Ray Bolger

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

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
The Love Boat
The Love Boat
Tony Awards
The Red Skelton Show
Little House on the Prairie
The Merv Griffin Show
The Bob Hope Show
The Colgate Comedy Hour
What's My Line?
Baretta
Fantasy Island
The Wizard of Oz
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
Omnibus
Battlestar Galactica
The Partridge Family
The Partridge Family
The Hollywood Palace
Donny & Marie
The Bell Telephone Hour
The Bell Telephone Hour
Nanny and the Professor
The George Gobel Show
Peter and the Magic Egg
Make Mine Laughs
Annie
The Runner Stumbles
Captains and the Kings
To Oz! The Making of a Classic
Look for the Silver Lining
Where's Raymond?
Sunny
The Whimsical World of Oz
The Making of the Wizard of Oz
The Judy Garland Show
Sweethearts
A Star Is Born World Premiere
The Wonderful World of Disney
The Daydreamer
The Dark Side of the Rainbow
Diff'rent Strokes
Judy Garland: By Myself
The Harvey Girls
The Great Ziegfeld
That's Dancing!
General Electric Theater
General Electric Theater
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s: Dancing Away the Great Depression
Just You and Me, Kid
April in Paris
Rosalie
Stage Door Canteen
That's Entertainment!
Four Jacks and a Jill
Babes in Toyland
Where's Charley?
Backstage Party
That's Entertainment! III
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: 50 Years of Magic
The Entertainer
Three on a Date
Another Romance of Celluloid: Electrical Power