Author Roger Baum, Las Vegas Sun, Sept, 19, 1998

The Great-Grandson of Oz Lisa Ferguson Saturday, Sept. 19, 1998 | 6:57 a.m. In Las Vegas, the Yellow Brick Road no longer leads to the Emerald City. Like other local landmarks, the MGM Grand's massive, glistening green replica of the fabled city of "The Wizard of Oz" literary and movie fame was razed last year to make way for a major remodel of the casino. The road does, however, wind through the hotel's Emerald City gift shop, which overflows with images of Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion, the Tinman (and Toto, too) on everything from mugs and magnets to T-shirts and tote bags. Often, you'll find the heir to "Oz's" make-believe throne, Roger Baum, perched behind an oversized, custom-made desk near the road's trademark curlicue start. Baum, a Las Vegas resident, is the great-grandson of the late L. Frank Baum, who penned the original 14 "Oz" tales, among five dozen other books, in the early part of this century. The younger Baum has carried on his family's legacy, having spent the better part of the past decade writing his own original, "Oz"-inspired children's books. He regularly appears for book signings at The Emerald City gift shop. "It all started as really kind of a challenge," Baum, a former Los Angeles-area banker and stockbroker, explains of his foray into "Oz" writing. It was a friend who encouraged him to write his first book, "Dorothy of Oz" (William Morrow, 1989), which sold 35,000 copies. Five others (published by his own Yellow Brick Road Publishers, Inc.) have followed, including a trilogy about furry pink critters called SillyOzbuls, and another book about a creature named Rewolf (flower spelled backwards). His 1995 offering, "Lion of Oz and the Badge of Courage," which features a preface written by songstress Gloria Estefan, is tentatively set to hit the silver screen as an animated feature from Sony Wonder, a division of Sony Music, in 2000. The story follows the Cowardly Lion from his cub days through the time he meets his famous cohorts on the Yellow Brick Road. It is indeed a prequel to the original "The Wizard of Oz" story, he says. "It's a wonderful story and it's about the lion, which I think is just one of the greatest characters from 'The Wizard of Oz,' " Loris Kramer, vice president of creative affairs for Sony Wonder, says. "It's fantasy, it's adventure, it's a journey." (And it doesn't hurt that the classic MGM movie's re-release date in 2000 also marks the 100th anniversary of the original "The Wizard of Oz" book, as well as the movie's 61st anniversary.) "It kind of all adds up to this wonderful little package," Kramer says."From both a creative and a marketing standpoint, there's so much there." Like great-grandfather, like great-grandson? Baum wouldn't go that far. "I thought it was very presumptuous, to tell you the truth," he says of his initial qualms about writing "Oz" stories. He did it anyway, but with little intention of ever actually publishing. "So it was really written as a hobby ... but I did put a lot of love and care into it. And the last thing I try to do is to copy great-granddad's style. "We're really under a microscope," he says, "because you could get away with one book (that would be similar to L. Frank Baum's works), but you can't get away with very many," as critics and fans scrutinize the books. "The last thing you want to do, particularly as a family member, is to embarrass the family, embarrass 'Oz.' "I just try to give it an 'Oz'-y feeling," he explains of his own writing style. "You're trying to work within this fairy (tale) land of love, courage, wisdom and understanding ... without violence. "Sure, you're scared at moments; the stories have a little bit of tension to them. ... It's really like a carnival fun-type of scared, not anything other than that. That's one way of explaining it, and maybe one of the reasons why 'Oz' remains today America's and the world's favorite fairly tale." Though he never met his great-grandfather, who died in 1919, Baum grew up having "Oz" books read to him by his mother, and father Josyln Baum, an insulation contractor. (His grandfather, L. Frank Baum. Jr., an Army general, wrote one "Oz" book, "The Laughing Dragon of Oz.") He did, however, visit his great-grandmother, Baum's widow Maude Gage Baum, at her Southern California home when he was a tot. She died in the 1950s. "I just remember sitting in her big wing chair," and playing with her dog, Toto, he says. "She was a very stately lady" who visited the set of "The Wizard of Oz" movie and was photographed with its star, Judy Garland. "I don't think any of the stories that (L. Frank Baum) wrote, all 60 books, would ever have been written if it wasn't for her encouraging him to write down the stories that she heard him telling their children," Baum speculates. That's the reason he's "turned off" by scholars and others who, over the years, have interpreted "The Wizard of Oz" story as a political satire. "There is just no empirical evidence to that," 59-year-old Baum contends. " 'Oz' is strictly written for the young at heart, because (the stories) were written for his own children long before they were ever printed, for the most part. ... There are some things you just want to leave alone, and when it comes to America's greatest fairy tale, why reduce it do a political satire when there's no truth to it?" The family's literary legacy is not lost on Baum, the father of four children and two grandchildren (and not another writer among them). "Hardly a day goes by that you don't hear something about 'Oz,' " he says. " 'Look at the little munchkin' or 'There's no place like home' or 'Boy, that's a horse of a different color' -- all these (catch phrases) originated from 'Oz.' " He's also keenly aware of the sentimental place "The Wizard of Oz" holds in people's hearts. Mostly, he sees it in those who approach him at book signings and at the appearances he makes at schools and "Oz" festivals around the country. "There's hardly a day that someone doesn't come by here and I'll write a little message in their book and they cry," he says between sips of coffee from a personalized "Wizard of Oz" mug. "It's such an emotional experience for them. For the older folks, they remember 'Oz' as a child; for the younger ones, it may be something I write in their book," usually inscriptions inspired by "what I see in their eyes, what I see in their face. I try to be a good listener for the few moments I have with them." Then there's the fan mail. "The amount of letters we get, it's just amazing," he says, proof that "the power of 'Oz' is there, it's just so subtle." Baum is at work on his next "Oz" book, inspired, he says, by the people whose books he's already signed. "I thought about that emotion," he says, explaining the new story, which has Dorothy returning to Oz under unusual circumstances. It even gives a nod to his great-grandfather, who oversees the goings-on from afar. "There's a lot of ends to tie together," he says. And likely a few more miles of yellow brick road left to cover. archive