Ray Bolger
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Jan 10, 1904
- Died
- Jan 15, 1987 (aged 83)
- Place of birth
- Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Credits
- 66
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
The Wizard of Oz
1939Movie
Scarecrow / Hunk
Little House on the Prairie
1974TV
Toby Noe
Annie
1982Movie
Sound Effects Man at Radio Station (uncredited)
Diff'rent Strokes
1978TV
Battlestar Galactica
1978TV
Vector
The Love Boat
1977TV
Horace McDonald, Andy Hopkins
Filmography
To Oz! The Making of a Classic
2009Movie
Self
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s: Dancing Away the Great Depression
2009Movie
Self (archive footage)
Judy Garland: By Myself
2004Movie
Self - Actor (archive sound)
The Dark Side of the Rainbow
2000Movie
'Hunk' (archive footage)
Vaudeville
1997Movie
Self (archive footage)
That's Entertainment! III
1994Movie
(archive footage) (uncredited)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: 50 Years of Magic
1990Movie
Self (archive footage)
That's Dancing!
1985Movie
Self - Host
The Whimsical World of Oz
1985Movie
Self
Peter and the Magic Egg
1983Movie
Uncle Amos (voice)
Annie
1982Movie
Sound Effects Man at Radio Station (uncredited)
The Runner Stumbles
1979Movie
Monsignor Nicholson
Just You and Me, Kid
1979Movie
Tom
The Making of the Wizard of Oz
1979Movie
Self
Heaven Only Knows
1979Movie
Simon
Diff'rent Strokes
1978TV
Battlestar Galactica
1978TV
Vector
Three on a Date
1978Movie
Andrew
Fantasy Island
1978TV
Spencer Randolph, Gaylord Nelson
The Love Boat
1977TV
Horace McDonald, Andy Hopkins
Captains and the Kings
1976TV
R.J. Squibbs
The Entertainer
1976Movie
Billy Rice
Donny & Marie
1976TV
Self
Baretta
1975TV
Little House on the Prairie
1974TV
Toby Noe
That's Entertainment!
1974Movie
(archive footage) (uncredited)
The Partridge Family
1970TV
Grandpa Fred Renfrew, Grandpa Walter Renfrew
Nanny and the Professor
1970TV
Uncle Horace
Omnibus
1967TV
Self
The Daydreamer
1966Movie
The Pieman
The Hollywood Palace
1964TV
Self - Host
The Judy Garland Show
1963TV
Self
The Merv Griffin Show
1962TV
Self
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962TV
Self
Backstage Party
1961Movie
Self
Babes in Toyland
1961Movie
Barnaby
The Mike Douglas Show
1961TV
Self, Self - Co-Host
The Bell Telephone Hour
1959TV
Self, Self - Host
The All-Star Christmas Show
1958Movie
Self
Washington Square
1956TV
Self - HOst
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
1956TV
Self
Tony Awards
1956TV
Self - Presenter
MGM Parade
1955TV
The Wonderful World of Disney
1954TV
Self
The George Gobel Show
1954TV
Self
A Star Is Born World Premiere
1954Movie
Self
Where's Raymond?
1953TV
Raymond Wallace
General Electric Theater
1953TV
Alfred Boggs, Stan Maylor
April in Paris
1952Movie
Sam Winthrop Putnam
Where's Charley?
1952Movie
Charley Wykeham
The Red Skelton Show
1951TV
'Mayor' Threadbare III
The Colgate Comedy Hour
1950TV
Self - Host
The Bob Hope Show
1950TV
Self
What's My Line?
1950TV
Self
Make Mine Laughs
1949Movie
(archive footage)
Look for the Silver Lining
1949Movie
Jack Donahue
The Harvey Girls
1946Movie
Chris Maule
Stage Door Canteen
1943Movie
Ray Bolger
Four Jacks and a Jill
1942Movie
Nifty Sullivan, a Jack
Sunny
1941Movie
Bunny Billings
The Wizard of Oz
1939Movie
Scarecrow / Hunk
Another Romance of Celluloid: Electrical Power
1938Movie
Self (uncredited)
Sweethearts
1938Movie
Hans
Rosalie
1937Movie
Bill Delroy
The Great Ziegfeld
1936Movie
Ray Bolger
Oz
Movie
Self / Scarecrow (archive footage)