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Meinhardt Frank Raabe (September 2, 1915 - April 9, 2010) died 14 years ago today, at the age of 94. He was one of the last surviving Munchkin-actors in The Wizard of Oz, and was also the last surviving cast member with any dialogue in the film. He portrayed the coroner who certified the death of the Wicked Witch of the East. Raabe was born in Watertown, Wisconsin. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1937, with a bachelor's degree in accounting. He later went on to get his MBA at Drexel University. Raabe did not hear the words "midget" or "dwarf" until young adulthood, and for a long time believed no one else might also be like him. After visiting the Midget Village at Chicago's Century of Progress in 1933, he realized he was not alone and took a summer job with the fair the next year. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin, he was turned down for employment by one company after another until Oscar Mayer hired him as a salesman. Raabe took a leave of absence from his sales job to audition for a Wizard of Oz role. Raabe worked for many decades as a spokesman for Oscar Mayer, where he was known as "Little Oscar, World's Smallest Chef". He traveled in the first Wienermobile, which was the idea of the company founder's nephew, Carl Mayer, in 1936. Because the vehicle had little space for any passengers, Mayer realized the spokesman would have to be small and Raabe got the job. In later life Raabe resided at Penney Retirement Community in Penney Farms, Florida. He died at a medical center in nearby Orange Park, Florida, on April 9, 2010, at the age of 94 after going into cardiac arrest.