The Wizard of Oz actress Elaine Merk Binder has died at the age of 94 - one of the last remaining stars of the classic 1939 movie

The Wizard of Oz actress Elaine Merk Binder has died. One of the last remaining cast members of the classic 1939 movie, Elaine died at the age of 94, her daughter Annette Phillips has confirmed.

Elaine auditioned for the 1939 musical in 1938 and was one of the eight children selected to dance and sing as part of the Munchkin ensembles. She previously recalled how "scary" the process was. She said: “I tried out for the ‘Wizard of Oz’ Munchkins. For me it was scary. It was my first big call for girls from a major studio.

“I was relieved when Bud told the dance director, ‘She’s O.K.’ I did not have to perform like the others did. And they selected me as one of the eight who would both dance and sing. We learned later that they had added girls to the Little People because they had the mistaken impression that the Little People were not athletic.”

Elaine appears in a scene featuring the song Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are, making her first major movie role at the age of just eight years old. Before her role in The Wizard of Oz, she performed in the Our Gang shorts along with appearing in the film Nothing Sacred with Carole Lombard and Frederic March.

Despite her start in the entertainment industry, Elaine opted for a more academic career, choosing college over the contract she was offered by Paramount when she was a teenager. Instead she went on to study at Occidental College and after graduating in 1951, completed her master's degree at Cal State Los Angeles two years later with qualifications in music and education.

She went on to study computer science and theology, and worked as a computer consultant for USA and First Interstate Bank.

As well as Annette, Elaine is survived by son George and six grandchildren.