If the Creator of Oz Isn’t an American Master, Who Is?

L. Frank Baum gave us not only the first American fairyland, but literally launched the idea of the fantasy franchise — thus meaning that everybody from J.K. Rowling to Walt Disney owes him a major debt.

Via Wikimedia Commons
L. Frank Baum at his typewriter, 1899. Via Wikimedia Commons

A documentary about the creator of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” L. Frank Baum, is being shown on PBS affiliates as part of the long-running “American Experience.” The documentary, “American Oz,” surely belongs in this series, but perhaps an even more fitting home would be public television’s companion “American Masters.”

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