Munchkins take 68 years to get from Yellow Brick Road to Walk of Fame

But now the actors who played the Munchkins in the Wizard of Oz have been honoured for their small but important role in movie history.

The diminutive cast - average height 3ft - have been awarded a star on the Walk of Fame, finally earning them a place alongside such silver screen giants as Judy Garland, who starred as Dorothy.

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Time has taken its toll on the residents of Munchkinland.

There were 124 actors of restricted growth in the 1939 film, but only nine remain.

Seven of the cast attended the unveiling of the 2,352nd Star on the legendary Californian walkway - with some attired in their original film costumes.

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Smiling and waving to the gathered fans, the performers - only nine of the original 124 actors survive - proudly clutched their personalised certificates.

Amongst those honoured today were Margaret Pellegrini, who played a Munchkin flowerpot girl, 89-year-old Karl Slover - Munchkinland's chief trumpeter - Jerry Maren, the lollipop kid, and Meinhardt Raabe who famously starred as the coroner responsible for pronouncing the Wicked Witch's death.

In keeping with the joviality of the day, 87-year-old Maren, the actor who memorably greeted Dorothy with a lollipop, attended the ceremony with a lolly in tow.

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After thanking those responsible for his award, he launched into a song from the cult movie.

"My name is Jerry Maren," he said. "I'm the Lollipop Kid from The Wizard of Oz.

"I'm delighted to be here and God bless everybody for recognizing us this year.

"And I may as well sing the song. In the name of the Lollipop Guild, we wish to welcome you to Munchkinland, or Hollywood."

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Such a belated public recognition follows a determined campaign from several Hollywood luminaries including directors Steven Spielberg and George Lucas.

However, the munchkins have not always courted such positive publicity.

During the filming of the 1939 movie, a fantasy tale based on the 1900 novel by L. Frank Baum starring a teenaged Judy Garland,

their behind-the-scenes antics shocked fellow cast members.

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With shocking episodes of drunkenness, depravity and wild sexual propositions - including "dwarf sex parties" at the hotel where the cast and crew were staying - the actors quickly became the talk of Hollywood.

Miss Garland, who played Dorothy - the young girl travelling from Kansas to the mythical world of Oz accompanied by her dog, Toto - even dated one briefly - only to be put off by the outrageous behaviour of his friends.

"They were drunks', she said later. "They got smashed every night, and the police used to scoop them up in butterfly nets." Among the songs the Munchkins sang in the film were "Ding, Dong the Witch is Dead", the "Lollipop Song" and "Munchkin Land".