Ray Bolger
Acting
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.
TV Shows(28)
Diff'rent Strokes
1978
Battlestar Galactica
Vector
1978
Fantasy Island
Spencer Randolph
1978
The Love Boat
Horace McDonald
1977
Captains and the Kings
R.J. Squibbs
1976
Donny & Marie
Self
1976
Baretta
1975
Little House on the Prairie
Toby Noe
1974
The Partridge Family
Grandpa Fred Renfrew
1970
Nanny and the Professor
Uncle Horace
1970
Omnibus
Self
1967
The Hollywood Palace
Self - Host
1964
The Judy Garland Show
Self
1963
The Merv Griffin Show
Self
1962
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
1962
The Mike Douglas Show
Self
1961
The Bell Telephone Hour
Self
1959
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
Self
1956
Tony Awards
Self - Presenter
1956
MGM Parade
1955
The Wonderful World of Disney
Self
1954
The George Gobel Show
Self
1954
Where's Raymond?
Raymond Wallace
1953
General Electric Theater
Alfred Boggs
1953
The Red Skelton Show
'Mayor' Threadbare III
1951
The Colgate Comedy Hour
Self - Host
1950
The Bob Hope Show
Self
1950
What's My Line?
Self - Mystery Guest
1950
Movies(37)
To Oz! The Making of a Classic
Self
2009
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s: Dancing Away the Great Depression
Self (archive footage)
2009
Judy Garland: By Myself
Self - Actor (archive sound)
2004
The Dark Side of the Rainbow
'Hunk' (archive footage)
2000
Vaudeville
Self (archive footage)
1997
That's Entertainment! III
(archive footage)
1994
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic
Self (archive footage)
1990
That's Dancing!
Self - Host
1985
The Whimsical World of Oz
Self
1985
Peter and the Magic Egg
Uncle Amos (voice)
1983
Annie
Sound Effects Man at Radio Station (uncredited)
1982
The Runner Stumbles
Monsignor Nicholson
1979
Just You and Me, Kid
Tom
1979
The Making of the Wizard of Oz
Self
1979
Heaven Only Knows
Simon
1979
Three on a Date
Andrew
1978
The Entertainer
Billy Rice
1976
That's Entertainment!
(archive footage)
1974
The Daydreamer
The Pieman
1966
Backstage Party
Self
1961
Babes in Toyland
Barnaby
1961
The All-Star Christmas Show
Self
1958
A Star Is Born World Premiere
Self
1954
April in Paris
Sam Winthrop Putnam
1952
Where's Charley?
Charley Wykeham
1952
Make Mine Laughs
(archive footage)
1949
Look for the Silver Lining
Jack Donahue
1949
The Harvey Girls
Chris Maule
1946
Stage Door Canteen
Ray Bolger
1943
Four Jacks and a Jill
Nifty Sullivan, a Jack
1942
Sunny
Bunny Billings
1941
The Wizard of Oz
"Hunk" / Scarecrow
1939
Another Romance of Celluloid: Electrical Power
Self (uncredited)
1938
Sweethearts
Hans
1938
Rosalie
Bill Delroy
1937
The Great Ziegfeld
Ray Bolger
1936
Oz
Self / Scarecrow (archive footage)