The Wizard, on the cover of Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz

The Wizard of Oz (or simply The Wizard) is a fictional character in the Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum and further popularized by the classic 1939 movie. The original 1908 cover to Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, by artist John R. Neill, reproduced for a modern facsimile edition. ... The original 1908 cover to Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, by artist John R. Neill, reproduced for a modern facsimile edition. ... Alice, a fictional character based on a real character from the work of Lewis Carroll. ... Oz is a fantasy region containing four countries under the rule of one monarch. ... Lyman Frank Baum (May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author, actor, and independent filmmaker best known as the creator, along with illustrator W. W. Denslow, of one of the most popular books ever written in American childrens literature, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, better known today... Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The classic books

The Wizard is one of the characters in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Unseen for most of the novel, he is the ruler of the Land of Oz and highly venerated by his subjects. Believing he is the only man capable of solving their problems, Dorothy Gale and her friends travel to the Emerald City, the capital of Oz, to meet him. Oz is very reluctant to meet them, but eventually they are granted an audience. Every time the Wizard appears in a different form, once as a giant head, once as a beautiful fairy, once as ball of fire, and once as a horrible monster. For the film, see The Wizard of Oz (1939 film). ... Oz is a fantasy region containing four countries under the rule of one monarch. ... Doctor Who character, see Ace (Doctor Who). ... For other uses, see Emerald City (disambiguation). ...

Eventually, it is revealed that Oz is actually none of these things, but rather an ordinary, American man who has been using a lot of elaborate magic tricks and props to make himself seem "great and powerful." When revealed, Oz explains that his real name is Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkel Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs. To shorten this name, he used only his initials (O.Z.P.I.N.H.E.A.D.), but since they spell out the word "pinhead", he shortened his name further and called himself "Oz". Working as a magician in the United States, he wrote OZ on the side of his hot air balloon for promotional purposes. One day his balloon sailed into the Land of Oz, and found himself worshipped as a great sorcerer. As Oz had no leadership at the time, he became Supreme Ruler of the kingdom, and did his best to sustain the myth. Pinhead: n. ... Hot air balloon in flight The hot air balloon is the oldest successful human-carrying flight technology, dating back to its invention by the Montgolfier brothers in Annonay, France in 1783. ...

He leaves Oz at the end of the novel, again in a hot air balloon. After the Wizard's departure, the Scarecrow is briefly enthroned, until the rightful hereditary ruler of Oz, Princess Ozma, is freed from the witch Mombi at the end of The Marvelous Land of Oz. Cover of The Scarecrow of Oz (1915) by L. Frank Baum; illustration by John R. Neill. ... Princess Ozma Princess Ozma is a fictional character in the Land of Oz universe created by L. Frank Baum. ... The Marvelous Land of Oz, commonly shortened to The Land of Oz, published in 1904, is the second of L. Frank Baums books set in the Land of Oz, and the sequel to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. ...

In The Marvelous Land of Oz, the Wizard is described as having usurped the throne of King Pastoria and handed over the baby princess to Mombi. This did not please the readers, and in Ozma of Oz, although the character did not appear, Baum described Ozma's abduction without including the Wizard as part of it.^[1] The original 1907 book cover by John R. Neill. ...

The Wizard returns in the novel Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz. With Dorothy and the boy Zeb, he falls through a crack in the earth; in their underground journey, he acts as their guide and protector.^[2] When Ozma rescues them from the underground kingdoms, he recounts his story of becoming the ruler of Oz, and Ozma explains that before the witches usurped her grandfather's throne (an occurrence happening long before the wizard arrived), the ruler of Oz had always been known as Oz or (if female) Ozma.^[3] Ozma then permits him to live in Oz permanently.^[4] He becomes an apprentice to Glinda, the most powerful magic-worker in Oz. Ozma decrees that, besides herself, only The Wizard and Glinda are allowed to use magic. Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz is the fourth book set in the Land of Oz (though most of the action is outside of it) written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by John R. Neill. ... Glinda depicted on the cover of Glinda of Oz Glinda (or Glinda the Good Witch) is a fictional character in the Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. ...

In the dark and twisted Oz visited accidentally by Princess Ozma in Paradox of Oz, the Wizard is a cruel tyrant who employs Nick Chopper as his bodyguard, and retains an unseen Dorothy Gale to drop houses on witches who threaten his power. When Ozma appeals to the friend she once had, calling him a good man, he replies, "No, my dear, I am a bad man, but I am a very good wizard," a reverse of his line in the 1939 MGM movie.

The 1939 movie

In the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, The Wizard's character is similar to that found in the earlier books: a bumbling "humbug." He was played by actor Frank Morgan. The same actor also played several other roles in the movie; including Professor Marvel, the mysterious traveling fortune teller that Dorothy meets in Kansas, the Guard at the Emerald City, the Guard at the Gates to Oz's Castle and the Coachman. His face was also presumably used as the projected image of the Wizard. The Wizard of Oz (film) redirects here. ... Frank Morgan as The Wizard of Oz. ... Doctor Who character, see Ace (Doctor Who). ...

Adaptations

In author Gregory Maguire's Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (a 1995 revisionist novel based on the inhabitants of Oz) and in the 2003 Broadway musical Wicked (based on Maguire's novel), the Wizard is a tyrannical ruler who uses deceit and trickery to hide his own shortcomings. Unlike in earlier works, the Wizard is clearly meant to be the villain of the story. Gregory Maguire (born June 9, 1954 in Albany, New York) is an American author. ... Wicked, or Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, is a parallel novel by Gregory Maguire. ... For other uses of Broadway, see Broadway. ... Wicked is a Tony award-winning American musical produced by Universal Pictures with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, and a book by Winnie Holzman. ...

