Ray Bolger

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Ray Bolger
Ray Bolger 1942.jpg
Bolger in 1942
Born
Raymond Wallace Bolger[1]

(1904-01-10)January 10, 1904
Dorchester, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedJanuary 15, 1987(1987-01-15) (aged 83)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting placeHoly Cross Cemetery, Culver City
Occupation
Years active1922–1985
Known forScarecrow in The Wizard of Oz
Barnaby in Babes in Toyland
Spouse(s)
Gwendolyn Rickard
​
(m. 1929)​

Raymond Wallace Bolger (January 10, 1904 – January 15, 1987)[2] was an American actor, dancer, singer, vaudevillian and stage performer (particularly musical theatre) who started in the silent-film era. He was a major Broadway performer in the 1930s and beyond. He is best known for his role as the Scarecrow and his Kansas counterpart farm worker "Hunk" in The Wizard of Oz (1939) and the villainous Barnaby in Walt Disney's holiday musical fantasy Babes in Toyland. He was also the host of The Ray Bolger Show on TV from 1953 and 1955, originally known as Where's Raymond?[2]

Early life[]

Bolger was born at 598 Second St., South Boston, Massachusetts, into a Catholic family of Irish descent, the son of James Edward Bolger and Anne C. nee Wallace.[3][4] His father James was first-generation Irish, and was born in Fall River, Massachusetts; his mother "Annie" who had a large Italian family, was born in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.[5] He grew up and attended school in the Codman Square section of Dorchester neighborhood of Boston.[6] After graduating from high school, he worked for a peanut company, as a bank messenger, and for the New England Mutual Life Insurance Company, before finding his way to vaudeville by gaining a role on Broadway in The Passing Show of 1926.

Career[]

Early career[]

His entertainment aspirations evolved from the vaudeville shows of his youth. He began his career in a vaudeville tap show, creating the act "Sanford & Bolger" with his dance partner. In 1926, he danced at New York City's legendary Palace Theatre, the premier vaudeville theatre in the United States. His limber body and improvisational dance movements won him many leading roles on Broadway in the 1930s. Eventually, his career also encompassed film, television, and nightclub work.[7] In 1932 he was elected to the theater club, The Lambs[8] and performed on opening night at Radio City Music Hall in December 1932.[9]

Bolger signed his first cinema contract with MGM in 1936, and although The Wizard of Oz was early in his film career, he appeared in other movies of note. His best known pre-Oz appearance was The Great Ziegfeld (1936), in which he portrayed himself. He also appeared in Sweethearts (1938), the first MGM film in Technicolor, starring Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald. He also appeared in the Eleanor Powell vehicle Rosalie (1937), which also starred Eddy and Frank Morgan.

The Wizard of Oz[]

Bolger as the Scarecrow

Bolger's MGM contract stipulated that he would play any part the studio chose. However, he was unhappy when he was originally cast as the Tin Woodman in the studio's 1939 feature-film adaptation of The Wizard of Oz. The role of the Scarecrow had already been assigned to another dancing, studio-contract player, Buddy Ebsen. In time, the roles were shuffled around. Bolger's face was permanently lined by wearing the Scarecrow's makeup.[10]

Post-Oz film career[]

Following The Wizard of Oz, Bolger moved to RKO Pictures. In 1941, he was a featured act at the Paramount Theatre in New York, working with the Harry James Band. He would do tap dance routines, sometimes in a mock-challenge dance with the band's pianist, Al Lerner. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and Bolger's performance was interrupted by President Roosevelt's announcement of the news of the attack.[11] Bolger toured in USO shows in the Pacific Theater during World War II,[12][13] and appeared in the United Artists wartime film Stage Door Canteen (1943).[14]

In 1946, he returned to MGM for a featured role in The Harvey Girls. Also that year, he recorded a children's album, The Churkendoose, featuring the story of a misfit fowl ("part chicken, turkey, duck, and goose"), which teaches children that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it "all depends on how you look at things".

Broadway[]

Bolger in a publicity photo for The Bell Telephone Hour, 1963

Bolger's Broadway credits included Life Begins at 8:40 (1934), On Your Toes (1936), By Jupiter (1942), All American (1962) and Where's Charley? (1948), for which he won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical and in which he introduced "Once in Love with Amy", the song often connected with him. He repeated his stage role in the 1952 film version of the musical.[15]

Television[]

Bolger appeared in his own ABC television sitcom with a variety show theme, Where's Raymond? (1953–1954), renamed the second year as The Ray Bolger Show (1954–55). He continued to star in several films, including Walt Disney's remake of Babes in Toyland (1961) and smaller cameos throughout the 1960s and 1970.

