s filming in California and Hollywood were excellent places to make movies because the weather is mild and fairly consistent year around. But it also made the sets and sound stages extremely hot when all the big lights were on, and it was only possible to film fifteen or twenty minutes at a time before they would have to shut everything down to let the set cool.
Now add to that, Frank Morgan had a terrible problem with perspiration and at the end of fifteen or twenty minutes of filming would be totally soaked in sweat. So much so that between takes he would turn his pockets inside out to get them to dry.
One day between takes, as Frank stood with his pockets turned inside out, one of the stage hands noticed that a name tag had been sewn into one of the pockets. People gathered around as he turned it up to see the name of the original owner and when he did, the entire cast and crew went silent—almost spell bound.
You see, there was a reason why the coat was the perfect wizard’s coat. The name of the original owner, sewn into the pocket, was none other than the "real" Wizard of OZ himself…L. Frank Baum. The man who wrote…The Wizard of Oz.
That's the way the world goes round:)
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