worked hard at miming Al Jolson, could think of little else but becoming

a vaudeville star. With encouragement from his mother, he went on the

road with his older brother.

"I never, never thought

of myself as a little person or limited in any way," says Carroll,

who weighs 88 pounds and wears a boy's size 16 trousers. "I could

have been six feet tall, but I turned it down," he jokes.

One of his first jobs was to

serve as emcee at two famous Chicago nightclubs owned by notorious gangster

Al Capone, who just happened to be Carroll's actual godfather.

"I was up on the stage,

trying to emcee, when one set of gunshots began flying on the left-hand

side of me, and another set on the right hand-side," Carroll said

of one harrowing moment at the club. "I didn't ask any questions;

I just ducked and ran off the stage."

By 1936, Carroll was an established

vaudeville star. Eventually, Judy Garland, who had once taken dancing

lessons from him, called him and asked him to appear in "The Wizard

of Oz." His first reaction was no. The money was not enough - $175

per week - and no one expected the film to become the classic it is today.

Eventually Garland succeeded

in talking Carroll into appearing in the movie. The producers agreed to

pay him a weekly salary of $250 - making him one of the highest paid on

the set. Carroll finally agreed, and upon doing so established a life-long

friendship with Garland.

An eternal optimist, Carroll

believes that "Oz" will always be a classic movie because of

its magic and hope. Today, he is the owner of Standard Monument Company

on St. Charles Rock Road, a business he inherited from his father.

If you were to visit his business,

you would find upon display Wizard of Oz memorabilia everywhere. A giant

rainbow adorns one wall. Celebrity photos of Carroll with Bob Hope, Sammy

Davis Jr., George Burns and Judy Garland are on display. "I love

people," explains the former Munchkin, "and I want them to know

I came."

Carroll is just one of the

many attractions to be found at July Jam in Fayetteville. The fun begins

at 10 a.m. and goes on throughout the day and evening.

Highlights include appearances

and performances by Mr. Puppet, Magician Ken Scott, former Harlem Globetrotter

Michael Douglas, Rick Hubbard and His All Kid Kazoo Band and a J 93.3

$1,000 giveaway to one of the lucky festival attendees.

Once the sun goes down, there

will be more entertainment on the main stage by the fountain. The Coastline

band will open at 7 p.m. for the Original Tams with Robert Lee Smith at

8.

For information about July

Jam, phone Nancy Price or Ann Woodall (770-461-6029) at the Fayetteville

Main Street Department.

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