Who played the Wizard/Professor Marvel in the 1939 film?

Frank Morgan played both the Wizard and Professor Marvel in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.

Professor Marvel is the traveling fortune-teller Dorothy meets in Kansas before the tornado. He uses theatrical tricks and intuition to persuade her to return home, then later appears as the Wizard of Oz, the seemingly powerful ruler behind the curtain. The two roles help connect Dorothy’s Kansas life with her adventures in Oz.

Morgan played more than those two parts in the film. He also portrayed the Emerald City Gatekeeper, the carriage driver of the “Horse of a Different Color,” and the palace guard. His ability to shift between comic, mysterious, and authoritative characters made the casting especially memorable.

The role was originally associated with negotiations involving W. C. Fields, but Morgan was ultimately cast in September 1938. His performance helped define the Wizard as a booming but ultimately frightened “humbug,” closely echoing the character’s nature in Baum’s novel.