Walsh

"It's all part of the act, but what I peddle is real!"

- Walsh to the Wicked Witch of the West

Walsh, also known as the Wizard of Oz, is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time. He débuts in the twelfth episode of the third season. He is portrayed by guest star Christopher Gorham.

Walsh is based on the character of the Wizard of Oz from the children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Trivia
|-|Character Notes=

Etymology

 * Whether intentional or not, Walsh's name is a paronym of the last name of Pat Walshe, the actor who portrays Nikko, the Head Winged Monkey, in The Wizard of Oz.
 * In addition, the coat of arms for the surname "Walsh" contains a swan with an arrow pierced through it.

Character Notes

 * In New York City, Walsh has a scar on the left side of his neck, which he did not have when first transformed into a flying monkey by Wicked Witch of the West. The flying monkey that attacks Regina and Snow White in the Enchanted Forest is hit by an arrow in exactly the same spot.
 * His furniture store, The Wizard of Oak, alludes to his former Oz persona, The Wizard of Oz.
 * -|Props Notes=

Props Notes

 * According to the poster in his Oz workroom, Walsh's circus is called The Omaha Circus and Freak Show. In the novel, Omaha is the name of the Wizard's birthplace. The freak show acts listed are the Feejee mermaid, the Bottle Imp ("living human head confined in a glass bottle"), the Dog Faced Boy, the bearded lady and the Flying Monkeys. According to a painting, one of the circus acts is archery with an Enchanted Bow.
 * The Feejee mermaid was an object comprising the torso and head of a juvenile monkey sewn to the back half of a fish. During the 1800s, it was a common feature of sideshows, where it was presented as a version of a mermaid.
 * Jo-Jo the Dog-Faced Boy was a famous Russian sideshow performer during the 1800s, who suffered from the medical condition hypertrichosis.
 * Bearded ladies (women with visible beard) have a rich history in the sideshows of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
 * "The Bottle Imp" is an 1891 short story by Robert Louis Stevenson, in which the protagonist buys a bottle with an imp inside that grants wishes. However, the bottle is cursed; if the holder dies bearing it, their soul is forfeit to hell.
 * The text "Wales" is inscribed on one of the artifacts in Walsh's workshop. Interestingly, the name "Walsh" means "Welshman".

Costume Notes

 * Walsh's Wizard form resembles James Franco's character from the 2013 film Oz the Great and Powerful.

Appearances
Note: "Archive" denotes archive footage.