Did You Know ‘The Wizard of Oz’ Premiered in Wisconsin?

Here's your random fact of the week!

Kudos to longtime-tv guy, a.k.a. the human encyclopedia, Mike Garrigan for sharing this little gem. (By the way, if you're not following him on Facebook or Twitter you're missing out... especially if you're a sports fan.)

Wizard of Oz is one of the most popular movies in the world, it is iconic, to say the least. But, did you know the movie premiere did not take place in Hollywood or New York City? It took place in Wisconsin. Maybe you're wanting to know why and I'm here to help with that.

Apparently movie theaters were testing out how popular the film would be in the midwest, so says ABC-12 in Wisconsin.

But why Oconomowoc? Some theorized that it was because movie executives had ties to southern Wisconsin. C. Herbert Stothart, who won an Oscar for Wizard's score, had a home in Okauchee. Some said that the the Munchkin mayor, Mehnhardt Raabe, hailed from nearby Watertown. But conventional wisdom says that Oconomowoc was one of several smaller towns who held premieres ahead of Hollywood.

There's your little factoid for the week.

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