Ray Bolger
in the film Stage Door Canteen (1943)
Birth name	Raymond Wallace Bolger[1][2]
Born	January 10, 1904(1904-01-10) Dorchester, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	January 15, 1987 (aged 83), aged 83 Los Angeles, California
Years active	1936 - 1985
Spouse(s)	Gwendolyn Rickard (1929 - 1987) (his death)

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") who was Dorothy's favorite in the 1939 film classic, The Wizard of Oz. ^[3] Image File history File links RayBolgerStageDoorCanteen. ... Stage Door Canteen is a 1943 film. ... is the 10th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (see link for calendar). ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... 1888 German map of Boston Harbor showing Dorchester in the lower left hand corner. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... is the 15th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ... Los Angeles and L.A. redirect here. ... See also: 1935 in film 1936 1937 in film 1930s in film years in film film // Events January 6 - first Porky Pig animated cartoon September 28 - The Marx Brothers Harpo Marx marries actress Susan Fleming Top grossing films in North America Red River Valley Academy Awards Best Picture: The Great... // Back to the Future, starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd and Lea Thompson Rambo: First Blood Part II, starring Sylvester Stallone Rocky IV, starring Sylvester Stallone The Color Purple, starring Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover, Oprah Winfrey, Margaret Avery, Rae Dawn Chong, Adolph Caesar Out of Africa, starring Meryl Streep and... Year 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 10th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (see link for calendar). ... is the 15th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ... Cover of The Scarecrow of Oz (1915) by L. Frank Baum; illustration by John R. Neill. ... Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Wizard of Oz (film) redirects here. ...

Biography

Early life

Bolger was born Raymond Wallace Bulcao [1], [2] and spent his early life in a predominantly Irish neighborhood in Dorchester, Massachusetts. His father, James Edward Bulcao, was a house-painter of Portugese extraction; his mother, Anne Wallace, an Irish-American, was a homemaker. Both parents were Roman Catholics. Raymond 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. Eventually, his career would also encompass film, television and nightclub work. The word Portuguese can mean: From or related to Portugal The ethnic Portuguese people, see list of Portuguese people The Portuguese language Portuguese Creole Portuguese sidewalk Elizabeth Barrett Browning, who was nicknamed My little Portuguese by her husband Robert Browning. ... For other uses of Broadway, see Broadway. ... Face The 1930s (years from 1930–1939) were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression, also known in Europe as the World Depression. ...

Career

His film career began when he signed a contract with MGM in 1936. His best-known film prior to The Wizard of Oz was The Great Ziegfeld (1936), in which he portrayed himself. MGM logo Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer or MGM, is a large media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of cinema and television programs. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Wizard of Oz (film) redirects here. ... Categories: Movie stubs | 1936 films | Drama films | Musical films | Biographical films | Best Picture Oscar | Best Actress Oscar (film) ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Bolger as the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz (1939)

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. United States entertainer Ray Bolger in his most famous role as the Scarecrow (Oz) from the 1939 MGM film The Wizard of Oz. ... United States entertainer Ray Bolger in his most famous role as the Scarecrow (Oz) from the 1939 MGM film The Wizard of Oz. ... Buddy Ebsen (April 2, 1908 – July 6, 2003) was an American actor and dancer, who is best-remembered for his role as Jed Clampett in the popular television series The Beverly Hillbillies. ...

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 Tin Man role to be filled by Jack Haley. The heart and lungs (from an older edition of Grays Anatomy) The lung is an organ belonging to the respiratory system and interfacing to the circulatory system of air-breathing vertebrates. ... Jack Haley August 10, 1898-June 6, 1979, was an American film actor best known for his portrayal of The Tin Man (and farmworker Hickory) in The Wizard of Oz, which role he got only because actor Buddy Ebsen had a near-fatal reaction from ingesting the aluminum dust makeup...

