Ray Bolger

Raymond Wallace Bolger (January 10, 1904 – January 15, 1987)[2] was an American film and television actor, vaudevillian, singer, dancer (particularly of tap) and stage performer (particularly musical theatre) who started in the silent film era. He was a major Broadway performer in the 1930s and beyond (see below). 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 his eponymous television show, The Ray Bolger Show from 1953 and 1955, originally known as "Where's Raymond?"[2]

Ray Bolger
Bolger, c. 1942
Born	Raymond Wallace Bolger[1] January 10, 1904 Dorchester, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	January 15, 1987 (aged 83) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City
Occupation	Actor vaudevillian singer dancer
Years active	1922–1985
Known for	Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz Barnaby in Babes in Toyland
Spouse(s)	Gwendolyn Rickard ​ (m. 1929)​

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. Wallace.[3][4] His father James was first-generation Irish, and was born in Fall River, Massachusetts; his mother "Annie" who had a large family, was born in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.[5] He grew up and attended school in the Codman Square section of Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts.[6] After graduating 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 movement won him many leading roles on Broadway in the 1930s. Eventually, his career would also encompass 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, 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. One day during this period, 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).[16] 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, reaching back to his Irish roots, Bolger played in a commercial for Safeway Supermarket's "Scotch Buy" brand. It covered many products ranging from canned food to paper towels to beer and cigarettes. Bolger popularized the jingle, "Scotch Buy - taint fancy but it shore is good."[17] His last television appearance was on Diff'rent Strokes in 1984, three years before his death.[18]

In his later years, he danced in a Dr Pepper television commercial, and in 1985, he and Liza Minnelli, the daughter of his Oz costar Judy Garland, 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.[19]

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 over 57 years. They had no children.[20] He was a Roman Catholic, and a member of the Good Shepherd Parish and the Catholic Motion Picture Guild in Beverly Hills, California.[21]

Bolger was a lifelong Republican who campaigned for Barry Goldwater in the 1964 United States presidential election[22] and Richard Nixon in 1968.[23]

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, 5 days after his 83rd birthday.[2] He was interred at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City.

At the time of his death, he was the last surviving main credited cast member of The Wizard of Oz.[24] At Judy Garland's funeral, Bolger was the only one of her Oz costars to be present. 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.[25]

Whenever asked whether he received any residuals from telecasts of the 1939 classic, Bolger would reply: "No, just immortality. I'll settle for that."[26] Bolger's Scarecrow is ranked among the "most beloved movie characters of all time" by AMC and the American Film Institute.[27][28]

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.[29]

In 2019, the biography More Than a Scarecrow by Holly Van Leuven was published, the first comprehensive biography of Bolger.[30][31]

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	Washington Square	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. 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. 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.
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. "Where's Raymond?, The Ray Bolger Show". ctva.biz. Retrieved March 14, 2011.
17. "Ray Bolger 1978 Safeway Scotch Buy Commercial". YouTube. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
18. Lucy E. Cross. "About Ray Bolger". Retrieved June 12, 2011.
19. Palm Springs Walk of Stars by date dedicated Archived October 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, palmspringswalkofstars.com; accessed September 26, 2014.
20. Adelman, Gary (2008). "Ray Bolger in The Wizard of Oz as the Scarecrow". Kansas Wizard of Oz 'N More. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
21. "Our History". Church of the Good Shepherd. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
22. Critchlow, Donald T. (October 21, 2013). When Hollywood Was Right: How Movie Stars, Studio Moguls, and Big Business Remade American Politics. ISBN 9781107650282.
23. ""1968 Presidential Race" Republicans". The Pop History Dig. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
24. "Ray Bolger". The Official Masterworks Broadway Site. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
25. Van Gelder, Lawrence (June 28, 1969). "Judy Garland's Funeral Draws Her Colleagues". The New York Times. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
26. 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.
27. "Greatest Movie Characters". www.filmsite.org. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
28. "AFI: 10 Top 10". www.afi.com. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
29. "Hollywood Walk of Fame - Ray Bolger". walkoffame.com. Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
30. "How a High Schooler Obsession Became Biography" Boston Globe, March 13, 2019
31. Statham, William. "BWW Review: Ray Bolger: More Than A Scarecrow by Holly Van Leuven" broadwayworld.com, May 7, 2019

External links

• Ray Bolger at IMDb
• Ray Bolger at the TCM Movie Database
• Ray Bolger at AllMovie
• Churkendoose album (mp3)
• "Did these stories Really Happen" by Michelle Bernier. Createspace Pub. 2010; ISBN 1-4505-8536-1