Richard Thorpe February 24 1896 May 1 1991 was an American film director Born Rollo Smolt Thorpe in Hutchinson Kansas he began his entertainment career performing in vaudeville and onstage In 1921 he began in motion pictures as an actor and directed his first silent film in 1923 He went on to direct more than one hundred and eighty films The first full length motion picture he directed for MGM was Last of the Pagans 1935 starring Ray Mala After directing The Last Challenge in 1967 he retired from the film industry He died in Palm Springs California in 1991 Thorpe is also known as the original director of The Wizard of Oz He was fired after two weeks of shooting because it was felt that his scenes did not have the right air of fantasy about them Thorpe notoriously gave Judy Garland a blonde wig and cutesy babydoll makeup that made her look like a girl in her late teens rather than an innocent Kansas farm girl of about thirteen Both makeup and wig were discarded at the suggestion of George Cukor who was brought in temporarily Stills from Thorpes work on the film survive today For his contribution to the motion picture industry Thorpe has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6101 Hollywood Blvd From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia
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