I have always believed that nothing in life is random; that there is no such thing as coincidence. And though I don’t believe in fate, I do believe in destiny and once in a while…we are just lucky enough to see it. Consider the amazing story of the Wizard’s Coat.
I think it’s important to understand that point because certain things happen in life that are so far out of the realm of being “random” or “happenstance” that I believe they exist as markers. The universe telling us that everything in it, was and is, on purpose; and more importantly, you and I are not accidents, and our existence, was and is, on purpose.
With that in mind I want to share an amazing story with you. I first heard it on a Paul Harvey broadcast many years ago. It is a story about one of my favorite movies of all time…the Wizard of Oz.
When MGM began planning the filming of the Wizard of Oz in 1938 (it was released in 1939) the production team under the direction of Victor Fleming was given a task. MGM did not want a costume designer to make the Wizard’s coat, they decided they wanted a “real” classic Edwardian jacket. They were, after all, very popular in their day. How hard could it be to find one? And this is where this unlikely journey of fate and destiny began.
Certainly it could easily be found in one of the many costume houses in Hollywood, but after weeks of going through every costume shop in the city, the design team found that it might not be as easy as they thought.
Undaunted they turned to New York. If it could not be found in Hollywood certainly they would find a coat fit for a wizard in New York, but after going through every costume house on and off the island, again they came up empty handed.
Determined not to give up they decided to go to Chicago and again, after going to very costume shop there, they began to think that they may never find the perfect Wizard’s coat, and in fact, it may not even exist.
But as they walked back to catch the last train out of Chicago for Los Angeles, they happened on a “used” clothing store, what we call a “thrift” shop today. Why they stopped there, no one knows, they didn’t even know, but they did. And as soon as they walked in…there it was hanging on a rack toward the back of the store. A used Edwardian coat. A perfect Edwardian coat. A coat truly fit for a Wizard. They bought it immediately and brought it back to Los Angeles.
To everyones amazement the coat fit Frank Morgan (picture thanks to Wikipedia) perfectly, and in that coat, it was as if he had been transformed into the Wizard of Oz himself. They did not have to make a single alteration. The coat fit him as if it had been made for him.
Now in the late 1930s filming in California and Hollywood had become popular places to make movies. The weather is mild and fairly consistent all year around, but in such a warm climate the sound stages often became extremely hot and with the massive lights needed to make movies, it was only possible to film fifteen or twenty minutes at a time before shutting everything down to cool.
Now add to that, Frank Morgan had a terrible problem. He perspired profusely, and by the time they got to the end of each take, he would be totally soaked in sweat. He could not take the coat off so between takes he would often turn his pockets inside out so they would dry.
One day between takes, as Frank stood with his pockets turned inside out, one of the stage hands noticed a name tag sewn into one of the pockets. People gathered around as Frank turned it up to see the name of the original owner and when he did, the entire cast and crew went silent—almost spell bound.
You see, there was a reason why the coat was the perfect wizard’s coat. The name of the original owner, sewn into the pocket, was none other than the “real” Wizard of OZ himself…L. Frank Baum. The man who wrote…The Wizard of Oz.
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