Pat Walshe in The Wizard of Oz as Nikko

Pat Walshe as Nikko

Through all my research and reaching out to others who are far more knowledgeable, I could not find any information about Pat Walshe. From the Academy of Arts and Sciences, National Film Information Services, and many other resources I have used to compile the information on this Web site, no one could add to the scanty information that exists. I have pretty much come up against a stone wall. It seems that Pat Walshe is an enigma. The only concrete information available is that Walshe was a little person. He had worked in the past as a stunt man and an animal impersonator.

Aside from Pat Walshe there were two groups of actors that were a part of the Wicked Witch's entourage. The little people were used as the Witch's Winged Monkey's and vertically unchallenged adults were the people who were used as the Witch's standing army, the Winkies. They were the minions of the Wicked Witch and Nikko more so as he was the Witch's confidant. These people were under the Witch's control but when the water was thrown on her and she "melted" their attitudes changed markedly. They were relieved to no longer be enslaved to the Wicked Witch.

One note of interest, the movie Wizard of Oz was technically so superior to other Films of that time that the methods that were used in the filming process were used many years later. An excellent example of this is the makeup genius pioneered by Jack Dawn for the monkeys used in Oz is the same technology that was used for the Planet of the Apes.

I would like to know if there is anyone out there in the World Wide Web that perhaps has some documented evidence about Pat Walshe. I know that there are some theories about Walshe but what I would like are hard facts that can be proven. Please contact me if you have such evidence.

Below is a list of the folks that played both the Winged Monkeys and the Winkies. These are provided by the book The Wizardry of Oz, The Artistry and Magic of the 1939 M-G-M Classic by Jay Scarfone and William Stillman.

WINGED MONKEYS
Buster Brody
Harry Cogg
Sid Dawson
Walter Miller
Harry Monty
Lee Murry
George Noison

WINKIES
Philip Harron
Mitchell Lewis (Leader)
Ambrose Schindler
Bob Steangelo
Harry Wilson

HOMEPAGE