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.
65 acting credits
Acting · 65
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962
The Mike Douglas Show
1961
The Love Boat
1977
Little House on the Prairie
1974
Tony Awards
1956
The Merv Griffin Show
1962
Fantasy Island
1978
What's My Line?
1950
The Red Skelton Show
1951
Omnibus
1967
Baretta
1975
The Colgate Comedy Hour
1950
Battlestar Galactica
1978
The Bob Hope Show
1950
The Wizard of Oz
1939
The Partridge Family
1970
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
1956
MGM Parade
1955
The Hollywood Palace
1964
Nanny and the Professor
1970
The Bell Telephone Hour
1959
Donny & Marie
1976
The Wonderful World of Disney
1954
The George Gobel Show
1954
Captains and the Kings
1976
The Judy Garland Show
1963
General Electric Theater
1953
Annie
1982
Diff'rent Strokes
1978
Where's Raymond?
1953
The Great Ziegfeld
1936
The Harvey Girls
1946
That's Dancing!
1985
That's Entertainment!
1974
Babes in Toyland
1961
A Star Is Born World Premiere
1954
Stage Door Canteen
1943
That's Entertainment! III
1994
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s: Dancing Away the Great Depression
2009
The Daydreamer
1966
Sweethearts
1938
Rosalie
1937
Just You and Me, Kid
1979
Judy Garland: By Myself
2004
Three on a Date
1978
Four Jacks and a Jill
1942
April in Paris
1952
The Entertainer
1976
The All-Star Christmas Show
1958
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic
1990
Peter and the Magic Egg
1983
Oz
—
Where's Charley?
1952
The Runner Stumbles
1979
Sunny
1941
Look for the Silver Lining
1949
The Dark Side of the Rainbow
2000
Another Romance of Celluloid: Electrical Power
1938
The Whimsical World of Oz
1985
Vaudeville
1997
To Oz! The Making of a Classic
2009
Heaven Only Knows
1979
Make Mine Laughs
1949
Backstage Party
1961
The Making of the Wizard of Oz
1979