Who Was The Real Wizard of Oz?

"The Wizard of Oz" is probably the best known children's book/movie of all-time.  The author, L. Frank Baum, created the character of the Wizard of Oz, from a real person. It took about a century for the name of Washington H. Donaldson's name to be associated with the book and movie.

Washington H. Donaldson was a gymnast, ventriloquist, balloonist, tight rope performer and magician.  For two years he worked with P.T. Barnum in his circus.  When we last saw the "Wizard of Oz" he disappeared in his balloon and Washington H. Donaldson did the same thing. At the age of 34, his balloon flew into a storm and his body was never found.  He spent his life entertaining people with his exploits like few others.  Although few people know his name, he inspired "The Wizard of Oz."

Many years ago in 1990, I saw a terrific movie on television, "The Dreamer of Oz", which starred the late actor John Ritter.  It was the story of L. Frank Baum and how he wrote, "The Wizard of Oz." in 1900.  A few unusual facts about his the live of L. Frank Baum:

During his life he was a writer, editor, owned a store, a newspaper and a magazine, he was a theatre producer, an actor, a singer, he breeded poultry, sold fireworks, was a travelling salesman, a newspaper reporter, playwright, store clerk, and he taught theatre.

He was born in Upper State New York, but it was when he moved to South Dakota that he found his fame. Dorothy would have been from North or South Dakota, but he thought Kansas sounded better.

He wrote 14 "Wizard of Oz" books, 41 other novels and four others that were lost, 83 short stories, 200 poems and 41 scripts in his life. He had planned on purchasing a small island that he was going to call, "The Marvelous Land of Oz."  It was going to be a, "A fairy paradise for children." He had that idea in 1905, fifty years before Walt Disney opened Disneyland.

Washington H. Donaldson entertained tens of thousands of people during his short life and through the genius of L. Frank Baum, his exploits have continued to entertain millions more one hundred and forty-nine years after his untimely death.