Frank Morgan’s Legacy at Green-Wood Cemetery
Today’s post is a fun one—an unexpected mix of Hollywood lore, cemetery history, and the quiet, behind‑the‑scenes world of funeral service. It’s the kind of story I love sharing: a reminder that even in the most familiar places, there are always hidden corners, surprising connections, and lives whose legacies continue to ripple outward in ways we don’t always expect. Green‑Wood Cemetery is home to many notable figures—Elias Howe, Henry Bergh, and countless others whose monuments announce their place in history. Yet one grave that often escapes the notice of casual visitors belongs to Frank Morgan, born Francis Phillip Wuppermann, the actor whose warm, wavering voice and gentle comic confusion helped shape The Wizard of Oz . His grave, marked simply with the family name, rests on a small rise along Grape Avenue—an unassuming stone for the man who played the Wizard, Professor Marvel, the Gatekeeper, the Emerald City cabby, and the palace guard. Born in New York City in 1890, one of eleve...