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IMDbPro

Bert Lahr(1895-1967)

  • Actor
  • Writer
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
Bert Lahr in The Ed Sullivan Show (1948)
An orphan living in the Canadian wilderness, falls in love with her guardian, an officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. But, when she leaves to learn proper etiquette, she meets a trapper, who also falls for her. Further complications arise when Native American Chief Black Eagle, a rival of Duval's, is murdered.
Play trailer4:17
Rose Marie (1954)
14 Videos
85 Photos
Fittingly known to be a "Leo" for his horoscope, Bert Lahr is always remembered as the Cowardly Lion in (and the farmer "Zeke") The Wizard of Oz (1939). But during his acting career, he has been known for being in burlesque, vaudeville, and Broadway.

Dropped out of high school at the age of fifteen for a juvenile vaudeville act, Lahr worked his way up to the top billing of the Columbia Burlesque Circuit. When in Broadway, Lahr usually plays a comic actor in plays which he starred in such as the classic routine The Song of the Woodman, which he would later perform in Merry-Go-Round of 1938 (1937).

Aside from The Wizard of Oz (1939), Lahr's movie career never caught on because his gestures and reactions were too broad. Lahr died in 1967.
BornAugust 13, 1895
DiedDecember 4, 1967(72)
BornAugust 13, 1895
DiedDecember 4, 1967(72)
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank

Photos85

Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, and Bert Lahr in The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Bert Lahr in Meet the People (1944)
June Allyson, Lucille Ball, and Bert Lahr in Meet the People (1944)
Lucille Ball, Spike Jones, Bert Lahr, Joe Ploski, Dick Powell, Ziggie Talent, and Spike Jones and His City Slickers in Meet the People (1944)
Jerome Cowan, Bert Lahr, Virginia Mayo, and Julius Tannen in Always Leave Them Laughing (1949)
Claudette Colbert and Bert Lahr in Zaza (1938)
Bert Lahr in Max Liebman Spectaculars (1954)
Jack Carson, Robert Alda, Vince Edwards, Bert Lahr, Janis Paige, and Maxie Rosenbloom in Mister Universe (1951)
Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, and Terry in The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Clara Blandick, Charley Grapewin, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, Frank Morgan, and Terry in The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Jack Carson, Vince Edwards, Bert Lahr, and Maxie Rosenbloom in Mister Universe (1951)
Bert Lahr in The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Known for

Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, and Frank Morgan in The Wizard of Oz (1939)
The Wizard of Oz
8.1
  • 'Zeke'
  • The Cowardly Lion
  • 1939
Buddy Ebsen, June Havoc, Patsy Kelly, Bert Lahr, Sam Levene, Dorothy Lovett, and Alvino Rey in Sing Your Worries Away (1942)
Sing Your Worries Away
5.8
  • Clarence 'Chow' Brewster
  • 1942
Eleanor Powell, Tommy Dorsey, and Red Skelton in Ship Ahoy (1942)
Ship Ahoy
6.4
  • 'Skip' Owens
  • 1942
Lucille Ball, Spike Jones, Bert Lahr, Vaughn Monroe, Virginia O'Brien, and Dick Powell in Meet the People (1944)
Meet the People
5.7
  • The Commander
  • 1944

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor

  • The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968)
    The Night They Raided Minsky's
  • Summer Fun
  • Thompson's Ghost
  • Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (1963)
    Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
  • Stanley Holloway and Bert Lahr in The Fantasticks (1964)
    The Fantasticks
  • Angela Lansbury and Tuesday Weld in The Eleventh Hour (1962)
    The Eleventh Hour
  • Ten Girls Ago
  • The Secret World of Eddie Hodges (1960)
    The Secret World of Eddie Hodges
  • Startime (1959)
    Startime
  • A Tale of Old Whiff
    • (voice)
  • Rendezvous (1957)
    Rendezvous
  • Ronald Reagan in General Electric Theater (1953)
    General Electric Theater
  • Omnibus (1952)
    Omnibus
    • ...
  • Kraft Theatre (1947)
    The United States Steel Hour
  • Kraft Theatre (1947)
    Kraft Theatre

Writer

  • Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, and Frank Morgan in The Wizard of Oz (1939)
    The Wizard of Oz
    • (uncredited)

