Betty Ann Bruno was a longtime reporter and television host for KTVU in San Francisco, as well as a former child actress and one of the last surviving cast members of The Wizard of Oz.
- Died: July 30, 2023 (Who else died on July 30?)
- Details of death: Died in Sonoma, California, at the age of 91.
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Betty Ann Bruno’s legacy
Bruno’s on-screen career began at a young age when she appeared as a munchkin in 1939’s “The Wizard of Oz,” inspiring the title of her autobiography, “The Munchkin Diary: My Personal Yellow Brick Road.” As an adult, she went into journalism, first as a political talk show producer, then as an on-air investigative reporter for San Francisco-based KTVU.
She spent more than 20 years with the organization and became a familiar face in the community. Among Bruno’s notable stories was her reporting on the Oakland Hills firestorm of 1991, a blaze that took the lives of 25 people and destroyed over 3,200 homes and apartments – including her own. Over the course of her career, she won three Emmy Awards for her work.
After retirement, Bruno penned her autobiography. At the time, she was one of the last surviving cast members of “The Wizard of Oz.” She also devoted herself to teaching hula dancing, which earned her the nickname “The Hula Lady.”
Tributes to Betty Ann Bruno
Full obituary: KTVU
