The Shaggy Man is a character in

the Oz books The Oz books form a book series that begins with ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900) and relates the fictional history of the Land of Oz. Oz was created by author L. Frank Baum, who went on to write fourteen full-length Oz books. All of Baum's bo ...

L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's books, particularly ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the ''Oz'' series, plus 41 other novels (not includ ...

. He first appeared in the book ''

The Road to Oz ''The Road to Oz: In Which Is Related How Dorothy Gale of Kansas, The Shaggy Man, Button Bright, and Polychrome the Rainbow's Daughter Met on an Enchanted Road and Followed it All the Way to the Marvelous Land of Oz.'' is the fifth of L. Frank Ba ...

'' in 1909. He is a kindly old wandering

hobo A hobo is a migrant worker in the United States. Hoboes, tramps and bums are generally regarded as related, but distinct: a hobo travels and is willing to work; a tramp travels, but avoids work if possible; and a bum neither travels nor works. E ...

, dressed in rags. His

philosophy of life (; meaning 'philosophy of life') was a dominant philosophical movement of German-speaking countries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which had developed out of German Romanticism. emphasised the meaning, value and purpose of life a ...

centers on both love and an aversion to material possessions. His one possession of value is the Love Magnet. His

individuality An individual is that which exists as a distinct entity. Individuality (or self-hood) is the state or quality of being an individual; particularly (in the case of humans) of being a person unique from other people and possessing one's own need ...

is not welcome in the United States, but is accorded respect in the

Land of Oz The Land of Oz is a magical country introduced in the 1900 children's novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Oz consists of four vast quadrants, the Gillikin Country in the north, Quadli ...

, where

Princess Ozma Princess Ozma is a fictional character from the Land of Oz, created by American author L. Frank Baum. She appears in every book of the Oz series except the first, ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900). She is the rightful ruler of Oz, and Baum i ...

provides him with a fine wardrobe of

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...

satin A satin weave is a type of fabric weave that produces a characteristically glossy, smooth or lustrous material, typically with a glossy top surface and a dull back. It is one of three fundamental types of textile weaves alongside plain weave ...

s, and

velvet Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means ...

s, but as shaggy as his old rags.

Character biography

The Shaggy Man appears at the

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

home of

Dorothy Gale Dorothy Gale is a fictional character created by American author L. Frank Baum as the protagonist in many of his ''Oz'' novels. She first appears in Baum's classic 1900 children's novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and reappears in most of its ...

one day in August, asking for directions to the nearby town of Butterfield so as to avoid going there by accident, for he wants to avoid a man who would return a loan of fifteen cents: as "Money...makes people proud and haughty. I don't want to be proud and haughty." Dorothy agrees to show him the way, but after a short time the two become inexplicably lost. The Shaggy Man tells Dorothy about a magical device he has called the Love Magnet, which causes the owner to be loved by everyone he meets. He claims that this artifact was given to him by "an

Eskimo Eskimo () is an exonym used to refer to two closely related Indigenous peoples: the Inuit (including the Alaska Native Iñupiat, the Greenlandic Inuit, and the Canadian Inuit) and the Yupik peoples, Yupik (or Siberian Yupik, Yuit) of eastern Si ...

in the

Sandwich Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...

." Eventually Dorothy and the Shaggy Man realize that they are wandering in an unknown fairyland. After a series of adventures, he and Dorothy reach the

Deadly Desert The Deadly Desert is the magical desert in Nonestica that completely surrounds the fictional Land of Oz, which cuts it off from the rest of the world. Geology On the map of Oz, first published in the endpapers of the eighth book, ''Tik-Tok of Oz ...

, where his ingenuity lets them pass safely over the sands. Arriving in the

, they find that their journey has been prearranged so that Dorothy can attend a birthday party for

. The Shaggy Man is awed by the splendor of the fairy-realm, and resolves to live there permanently. Upon being questioned by Ozma, he reveals that he has actually stolen the Love Magnet from a girl in Butterfield, but is without remorse because doing so has allowed him to travel to Oz with Dorothy. Nevertheless, eager to be a good subject to the princess, he agrees to Ozma's decree that the Love Magnet be donated to the

Emerald City The Emerald City (sometimes called the City of Emeralds) is the capital city of the fictional Land of Oz in L. Frank Baum's Oz books, first described in ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900). Fictional description Located in the center of the La ...

and hung over the city gates. In ''

The Patchwork Girl of Oz ''The Patchwork Girl of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum is a children's novel, the seventh in the Oz series. Characters include the Woozy, Ojo "the Unlucky", Unc Nunkie, Dr. Pipt, Scraps (the patchwork girl), and others. The book was first published on ...

'', the Shaggy Man serendipitously arrives to rescue

Ojo Ojo may refer to: *Ōjō, a Japanese Buddhist term referring to rebirth in the Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha *Ojo, a curious red bear cub who has a wild imagination and is good friends with Treelo on ''Bear in the Big Blue House'' * ''Ojo'' (comi ...

and his traveling companions from man-eating plants that attack them along a

yellow brick road The yellow brick road is a fictional element in the 1900 children's novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by American author L. Frank Baum. The road also appears in the several sequel Oz books such as ''The Marvelous Land of Oz'' (1904) and ''The ...

in the

Munchkin Country Munchkin Country or Munchkinland, as it is referred to in the famous MGM musical film version, is the fictional eastern region of the Land of Oz in L. Frank Baum's Oz books, first described in ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900). Munchkin Count ...

