Regarding the vocal cast of the 1939 MGM film The Wizard of Oz —
The principals in the cast generally sang and spoke for themselves. A partial exception is Billie Burke's Glinda: Burke spoke her dialogue in her distinctive voice, but her singing was dubbed by Lorraine Bridges (who also contributed to the Lullabye League's performance in the Munchkinland sequence).
The Munchkins' voices, both in singing and spoken dialogue, were all dubbed by MGM personnel.
Vocal arranger Ken Darby worked closely with supervising sound recorder Douglas Shearer to create the distinctive sound of the Munchkins. His own choral group, the Ken Darby Singers, contributed to the Munchkins' sound. Members of the quartet the King's Men — John Dodson, Bud Linn, and Rad Robinson — provided the voices for the Lollipop Guild. (Darby was a former member of the quartet.) Pinto Colvig, who for many years was the voice of Disney's Goofy, also contributed to the Munchkins' sound. Darby provided the voice of the mayor of Munchkinland, portrayed onscreen by Charley Becker. Rad Robinson was the voice of the Munchkin coroner, portrayed onscreen by Meinhardt Raabe.
Abe Dinovitch provided Munchkin vocals, as well as the voice of the apple tree that argues with and slaps the hand of Dorothy Gale.
The Debutantes, a female vocal trio, provided voices for the Lullabye League and contributed to the song "Optimistic Voices."
The Rhythmettes also contributed to "Optimistic Voices."
Mitchell Lewis and the other Winkie guards at the Wicked Witch's castle spoke their limited dialogue themselves; but their singing was dubbed and then slowed down to give it a profound bass effect.
Andriana Caselotti, the voice of Snow White in the Walt Disney animated film, sang one line, "Wherefore art thou, Romeo?," in the Tin Woodman's song.
References
- John Fricke, Jay Scarfone, William Stillman. The Wizard of Oz: The Official 50th Anniversary Pictorial History. Warner Books, 1989.
- Aljean Harmetz. The Making of the Wizard of Oz. New York, Knopf, 1977.