Biography for
Ray Bolger More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

10 January 1904, Dorchester, Massachusetts, USA

Date of Death

15 January 1987, Los Angeles, California, USA (cancer)

Birth Name

Raymond Wallace Bulcao

Height

5' 10½" (1.79 m)

Mini 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.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Donovan Webber

Spouse

Gwendolyn Bolger

(9 July 1929 - 15 January 1987) (his death)

Trade Mark

"Rubbery" dancing style

Trivia

Interred at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California, USA, in the Mausoleum, Crypt F2, Block 35.

Dancer, best known as the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz (1939).

Won the 1948-49 Tony Award, as well as two Donaldson Awards. In 1980, he was elected to the Theatre Hall of Fame.

He was always closely identified with the Scarecrow. He once guest starred on the show 'Password.' When the word "Ray" came up, he said to his partner "Me!" His partner readily answered "Scarecrow!"

Great-uncle of actor John Bolger.

Was the last surviving star of The Wizard of Oz (1939).

Won Broadway's 1949 Tony Award as Best Actor (Musical) for "Where's Charley?," a part he recreated in the film version, Where's Charley? (1952). He was also nominated in the same Tony category in 1962 for "All American.".

Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume Two, 1986-1990, pages 115-116. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1999.

Made his first Broadway stage appearance in 1926.

Personal Quotes

(on playing the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz (1939)) I knew that I was taking part in a strange kind of adventure.

[When asked how much money he made from the repeat showings of The Wizard of Oz, he and his wife often responded] No residuals, just immortality.