'The Wizard of Oz' Munchkin Karl Slover -- Dead at 93

The guy who played the lead trumpeter in the Munchkin band in "The Wizard of Oz" died yesterday at the age of 93 ... reducing the number of living "munchkins" down to 3.

Karl Slover -- who played multiple munchkin roles in the 1939 classic -- passed away in a Georgia hospital after going into cardiopulmonary arrest.

Standing just 4-foot-5, Slover was actually one of the shortest Munchkins ... and even appeared at a "Wizard of Oz" event in Chicago just last week.