We are very sad to inform everyone that on the morning of May 7, 2009, St. Louisan Mickey Carroll, child star and entertainer, beloved Munchkin soldier, violinist, and proclaimer of the famous line: "Follow the yellow brick road!" passed away peacefully after a period of declining health. Mickey would have been 90 on July 8th, 2009.

Mickey, a lifelong resident of St. Louis, Missouri, spent his retirement years contributing to fund-raisers for the benefit of policemen, their families, and any and all causes related to children, such as the St. Louis Children's Hospital, where he often visited to entertain and cheer the children.

Mickey was an avid sports fan and joined with St. Louis professional teams in their fundraising. He was a generous contributor to the Cardinals related Albert Pujols Foundation. He was a faithful attendee of St. Louis Channel 11 sports show "The Fan Show" hosted by Rich Gould: for over two years.

A brilliant star, Mickey Carroll will be sadly missed by his family, friends, and fans around the world.

Services will be held at Kutis Funeral Home and the St. Louis Cathedral, where a final farewell can be made to the man with a Giant's Heart who loved St. Louis so much.

Visitation at the Kutis Funeral Home: 3-9pm on Tuesday 5/12/2009

Funeral at the St. Louis Cathedral: 10:00 am on Wednesday 5/13/2009

In lieu of flowers, please consider contributing to one of Mickey's favorite charities in his honor

As a young boy, Mickey Carroll wanted to entertain audiences. Born July 8, 1919 to Italian immigrant parents, the joy of seeing carnival performers on the street led him to a life in the foot lights. He entered every amateur contest he could find, earning $50 a night with his precocious talent. Then came free dance lessons at the St. Louis Fox Theater and suddenly at age nine, Mickey stopped growing. His enthusiasm stayed high, and with the help and management of his six-foot tall brother, Mickey found work in vaudeville as a singer, dancer and emcee. At age 17 he played a bellhop in the "Call for Phillip Morris" live radio ads, and at age 18 was appearing in shows with Mae West. Mickey was also performing as the Emcee at several of Al Capone's famous Chicago nightclubs.

In the year of 1939, Mickey was invited to Hollywood to play a part in a movie called The Wizard of Oz . Mickey played the part of the Munchkinland "Town Crier". His costume consisted of a purple cloak with a yellow flower sticking out of his striped vest. He also marched as a "Munchkin Soldier", and as one of the candy-striped "Fiddlers" who escorted Dorothy down the yellow brick road towards Emerald City (he's the one with the violin).

After The Wizard of Oz, Mickey continued with movie voice-overs and vaudeville entertainment. He was the warm-up for Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman as they campaigned across the country in the Presidential race. Mickey also did radio shows with George Burns, Gracie Allen, Jack Benny and Al Jolson. In the mid-1940's, Mickey settled in St. Louis, Missouri to run the family business.

It was a long time coming, but In November of 2007, Mickey, along with six of the other remaining Munchkins, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Due to the popularity of the "Wizard of Oz" movie, Mickey makes many appearances a year, serving as a grand marshall in parades, appearing on nationwide radio & TV shows, and signing thousands of autographs. He helps raise money for several different charities, including: The Amanda Cates Memorial Scholarship Fund, The Adoption Exchange, Basket of Hope, Albert Pujols Family Foundation, The Backstoppers Inc, The Special Olympics, The National Kidney Foundation and many more.

Mickey's entertainment accomplishments and charity work have made a national and international impact by showing his fans not only his talent as a performer, but also his biggest talent, that of a wonderful and giving human being.