Ray Bolger
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
68
Gender
Male
Birthday
1904-01-10
Day of death
1987-01-15 (83 years old)
Place of Birth
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Ray Bolger
Biography
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 Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Mike Douglas Show
The Mike Douglas Show
Little House on the Prairie
The Love Boat
The Love Boat
Tony Awards
The Merv Griffin Show
The Wizard of Oz
The Red Skelton Show
Omnibus
Fantasy Island
What's My Line?
Baretta
Battlestar Galactica
The Bob Hope Show
The Colgate Comedy Hour
The Partridge Family
The Partridge Family
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
Donny & Marie
Annie
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s: Dancing Away the Great Depression
The Daydreamer
The Hollywood Palace
The Bell Telephone Hour
The Bell Telephone Hour
Nanny and the Professor
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic
The George Gobel Show
Sunny
Rosalie
A Star Is Born World Premiere
The Wonderful World of Disney
Where's Raymond?
Captains and the Kings
Babes in Toyland
The Judy Garland Show
Make Mine Laughs
That's Dancing!
Backstage Party
Diff'rent Strokes
The Great Ziegfeld
That's Entertainment!
The Runner Stumbles
The Harvey Girls
Peter and the Magic Egg
The Dark Side of the Rainbow
Just You and Me, Kid
Look for the Silver Lining
April in Paris
To Oz! The Making of a Classic
Judy Garland: By Myself
Stage Door Canteen
Heaven Only Knows
That's Entertainment! III
Four Jacks and a Jill
General Electric Theater
General Electric Theater
The Whimsical World of Oz
Where's Charley?
Oz
The Making of the Wizard of Oz
Three on a Date
Another Romance of Celluloid: Electrical Power
Sweethearts
The Entertainer
The All-Star Christmas Show
