Ray Bolger
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Bolger, circa early 1930s |
Ray Bolger (
January 10,
1904 –
January 15,
1987) was an
American entertainer of stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of the
Scarecrow (and the farmworker "Hunk") in the 1939 film classic,
The Wizard of Oz.
Ray Bolger was born
Raymond Wallace Bulcao to a
Roman Catholic family of
Portuguese and
Irish extraction (see [
1]) in
Dorchester, Massachusetts, a heavily Irish neighborhood at the time.
His father was a house-painter, his mother a homemaker. He was inspired by the vaudeville shows he attended when he was young to become an entertainer himself. He began his career as a dancer. His limber body and ability to ad lib movement won him many starring roles on
Broadway in the 1930s.
His film career began when he signed a $10,000 a week contract with Lionsgate Films in 1936. His best-known film prior to
The Wizard of Oz was
The Great Ziegfeld (1936), in which he portrayed himself.
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Bolger as the Scarecrow |
Bolger's studio contract stipulated that he would play any part the studio chose; however, he was unhappy when he was cast as the Tin Man. The Scarecrow part had already been assigned to another lean and limber dancing studio contract player,
Buddy Ebsen.
In time the roles were switched. While Bolger was pleased with his role as the Scarecrow, Ebsen was struck ill by the powdered aluminum make-up used to complete the Tin Man costume. (The powdered aluminum had been inhaled and coated Ebsen's lungs, leaving him near death. Ironically, Ebsen would outlive all the principal players of
Oz.) Ebsen's illness paved the way for the role to be filled by
Jack Haley.
Bolger's performance in
Oz was a
tour de force. He displayed the full range of his physical, comedic, and dramatic talents playing the character searching for the brain that he's always had. Bolger's sympathy for
Dorothy Gale's plight, his cleverness and bravery in rescuing her from the
Wicked Witch of the West (played by
Margaret Hamilton) and his deep affection for her shone through, endearing the character in the public mind forever. Whenever queried as to whether he received any residuals from broadcasts of the
1939 classic, Bolger would reply: "No, just immortality. I'll settle for that."[
2]
Following
Oz, Bolger moved to
RKO. He starred in several more films and had a
sitcom called
Where's Raymond? from 1953 - 1955 (also known as "The Ray Bolger Show"). He also made frequent guest appearances on
television. In 1985 he and
Liza Minnelli, the daughter of his
Oz co-star
Judy Garland, starred in
That's My Mama! -- a film also written by
Jack Haley, Jr., the son of late Tin Man actor
Jack Haley.
Liza Minnelli and
Jack Haley, Jr. would have a brief marriage some years later.
Ray Bolger died in
Los Angeles, California of
cancer just five days after his 83rd birthday, and is interred at Holy Cross Cemetery,
Culver City, California, in the Mausoleum, Crypt F2, Block 35.
He was survived by his wife of almost 60 years, Gwendolyn Rickard.[
3]
At the time of his death he was the last surviving member of the main
Oz cast. An
editorial cartoon the day after his death featured the
Oz cast dancing off into the setting sun, with the Scarecrow running to catch up.
