It’s encounters like the one that I had with Olive Brasno that make me believe in fate. Had I not been browsing Bob’s book The Munchkins of Oz by Steve Cox during my 1995 visit to California, and had I not then fortuitously met that same Steve Cox at the Hollywood Collectors Show that very same week, and finally had I not had a trip to Florida planned several weeks later, it is likely that I would have never crossed paths with Olive. As it was, I had the opportunity of a lifetime to meet an actress that I had long admired.
Olive was a midget, who along with her brother - also a midget - performed in Vaudeville during the 1930’s. My interest with her was that she starred in two of the Our Gang films Shrimps for a Day (1934) and Arbor Day (1936) along with her brother George. Her role in Shrimps particularly delighted me so it was with a gleeful shreik that I saw a picture of her in Steve’s book, posing with her husband Gus Wayne. Gus was one of the Munchkin soldiers in The Wizard of Oz. Olive herself had not appeared in Oz as she and her brother were making far too much money in Vaudeville to travel to California for such a ‘tiny’ role.
Olive in Shrimps for a Day. I did not actually get this photo signed until two years later.
So the first words that came out of my mouth when I met Steve was “So what has become of Olive Brasno?” He was thrilled that I knew who Olive was, so he told me that she was residing in Lakeland, Florida. Then I mentioned that I would soom be taking a trip to Florida - and then checked and found that Lakeland was right on the way between Orlando and Clearwater. The rest, as they say, was history.
Steve sent along some photos from Charlie Chan at the Circus to have Olive sign. They were very dark - so I was thrilled when she gave me this crisp photo and signed it to me.
I contacted Olive a couple of weeks before we left and she agreed to allow me to visit. When the time came on Wednesday, August 2, 1995, and we remarkably maneuvered to the nice moblie home park in which she was living, I was surprised to see that she was even tinier than I had a anticipated. Lisa and I offered to take her out to the lunch of her choice. She picked a run-down cafeteria and consumed exactly one-half of a hotdog. She also insisted on riding in the back seat of our car, which even at the age of 77, she deftly maneuvered.
I took the picture above and below of photos hanging on her wall. Above is Olive and her brother George as children.
Gus Wayne and Olive Brasno’s wedding photo
I did a short interview with her, which I subsequently published in my Dante’s Info #15 during the Winter of 1996 (I held the story for over six months!). Mostly, Olive was very surprised that we were more interested in her career as opposed to her husband’s (who was still living at the time in a nearby nursing home). It took some coaxing to get her to sign her autographs with her maiden name as she would usually sign photos of her husband at Wizard of Oz festivals as Mrs. Gus Wayne.
Olive absolutely insisted that we not crouch down to take photos with her
Proud of her stature, Olive poses with Lisa
Amazingly enough, I actually did meet up with Olive again two years later, not long before her death in January of 1998 at a Wizard of Oz festival…but that is a story for another time.
Return to the Florida trip…
Continue on to our meeting with Karl Slover…
It takes a certain type of person to be interested in someone like Olive. I feel the same way about her as you do. I am sorry I did not follow through as you did. I really commend you. I have a similar interest with anything associated with the Hal Roach Studio. I almost had a book published about the death of Thelma Todd. During that time I inteviewed quite a few people associated with Thelma and the studio. I even interviewed Hal Roach and have a lot of cool pictures. Anyway, Olive had a great personality that came off the screen and she was a beautiful, young lady. Do you know what happened to her brother George and did she have any children?
Rich King
November 20th, 2007
Olive’s brother George died in 1982. Their younger brother Richard - who was also a midget - was killed in a motorcycle accident in the mid-1970’s. Olive never had any children.
Brad
November 22nd, 2007
Do you mind if I copy some of this into TCM movies?
Bill Markuly
June 10th, 2008
I had not even known of Olive Brasno, until I had seen “Charlie Chan at The Circus”. Of course, I am sure that I had seen her before, as she appeared in “Little Rascals” among other features.
The reason I searched her out was because I was very impressed with her and George’s dancing in that movie. It was amazing! And Olive herself may have been tiny, but she was very pretty. I had to know whether or not she was really a small person, or a child actor.
I have to tell you, I was very impressed by her and George, even in a “B” movie, they were standouts. I will be looking for more of them.
Joseph M. Loglisci
June 11th, 2008
How wonderful to find something about this delightful actress. After seeing TCM’s “Charlie Chan at the Circus,” I wanted to know more about the talented couple. Not much is out there and no photos on IMDB. Thank you for sharing your story.
Rayna R. Gardner
June 27th, 2008
I’m also a huge fan of Olive and George Brasno. I didn’t know they had a younger LP brother (mentioned above). I especially appreciate the nice pics you took because there are so few on the web since I’ve been searching since 1999. Before that only a few books in the library even mentioned her name or George’s. She looked in good health and spirits in 1995 at least, though in her last pic (not shown here) where she sits in an oversized (for her) dark sweatshirt (?) or jacket, she looked battleworn and her hands with long boney fingers. I’ll bet she never weighed 80 lbs in her life. She was so adorable in those 1930’s films, George too. I would love to have met Gus and Olive for their stories about their film careers. Who WASN’T an OZ fan here?
Jerry Lehane III
September 12th, 2008