The Wizard of Bitters

Pay No Attention to That Actor Selling Angostura.

Last fall, while researching the history of Angostura Bitters, the indispensable cocktail ingredient, I discovered an interesting fact.

The Wizard of Oz owned Angostura Bitters.

Actor Frank Morgan was a big drinker. During the filming of The Wizard of Oz, in which he played the titular character, he carried around a suitcase that was equipped with a full bar. During filming, for a time, he tried to stay off the booze, the better to concentrate on his role. But abstinence made him cranky and difficult to work with, so director Victor Fleming finally told him to go back to hitting the sauce, so “we can all live together.”

Morgan came by his taste for cocktails honestly. His birth name was Francis Phillip Wuppermann. His parents were George and Josephine Wupperman. George was founder of Angostura-Wupperman, a firm that possessed sole rights to distribute Angostura bitters in Canada, Mexico, Cuba and The United States.