Vol. 68, No. 1 (Spring 2024) takes a trip back in time to the 1950s….
As its publishers, Reilly & Lee, struggled to find a way to revitalize the Oz series after World War II, the 1950s would become a time of change. For many Oz fans, the most significant development of the decade was the first broadcast of MGM’s The Wizard of Oz on national TV—which led to an annual tradition for almost fifty years. Alongside that, though, were a number of interesting events sometimes forgotten by later historians.
Most significantly, commercial artist Dale Ulrey (“Mary Worth”) was brought on in 1955 to re-illustrate the Oz series for a modern child audience. Two books and a “new” short story later, this attempt was abandoned and Ulrey’s contributions swiftly forgotten by all but the most die-hard fans and collectors. Jane Albright delves into the extraordinary life and career of an artist whose achievements spanned comic strips, advertisements, educational works, and the lives of a special group of teenagers in Hickory, North Carolina. This special double-length feature is filled with rare art and memories from two of Ulrey’s young proteges.
Jane also contributes a special interview with Bobby Burgess, the former Mouseketeer who portrayed the Scarecrow in The Rainbow Road to Oz, Walt Disney’s special preview of an upcoming Oz feature film in 1957. Although the feature was abandoned, Rainbow Road remains the single Oz project Walt Disney committed to film in three decades of attempts.
Sarah K. Crotzer looks at the mystery of I Wake Up Screaming!, the 20th Century Fox film noir that uses more than eight minutes of Harold Arlen’s “Over the Rainbow” as unique underscoring. Later, she provides a full history and collector’s details of E. E. Fairchild’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, one of the earliest products released after Baum’s original novel entered the public domain.
You’ll also find a bumper crop of reviews, an Oz Gazette supplement, and a flipbook kids’ craft by Kroffty!
This issue has now been mailed to members.
If you’re not a member – join the Oz Club TODAY!