. In ''

Tik-Tok of Oz ''Tik-Tok of Oz'' is the eighth Land of Oz book written by L. Frank Baum, published on June 19, 1914. The book has little to do with Tik-Tok and is primarily the quest of the Shaggy Man (introduced in ''The Road to Oz'') to rescue his brother, a ...

'', it is revealed that the Shaggy Man has a long-lost brother who is being held prisoner by the

Nome King The Nome King is a fictional character created by American author L. Frank Baum. He is introduced in Baum's third Oz book ''Ozma of Oz'' (1907). He also appears in many of the continuing sequel '' Oz'' novels also written by Baum. Although the c ...

. Much of that book revolves about his efforts and those of his companions to rescue and disenchant this brother. Finally, the Shaggy Man decides to give up Oz to remain with his brother and other companions; the prospect of losing him from Oz persuades Ozma to allow these others to enter Oz. Much like the Shaggy Man himself, this brother has no name which is ever revealed to the readers, and is simply identified as "the Shaggy Man's brother." He was called Wiggy in the stage version. In ''

The Shaggy Man of Oz ''The Shaggy Man of Oz'' (1949) is the thirty-eighth in the series of Oz books created by L. Frank Baum and his successors, and the second and last by Jack Snow. It was illustrated by Frank G. Kramer. The book entered the public domain in the Uni ...

'', the love magnet has worn through the nail and broken, and the Shaggy Man must go to the creator of the love magnet, Conjo (a

retcon Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in which established diegetic facts in the plot of a fictional work (those established through the narrative itself) are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subse ...

) in order to have it fixed. To get there, he visits many of the places visited in ''

John Dough and the Cherub ''John Dough and the Cherub'' is a children's fantasy novel, written by American author L. Frank Baum, about a living gingerbread man and his adventures. It was illustrated by John R. Neill and published in 1906 by the Reilly & Britton Company. ...

''. In the modern Oz book ''

Queen Ann in Oz ''Queen Ann in Oz'' is a 1993 children's novel written by Karyl Carlson and Eric Gjovaag, and illustrated by William Campbell and Irwin Terry. As its title indicates, the book is an entry in the large and growing literature on the Land of Oz, begu ...

'' (1993), authors Carlson and Gjovaag give the Shaggy Man a personal name — Shagrick Mann.Karyl Carlson and Eric Gjovaag, ''Queen Ann in Oz'', New York, Emerald City Press, 1993; p. 114.

Portrayal

Although Baum used The Shaggy Man a great deal in his books from his first appearance onward, he did not appear in any productions of

The Oz Film Manufacturing Company The Oz Film Manufacturing Company was an independent film studio from 1914 to 1915. It was founded by L. Frank Baum (president), Louis F. Gottschalk (vice president), Harry Marston Haldeman (secretary), and Clarence R. Rundel (treasurer) as an ...

, nor did he appear much in the work of Baum's successors other than Jack Snow. Frank F. Moore would portray the role on the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

stage opposite

James C. Morton James Carmody Lankton (August 25, 1884 – October 24, 1942), known professionally as James C. Morton, was an American character actor. He appeared in more than 180 films between 1922 and 1942. Career Born in Helena, Montana, Morton is be ...

as Tik-Tok in the 1913 play ''

The Tik-Tok Man of Oz ''The Tik-Tok Man of Oz'' is a musical play with book and lyrics by L. Frank Baum and music by Louis F. Gottschalk that opened at the Majestic Theatre in Los Angeles, California on March 31, 1913. It is loosely inspired by Baum's book ''Ozma of ...

''. The role was modeled on

Fred Stone Fred Andrew Stone (August 19, 1873 – March 6, 1959) was an American actor. Stone began his career as a performer in circuses and minstrel shows, went on to act in vaudeville, and became a star on Broadway and in feature films, which earned h ...

Scarecrow A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin, often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.Lesley B ...

in '' The Wizard of Oz'', and Moore would go on to play the Scarecrow in ''

His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz ''His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz'' is a 1914 American silent fantasy adventure film directed by J. Farrell MacDonald, and written and produced by L. Frank Baum. It stars Violet MacMillan, Frank Moore, Vivian Reed, Todd Wright, Pierre Couderc ...

''. In comics, Shaggy Man appeared briefly in

Eric Shanower Eric James Shanower (born October 23, 1963) is an American cartoonist, best known for his Oz novels and comics, and for the ongoing retelling of the Trojan War as '' Age of Bronze''. Early life Eric Shanower was born on October 23, 1963. Upon hi ...

's '' The Ice King of Oz'' and in issue #19 of '' Oz''.

In other media

The Shaggy Man appears in ''

Return to Oz ''Return to Oz'' is a 1985 dark fantasy film released by Walt Disney Pictures, co-written and directed by Walter Murch. It stars Nicol Williamson, Jean Marsh, Piper Laurie, and Fairuza Balk as Dorothy Gale in her first screen role. The film is an ...

''. He is seen in the background at Princess Ozma's coronation.

References

External links

Oz encyclopedia entry for Shaggy Man
{{Oz Oz (franchise) characters Fictional hoboes Literary characters introduced in 1909 Male characters in literature