Maguire presents the Wizard as a con-man and a hustler who happened onto a world where he could literally make himself into a king overnight. Pretending to have vast powers and all-encompassing knowledge, he rules over the Emerald City, while secretly requiring people with true magic talent such as Glinda and Elphaba to cast spells for him. Elphaba is the name given to the Wicked Witch of the West in Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire, as well as in the Broadway adaptation, Wicked. ...

During the course of Maguire's novel and the subsequent Broadway production, it is revealed that the Wizard is indeed behind some of the most horrific and disastrous events in the story, with one of his cohorts being Madame Morrible. The Wizard is revealed to be the illegitimate father of Elphaba, seducing her mother with a magical green elixir, causing Elphaba's green tone. In the musical, this fact is revealed to the character Glinda, who accosts the Wizard with this information. It is also under the Wizard's direction that the Animals of Oz — most notably the Goat teacher from Shiz University, Doctor Dillamond — are caged and placed under strict control. This cruelty causes the final split between Elphaba and the Wizard, leading to her transformation into the Wicked Witch of the West. Madame Morrible is a character in author Gregory Maguires 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. ... Shiz University is a fictional university located in the Land of Ozwhich is a fictiona paradise in Gregory Maguires revisionist novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. ... Doctor Dillamond with Elphaba. ... The Wicked Witch, as portrayed by Margaret Hamilton in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz The Wicked Witch of the West (or simply The Wicked Witch) is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum in his childrens books. ...

No more than a con man with knowledge of how to work with human emotion and beliefs, this version of the Wizard works to maintain his own position and prestige, regardless of the pain and grief it causes to others, and is not beyond subversion or mandated murder.

The Wizard is portrayed in a slightly better light in Wicked. Instead of being totally amoral, he is carried away by the belief of the people of Oz that he is "wonderful." When he learns that Elphaba is his daughter, he expresses visible sorrow when he learns of her (supposed) death, agreeing with Glinda to leave Oz in his balloon.

In the original stage production, the Wizard was played by Cabaret star Joel Grey, who also played the Wizard in The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True, a 1995 concert staging of the 1939 film musical. Cabaret is a 1972 film. ... Joel Grey (born Joel Katz on April 11, 1932 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American stage and screen actor, who graduated from Beverly Hills High School in Beverly Hills, California in 1950. ...

Caliber Comics' Oz comic book series, followed by Arrow Comics' Dark Oz and The Land of Oz featured the Wizard, affectionately known as "Oscar,", particularly to Ozma, as a tall, bald, mustachioed man, brooding, powerful, and not at all bumbling. Caliber Comics or Caliber Press was an American comic book publisher founded in 1989 by Gary Reed. ... Arrow Comics was one of the original independent publishers of black-and-white comics in the mid 1980s, starting out in Ypsilanti, Michigan by founders Ralph Griffith and Stuart Kerr. ...

The 2006 comic book The Oz/Wonderland Chronicles features a Wizard who is closer to the benevolent figure in Baum's works. In issue #1, he saves Dorothy and Alice Liddell from a pack of Wheelers, and later accompanies them and Jack Pumpkinhead from Chicago to Kansas. Alice Pleasance Liddell (May 4, 1852 – November 15, 1934) was the inspiration for childrens classic Alices Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. ... Wheelers is a science fiction novel authored by English mathematician Ian Stewart and reproductive biologist Jack Cohen, figures notable for both their personal scholarly work and numerous individual and collaborative contributions to the world of sci-fi. ... cover of Jack Pumpkinhead of Oz (1929) by By Ruth Plumly Thompson Jack Pumpkinhead is a character from the fictional Oz book series by L. Frank Baum. ... Nickname: Motto: Urbs in Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in the Chicago metro area and Illinois Coordinates: , Country State Counties Cook, DuPage Settled 1770s Incorporated March 4, 1837 Government  - Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area  - City  234. ... Official language(s) English[2] Capital Topeka Largest city Wichita Area  Ranked 15th  - Total 82,277 sq mi (213,096 km²)  - Width 211 miles (340 km)  - Length 417 miles (645 km)  - % water 0. ...

Cultural reference

• In the episode Into The Mystic of the television series Sliders a powerful and wraithlike Sorcerer turns out to be just the projection of a normal person, hidden behind a curtain in the room, like the Wizard of Oz did in the 1939 movie.
• In the episode "It's Christmas in Canada" of the television series South Park, the main characters visit the new Prime Minister of Canada, who takes the shape of a floating head. This turns out to be a projection operated by Saddam Hussein, who was hiding in hole in the wall. This is also similar to the 1939 Wizard of Oz film.
• The entire episode of "Scrubs", "My Way Home" pays homage to the Wizard of Oz.

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into List of Sliders episodes. ... Sliders is a science fiction television series that ran for five seasons from 1995 to 2000. ... Its Christmas in Canada (sometimes called Christmas in Canada? or simply Christmas in Canada) is episode 715 of Comedy Centrals South Park. ... This article is about the TV series. ... Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was the fifth President of Iraq and Chairman of the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council from 1979 until his overthrow by US forces in 2003. ... Scrubs are the shirts and trousers/dresses worn by surgeons, nurses, and other operating room personnel when scrubbing in for surgery. ... List of Scrubs episodes My Way Home is the 100th episode of the American situation comedy Scrubs. ... Pastoria is a fictional character in the Oz books by L. Frank Baum. ... Oz is a fantasy region containing four countries under the rule of one monarch. ... Cover of The Scarecrow of Oz (1915) by L. Frank Baum; illustration by John R. Neill. ...

References

External link

• More information on The Wizard