Ray Bolger
Ray Bolger began his career in vaudeville. He was half of a team called "Sanford and Bolger" and also did numerous Broadway shows on his own. He, like Gene Kelly, was a song-and-dance man as well as an actor. He was signed to a contract with MGM in 1936 and his first role was as himself in The Great Ziegfeld (1936). This was soon followed by a role opposite Eleanor Powell in Rosalie (1937). His first dancing and singing role was in Sweethearts (1938), where he did the "wooden shoes" number with red-headed soprano/actress Jeanette MacDonald. This got him noticed by MGM producers and resulted in his being cast in his most famous role, that of the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz (1939). Surprisingly, even though the film was a success, Bolger's contract with MGM ended. He went to RKO to make Four Jacks and a Jill (1942). After this, Bolger went to Broadway, where he received his greatest satisfaction. In 1953 he turned to television and got his own sitcom, Where's Raymond? (1953), later changed to "The Ray Bolger Show". After his series ended, Bolger made frequent guest appearances on TV and had some small roles in movies. In 1985 he co-hosted That's Dancing! (1985) with Liza Minnelli. Bolger died in 1987 at the age of 83. Interred at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California, USA, in the Mausoleum, Crypt F2, Block 35.
Known for
Tony Awards
Self - Presenter
The Love Boat
Horace McDonald
The Love Boat
Andy Hopkins
What's My Line?
Self - Mystery Guest
Little House on the Prairie
The Partridge Family
Grandpa Fred Renfrew
The Partridge Family
Grandpa Walter Renfrew
The Colgate Comedy Hour
Self - Host
The Hollywood Palace
Self - Host
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
Self
The Wonderful World of Disney
Self
Baretta
The Bell Telephone Hour
Self
The Bell Telephone Hour
Self - Host
The Judy Garland Show
Self
Nanny and the Professor
Uncle Horace
The George Gobel Show
Self
Fantasy Island
Spencer Randolph
The Wizard of Oz
"Hunk" / Scarecrow
Diff'rent Strokes
Omnibus
Self
Where's Raymond?
Raymond Wallace
Battlestar Galactica
Vector
Captains and the Kings
R.J. Squibbs
Annie
Sound Effects Man at Radio Station (uncredited)
General Electric Theater
Alfred Boggs
General Electric Theater
Stan Maylor
That's Entertainment! III
(archive footage)
That's Entertainment!
(archive footage)
Stage Door Canteen
Ray Bolger
The Harvey Girls
Chris Maule
The Great Ziegfeld
Ray Bolger
That's Dancing!
Self - Host
Babes in Toyland
Barnaby
The Daydreamer
The Pieman
A Star Is Born World Premiere
Self
Judy Garland: By Myself
Self - Actor (archive sound)
Rosalie
Bill Delroy
Just You and Me, Kid
Tom
Sunny
Bunny Billings
Lynch/Oz
Scarecrow (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: 50 Years of Magic
Self (archive footage)
April in Paris
Sam Winthrop Putnam
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s: Dancing Away the Great Depression
Self (archive)
Three on a Date
Andrew
The Runner Stumbles
Monsignor Nicholson
The Dark Side of the Rainbow
'Hunk' (archive footage)
Backstage Party
Self
The Entertainer
Billy Rice
Sweethearts
Hans
The Dark Side of Oz
Hunk / Scarecrow (archive footage)
Look for the Silver Lining
Jack Donahue
Where's Charley?
Charley Wykeham
Peter and the Magic Egg
Uncle Amos (voice)
Four Jacks and a Jill
Nifty Sullivan, a Jack
The Whimsical World of Oz
Self
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
Make Mine Laughs
(archive footage)
Another Romance of Celluloid: Electrical Power
Self (uncredited)
To Oz! The Making of a Classic
Self
Harold Arlen's Home Movies on set of The Wizard of Oz
The Making of the Wizard of Oz
Self
The Mike Douglas Show
Self
The Mike Douglas Show
Self - Co-Host
The Merv Griffin Show
Self
The Red Skelton Show
'Mayor' Threadbare III
The Bob Hope Show
Self
Donny & Marie
Self