Wizard of Oz (character) Wizard of Oz (character) Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkle Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs (also known as the Wizard of Oz and, during his reign, as Oz, the Great and Terrible) is a fictional character in the Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. The character was further popularized by a stage play and several movies, most famously the classic 1939 movie, as well as the 2013 prequel adaption. The Wizard is one of the characters in "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz." Unseen for most of the novel, he is the ruler of the Land of Oz and
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film) best films of 1939. Roger Ebert chose it as one of his Great Films, writing that ""The Wizard of Oz" has a wonderful surface of comedy and music, special effects and excitement, but we still watch it six decades later because its underlying story penetrates straight to the deepest insecurities of childhood, stirs them and then reassures them." Writer Salman Rushdie acknowledged ""The Wizard of Oz" was my very first literary influence" in his 2002 musings about the film. He has written: "When I first saw "The Wizard of Oz", it made a writer of me." His first short story,