Ray Bolger

Ray Bolger
Bolger, c. 1942
Born	Raymond Wallace Bolger[1] (1904-01-10)January 10, 1904 Dorchester, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	January 15, 1987(1987-01-15) (aged 83) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City
Occupation	Actor, TV presenter, singer, dancer
Years active	1922–1985
Known for	Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz
Spouse(s)	Gwendolyn Rickard (m. 1929–1987)

Raymond Wallace Bolger (January 10, 1904 – January 15, 1987)^[2] was an American film actor, vaudevillian, TV presenter, singer, and dancer (particularly of tap) and stage performer (particularly musical theatre) who started in the silent film era. He was a major Broadway performer in the 1930s and beyond (see below). He is best known for his portrayal of Hunk and the Scarecrow in MGM's classic The Wizard of Oz (1939). He was also the host of his eponymous television show, The Ray Bolger Show.^[2]

Early life

Bolger was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts into a Roman Catholic family of Irish descent, the son of James Edward and Anne C. (née Wallace) Bolger.^[3][4]

His entertainment aspirations evolved from the vaudeville shows of his youth. He began his career in a vaudeville tap show, creating the act "Sanford & Bolger" with his dance partner. In 1926, he danced at New York City's legendary Palace Theatre, the premier vaudeville theatre in the United States. His limber body and improvisational dance movement won him many leading roles on Broadway in the 1930s. Eventually, his career would also encompass film, television and nightclub work.^[5] In 1932 he was elected to the theater club, The Lambs.^[6]

Early career

Bolger signed his first cinema contract with MGM in 1936, and although The Wizard of Oz was early in his film career, he appeared in other movies of note. His best known pre-Oz appearance was The Great Ziegfeld (1936), in which he portrayed himself. He also appeared in Sweethearts (1938), the first MGM film in Technicolor, starring Nelson Eddy, Jeanette MacDonald. He also appeared in the Eleanor Powell vehicle Rosalie (1937), which also starred Eddy and Morgan.

The Wizard of Oz

Bolger as the Scarecrow

Bolger's MGM contract stipulated that he would play any part the studio chose. However, he was unhappy when he was originally cast as the Tin Woodman in the studio's 1939 feature film adaptation of The Wizard of Oz. The role of the Scarecrow had already been assigned to another dancing studio contract player, Buddy Ebsen. In time, the roles were shuffled around. Bolger's face was permanently lined by wearing the Scarecrow's makeup.^[7]

Post-Oz film career

Following The Wizard of Oz, Bolger moved to RKO Pictures. In 1941, he was a featured act at the Paramount Theatre in New York, working with the Harry James Band. He would do tap dance routines, sometimes in a mock-challenge dance with the band's pianist, Al Lerner. One day during this period, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and Bolger's performance was interrupted by President Roosevelt's announcement of the news of the attack.^[8] Bolger toured in USO shows with Joe E. Lewis in the Pacific Theater during World War II, and was featured in the United Artists wartime film Stage Door Canteen.

In 1946, he returned to MGM for a featured role in The Harvey Girls. Also that year, he recorded a children's album, The Churkendoose, featuring the story of a misfit fowl ("part chicken, turkey, duck, and goose") which teaches children that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it "all depends on how you look at things".

Broadway

Bolger in a publicity photo for The Bell Telephone Hour, 1963

Bolger's Broadway credits included Life Begins at 8:40 (1934), On Your Toes (1936), By Jupiter (1942), All American (1962) and Where's Charley? (1948), for which he won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical and in which he introduced "Once in Love with Amy", the song often connected with him. He repeated his stage role in the 1952 film version of the musical.^[9]

Television

Bolger appeared in his own ABC television sitcom with a variety show theme, Where's Raymond? (1953–1954), renamed the second year as The Ray Bolger Show (1954–55).^[10] He continued to star in several films, including Walt Disney's remake of Babes in Toyland (1961) and smaller cameos throughout the 1960s and 1970.

Bolger made frequent guest appearances on television, including the episode "Rich Man, Poor Man" of the short-lived The Jean Arthur Show in 1966. In the 1970s, he had a recurring role as Fred Renfrew, the father of Shirley Partridge (Shirley Jones) on The Partridge Family, and appeared in Little House on the Prairie as Toby Noe and also guest starred on other television series such as Battlestar Galactica,Fantasy Island and The Love Boat. In the late 1970s, reaching back to his Irish roots, Bolger played in a commercial for Safeway Supermarket's "Scotch Buy" brand. It covered many products ranging from canned food to paper towels to beer and cigarettes. Bolger popularized the jingle, "Scotch Buy - taint fancy but it shore is good."^[11] His last television appearance was on Diff'rent Strokes in 1984, three years before his death.^[12]

In his later years, he danced in a Dr Pepper television commercial, and in 1985, he and Liza Minnelli, the daughter of his Oz costar Judy Garland, starred in That's Dancing!, a film also written by Jack Haley, Jr., the son of Jack Haley, who portrayed the Tin Woodman in The Wizard of Oz.

Honours

In 1998, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars was dedicated to him.^[13]

He was a Roman Catholic, and a member of the Good Shepherd Parish and the Catholic Motion Picture Guild in Beverly Hills, California.^[14]

Bolger was a staunch Republican who campaigned for Richard Nixon in 1968.^[15]

Death and legacy

Ray and Gwendolyn Bolger's grave at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City

Bolger died of bladder cancer on January 15, 1987, in Los Angeles, five days after his 83rd birthday.^[2] He was interred at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City. He and his wife of over 57 years, Gwendolyn Rickard, had no children.^[16]

At the time of his death, he was the last surviving main credited cast member of The Wizard of Oz.^[17] At Judy Garland's funeral, Bolger was the only one of her Oz costars to be present. He joined Harold Arlen, the composer of "Over the Rainbow", and his wife, Anya Taranda. They were reported as among the last remaining guests at the conclusion of the service.^[18]

Whenever asked whether he received any residuals from telecasts of the 1939 classic, Bolger would reply: "No, just immortality. I'll settle for that."^[19] Bolger's Scarecrow is ranked among the "most beloved movie characters of all time" by AMC and the American Film Institute.^[20][21]

For his contributions to the film industry, Bolger received a motion pictures star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. It is located at 6788 Hollywood Boulevard.^[22]

Filmography

Stage work

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ray Bolger.

• Ray Bolger on IMDb
• Ray Bolger at the TCM Movie Database
• Ray Bolger at AllMovie
• Churkendoose album (mp3)
• "Did these stories Really Happen" by Michelle Bernier. Createspace Pub. 2010; ISBN 1-4505-8536-1