Soundtrack

  • Tom Hardy in Capone (2020)
    Capone
  • Prettier Than Ever: The Restoration of Oz (2005)
    Prettier Than Ever: The Restoration of Oz
    • (uncredited)
  • Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows (2001)
    Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows
    • (uncredited)
  • Quest for Camelot Sing-Alongs (1998)
    Quest for Camelot Sing-Alongs
  • That's Entertainment! (1974)
    That's Entertainment!
    • (uncredited)
  • Stanley Holloway and Bert Lahr in The Fantasticks (1964)
    The Fantasticks
    • (uncredited)
  • Clark Gable, Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, Buster Keaton, Groucho Marx, Spencer Tracy, Lucille Ball, Lionel Barrymore, Wallace Beery, Joan Crawford, W.C. Fields, Greta Garbo, Oliver Hardy, Jean Harlow, Carole Lombard, Myrna Loy, William Powell, Robert Taylor, Melvyn Douglas, Jimmy Durante, Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Bud Abbott, Robert Benchley, Lou Costello, Marion Davies, Marie Dressler, Curly Howard, Bert Lahr, Stan Laurel, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, Gail Patrick, Zasu Pitts, Red Skelton, Lewis Stone, Franchot Tone, Lee Tracy, Lupe Velez, Asta, The Three Stooges, and The Marx Brothers in The Big Parade of Comedy (1964)
    The Big Parade of Comedy
    • (uncredited)
  • Jeanne Crain and George Nader in The Second Greatest Sex (1955)
    The Second Greatest Sex
  • MGM Parade (1955)
    MGM Parade
    • (uncredited)
  • Ann Blyth and Howard Keel in Rose Marie (1954)
    Rose Marie
  • The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950)
    The Colgate Comedy Hour
    • (uncredited)
  • Milton Berle, Bert Lahr, Virginia Mayo, and Ruth Roman in Always Leave Them Laughing (1949)
    Always Leave Them Laughing
    • (uncredited)
  • Lucille Ball, Spike Jones, Bert Lahr, Vaughn Monroe, Virginia O'Brien, and Dick Powell in Meet the People (1944)
    Meet the People
  • Eleanor Powell, Tommy Dorsey, and Red Skelton in Ship Ahoy (1942)
    Ship Ahoy
    • ("The Last Call for Love" (1942))
  • Buddy Ebsen, June Havoc, Patsy Kelly, Bert Lahr, Sam Levene, Dorothy Lovett, and Alvino Rey in Sing Your Worries Away (1942)
    Sing Your Worries Away

Videos14

Nothing But A Coward
Clip 2:12
Nothing But A Coward
Munchkinland
Clip 1:57
Munchkinland
Meeting the Wizard
Clip 2:35
Meeting the Wizard
I'm Melting
Clip 1:18
I'm Melting
No Place Like Home
Clip 0:53
No Place Like Home
Trailer
Trailer 4:17
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 3:09
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:02
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:29
Official Trailer
The Wizard of Oz: 75th Anniversary
Trailer 2:20
The Wizard of Oz: 75th Anniversary
The Wizard of Oz: 75th Anniversary
Trailer 2:32
The Wizard of Oz: 75th Anniversary
Anything Goes
Trailer 2:13
Anything Goes

Personal details

Edit
    • August 13, 1895
    • New York City, New York, USA
    • December 4, 1967
    • New York City, New York, USA(hemorrhage and pneumonia)
    • February 11, 1940 - December 4, 1967 (his death, 2 children)
    • John Lahr
  • Other works
    Stage: Appeared (Broadway debut) in "Harry Delmar's Revels" on Broadway. Musical revue. Music by James V. Monaco, Jesse Greer and Lester Lee. Book by Billy K. Wells. Lyrics by Billy Rose and Ballard MacDonald. Shubert Theatre: 28 Nov 1927-Mar 1928 (closing date unknown/112 performances). Cast: Hugh Cameron, Glen Dale, Helyn Eby Rock, Frank Fay, William Gaxton, Janne Hackett, The Chester Hale Girls, Dorothea James, Patsy Kelly, Dick Lancaster, Artie Leeming, Winnie Lightner, E. Mercedes, Carolyn Nolte, The Patterson Sisters, The Trado Twins, Ivan Triesault. Produced by Sam Baerwitz and Harry Delmar.
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Print Biography
    • 1 Portrayal
    • 4 Articles
    • 1 Magazine Cover Photo

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Judy Garland heard of Lahr's death as she was about to go on stage in Las Vegas. At her performance that night, she dedicated "Over the Rainbow" to the memory of Lahr, or, as she referred to him on that occasion, "my beloved Cowardly Lion.".
  • Quotes
    After The Wizard of Oz (1939), I was typecast as a lion, and there aren't all that many parts for lions.
    • Slow warbling vibrato singing voice, most notably used in The Wizard of Oz (1939), but also noted in other movies including Rose Marie (1954), as well as on Broadway.
    • The Wizard of Oz
      (1939)
      $3,000 a week.

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