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 has always had. The Scarecrow'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 -- and Bolger -- in the public mind forever. Whenever queried as to whether he received any residuals from telecasts of the 1939 classic, Bolger would reply: "No, just immortality. I'll settle for that."[3] Doctor Who character, see Ace (Doctor Who). ... The Wicked Witch, as portrayed by Margaret Hamilton in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz The Wicked Witch of the West (or simply The Wicked Witch) is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum in his childrens books. ... Margaret Hamilton could also refer to a local politician in the United Kingdom. ... Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Following Oz, Bolger moved to RKO. In 1946, he recorded a memorable children's album, "The Churkendoose", featuring the story of a misfit fowl ("part chicken, turkey, duck, and goose") who teaches kids that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it all "depends on how you look at things". RKO could stand for: RKO Pictures The R.K.O. - finishing manoever (and initials) of WWE professional wrestler Randy Orton. ...

Bolger also 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 Dancing" -- 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. A sitcom or situation comedy is a genre of comedy performance originally devised for radio but today typically found on television. ... This article is about the year. ... Liza Minnelli (born March 12, 1946 in Los Angeles, California) is an American actress and singer. ... Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922 – June 22, 1969) was an Academy Award-nominated American film actress and singer, best known for her role as Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz (1939). ... Jack Haley, Jr (October 25, 1933 - April 21, 2001) was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Tin Man Jack Haley and his wife Florence. ... Jack Haley August 10, 1898-June 6, 1979, was an American film actor best known for his portrayal of The Tin Man (and farmworker Hickory) in The Wizard of Oz, which role he got only because actor Buddy Ebsen had a near-fatal reaction from ingesting the aluminum dust makeup... Liza Minnelli (born March 12, 1946 in Los Angeles, California) is an American actress and singer. ... Jack Haley, Jr (October 25, 1933 - April 21, 2001) was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Tin Man Jack Haley and his wife Florence. ...

Bolger's Broadway credits included On Your Toes, By Jupiter, All American, and Where's Charley?, for which he won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical and in which he introduced "Once in Love with Amy," the song most often connected with him. For other uses of Broadway, see Broadway. ... On Your Toes has two possible meanings. ... Ray Bolger in the original Broadway production of By Jupiter By Jupiter is a musical with a book by Lorenz Hart and Richard Rodgers, music by Rodgers, and lyrics by Hart. ... All American is a musical with a book by Mel Brooks, lyrics by Lee Adams, and music by Charles Strouse. ... Wheres Charley is a theatre musical with music & lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by George Abbott. ... What is popularly called the Tony Award (formally, the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre) is an annual award celebrating achievements in live American theater, including musical theater, primarily honoring productions on Broadway in New York. ...

Death

Bolger died of bladder cancer on January 15, 1987 (five days after his 83rd birthday) in Los Angeles, California. ^[3] He was interred at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California, in the Mausoleum, Crypt F2, Block 35. Bladder cancer refers to any of several types of malignant growths of the urinary bladder. ... Los Angeles and L.A. redirect here. ... Holy Cross Cemetery is located at 5835 W. Slauson Avenue in Culver City, California. ... Motto: The Heart of Screenland Location of Culver City in California Coordinates: Country United States of America State California County Los Angeles Incorporated (city) 1917-09-07 [2] Government  - City Manager Jerry Fulwood [1] Area  - City  5. ...

He was survived by his wife of 57 1/2 years, Gwendolyn Rickard.^[4] At the time of his death, he was the last surviving member of the main Oz cast. An editorial cartoon on January 17, by Chicago Tribune artist Dick Locher, featured the Oz cast dancing off into the setting sun and toward the Emerald City, with the Scarecrow running to catch up. This cartoon was reproduced in the book The Wizard of Oz: The Official 50th Anniversary Pictorial History, Warner, 1989, p.242. William Lyon Mackenzie King is freed from his Conscription promise by Johnny Canuck. ... // The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois and owned by the Tribune Company. ...

References

The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... is the 16th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 202nd day of the year (203rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Ray Bolger

• Ray Bolger at the Internet Movie Database
• Ray Bolger at TV.com
• Ray Bolger at Broadway Database
• "Churkendoose" Album (mp3)