Bolger made frequent guest appearances on television, including the episode "Rich Man, Poor Man" of the short-lived The Jean Arthur Show in 1966. In the 1970s, he had a recurring role as Fred Renfrew, the father of Shirley Partridge (Shirley Jones) on The Partridge Family, and appeared in Little House on the Prairie as Toby Noe and also guest-starred on other television series, such as Battlestar Galactica, Fantasy Island, and The Love Boat. In the late 1970s, Bolger played in a commercial for Safeway Supermarket's "Scotch Buy" brand, in which he popularized the jingle, "Scotch Buy - 'taint fancy, but it shore is good."[16] His last television appearance was on Diff'rent Strokes in 1984, three years before his death.[17]

In his later years, he danced in a Dr Pepper television commercial, and in 1985, Liza Minnelli, the daughter of his Oz costar Judy Garland, and he starred in That's Dancing!, a film also written by Jack Haley, Jr., the son of Jack Haley, who portrayed the Tin Woodman in The Wizard of Oz.

Honors[]

In 1998, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars was dedicated to him.[18]

In 2016, the City of Boston commissioned a mural in Ray Bolger's honor in the Codman Square section of the Dorchester neighborhood.[6]

Personal life[]

Bolger was married to Gwendolyn Rickard for more than 57 years. They had no children.[19] He was a Roman Catholic and a member of the Good Shepherd Parish and the Catholic Motion Picture Guild in Beverly Hills, California.[20]

Bolger was a lifelong Republican who campaigned for Barry Goldwater in the 1964 United States presidential election[21] and Richard Nixon in the 1968 election.[22]

Bolger's great-nephew is actor John Bolger.

Death and legacy[]

Ray and Gwendolyn Bolger's grave at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City

Bolger was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 1986, and at the end of that year, his health deteriorated and he left his Beverly Hills home to live in a nursing home in Los Angeles. He died there on January 15, 1987, five days after his 83rd birthday.[2] He was interred at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City.

Bolger had been the last surviving main credited cast member of The Wizard of Oz.[23] At Judy Garland's funeral, Bolger was the only one of her Oz costars who attended. He joined Harold Arlen, the composer of "Over the Rainbow", and his wife, Anya Taranda. They were reported as among the last remaining guests at the conclusion of the service.[24]

Whenever asked whether he had received any residuals from telecasts of The Wizard of Oz, Bolger would reply: "No, just immortality. I'll settle for that."[25] Bolger's Scarecrow is ranked among the "most beloved movie characters of all time" by AMC and the American Film Institute.[26][27]

For his contributions to the film industry, Bolger received a motion pictures star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. It is located at 6788 Hollywood Boulevard.[28]

In 2019, the first comprehensive biography of Bolger, More Than a Scarecrow by Holly Van Leuven, was published.[29][30]

Filmography[]

Theatrical films
Year Title Role Notes
1936 The Great Ziegfeld Ray Bolger
1937 Rosalie Bill Delroy
1938 The Girl of the Golden West Happy Moore (scenes deleted)
1938 Sweethearts Hans
1939 The Wizard of Oz Hunk / The Scarecrow
1941 Sunny Bunny Billings
1942 Four Jacks and a Jill Nifty Sullivan
1943 Forever and a Day Sentry (scenes deleted)
1943 Stage Door Canteen Ray Bolger
1946 The Harvey Girls Chris Maule
1949 Look for the Silver Lining Jack Donahue
1952 Where's Charley? Charley Wykeham
1952 April in Paris S. Winthrop Putnam
1961 Babes in Toyland Barnaby
1966 The Daydreamer The Pieman
1979 Just You and Me, Kid Tom
1979 The Runner Stumbles Monsignor Nicholson
1982 Annie Sound Effects Man Uncredited
1985 That's Dancing! Himself - Host Documentary film
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1953–1955 Where's Raymond? Raymond 'Ray' Wallace Lead role (61 episodes)
1956–1957 Host
1958–1959 General Electric Theater Stan Maylor / Alfred Boggs 2 episodes
1962 The Red Skelton Show Mayor Threadbare III Episode: "The Mayor of Central Park"
1962 The Little Sweep Storyteller Television film
1966 The Jean Arthur Show Wealthy Man Episode: "Rich Man, Poor Man"
1970–1972 The Partridge Family Grandpa Renfrew Recurring role (3 episodes)
1971 Nanny and the Professor Uncle Horace Episode: "South Sea Island Sweetheart"
1976 The Entertainer Billy Rice Television film
1976 Captains and the Kings R.J. Squibbs Television miniseries (Chapter I)
1977–1979 The Love Boat Andy Hopkins / Horace McDonald 2 episodes
1978 Baretta Episode: "Just for Laughs"
1978 Three on a Date Andrew Television film
1978–1982 Fantasy Island Gaylord Nelson / Spencer Randolph 2 episodes
1978–1979 Little House on the Prairie Toby Noe 2 episodes
1979 Heaven Only Knows Simon Television pilot
1979 Battlestar Galactica Vector Episode: "Greetings from Earth"
1981 Aloha Paradise Harry Carr Episode: "Best of Friends/Success/Nine Karats"
1981 Peter and the Wolf Narrator Television film
1983 Peter and the Magic Egg Uncle Amos Voice, Television special
1984 Diff'rent Strokes Clarence Markwell Episode: "A Haunting We Will Go", (final appearance)

