A press release from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences:

The Oscars will honor the 75th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz, a best picture nominee in 1939, show producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced today.

“We are delighted to celebrate the birthday of one of the most beloved movies of all time at this year’s Oscars,” said Zadan and Meron.

The Wizard of Oz received six Oscar nominations, winning two for Original Score and Song.

Oscars for outstanding film achievements of 2013 will be presented on Oscar Sunday, March 2, 2014, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The telecast, produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, also will be televised live in more than countries and territories worldwide.

This news comes days after the death, on 16 January 2014, of Ruth Robinson Duccini, also known as Ruth L. Robinson. Born in Rush City, Minnesota, on 23 July 1918, she played a Munchkin in The Wizard of Oz. Her only other acting role was a small appearance in the 1981 spoof Under the Rainbow.

Of her classic role, she recently said “It was long hours and heavy costumes. We didn’t have much time for ourselves. It was all new to me then, and I loved being a part of what is now a classic.”

She met her future husband, Fred, while working at MGM (they were married from 1943 until his death in 1994), and the two had a son and daughter. During World War II, she worked as a riveter for Douglas Aircraft in Santa Monica, California. Her short stature (she was 4 feet tall) allowed her to squeeze into hard-to-reach parts of planes.

Her death leaves only one surviving Munchkin portrayer, 93-year-old Jerry Maren of Los Angeles, who portrayed a member of the Lollipop Guild.