Stage work[]

Broadway productions
Year Title Role Theatre
1926 The Merry World Performer Imperial Theatre
1926 A Night in Paris Performer 44th Street Theatre
1929 Heads Up Georgie Alvin Theatre
1931 George White's Scandals of 1931 Performer Apollo Theatre
1934 Life Begins at 8:40 Performer Winter Garden Theatre
1936 On Your Toes Phil Dolan III, Hoofer Imperial Theatre
1940 Keep Off the Grass Performer Broadhurst Theatre
1942 By Jupiter Sapiens Shubert Theatre
1946 Three to Make Ready Performer Adelphi Theatre
1948 Where's Charley? Charley Wykeham St. James Theatre
1951 Where's Charley? (revival) Charley Wykeham Broadway Theatre
1962 All-American Professor Fodorski Winter Garden Theatre
1969 Come Summer Phineas Sharp Lunt-Fontanne Theatre

References[]

  1. ^ "Raymond Wallace/Bolger". Family Search.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c Fowler, Glenn (January 16, 1987). "Ray Bolger, Scarecrow in 'Oz' Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
  3. ^ "Raymond W Bolger United States Census, 1910". Family Search.
  4. ^ "James E. Bolger Massachusetts Marriages". Family Search.
  5. ^ Van Leuven, Holly. Ray Bolger: More than a Scarecrow, Chapter 1, Oxford University Press, 2019, ISBN 0-190639059, p. 7
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Mayor’s Mural Crew creates homage to Ray Bolger, OFD
  7. ^ "Ray Bolger Biography". Filmreference.com. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
  8. ^ "About The Lambs". The Lambs, Inc. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  9. ^ Oldfield, Col. Barney (April 12, 1978). "Ray Bolger Was There At Music Hall's Birth". Variety. p. 2.
  10. ^ Harmetz, Aljean (October 1, 2013). The Making of The Wizard of Oz. Chicago Review Press. p. 169. ISBN 978-1613748350.
  11. ^ Lerner, Al (2007). Vamp 'Til Ready. BearManor Media. ISBN 978-1593930806.[page needed]
  12. ^ "Ray Bolger" masterworksbroadway.com, accessed August 26, 2019
  13. ^ "Ray Bolger Bio" allmusic.com, accessed August 26, 2019
  14. ^ Stage Door Canteen tcm.com, accessed August 26, 2019
  15. ^ Ray Bolger at the Internet Broadway Database
  16. ^ "Ray Bolger 1978 Safeway Scotch Buy Commercial". YouTube. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
  17. ^ Lucy E. Cross. "About Ray Bolger". Retrieved June 12, 2011.
  18. ^ Palm Springs Walk of Stars by date dedicated Archived October 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, palmspringswalkofstars.com; accessed September 26, 2014.
  19. ^ Adelman, Gary (2008). "Ray Bolger in The Wizard of Oz as the Scarecrow". Kansas Wizard of Oz 'N More. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
  20. ^ "Our History". Church of the Good Shepherd. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  21. ^ Critchlow, Donald T. (October 21, 2013). When Hollywood Was Right: How Movie Stars, Studio Moguls, and Big Business Remade American Politics. ISBN 9781107650282.
  22. ^ ""1968 Presidential Race" Republicans". The Pop History Dig. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  23. ^ "Ray Bolger". The Official Masterworks Broadway Site. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  24. ^ Van Gelder, Lawrence (June 28, 1969). "Judy Garland's Funeral Draws Her Colleagues". The New York Times. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
  25. ^ Albright, Jane (2008). "Return to Oz & 50th Anniversary of MGM Film". The Oz Reference Library. Archived from the original on April 19, 2008. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
  26. ^ "Greatest Movie Characters". www.filmsite.org. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
  27. ^ "AFI: 10 Top 10". www.afi.com. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
  28. ^ "Hollywood Walk of Fame - Ray Bolger". walkoffame.com. Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  29. ^ "How a High Schooler Obsession Became Biography" Boston Globe, March 13, 2019
  30. ^ Statham, William. "BWW Review: Ray Bolger: More Than A Scarecrow by Holly Van Leuven" broadwayworld.com, May 7, 2019

External links[]

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