The Wizard of Oz at Sphere
2025 · Movie
as Hunk (archive footage)
Ray Bolger
1904-01-10
•
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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.
Filmography
No image
To Oz! The Making of a Classic
2009 · Movie
as Self
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s: Dancing Away the Great Depression
2009 · Movie
as Self (archive footage)
Judy Garland: By Myself
2004 · Movie
as Self - Actor (archive sound)
The Dark Side of the Rainbow
2000 · Movie
as 'Hunk' (archive footage)
Vaudeville
1997 · Movie
as Self (archive footage)
That's Entertainment! III
1994 · Movie
as (archive footage)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: 50 Years of Magic
1990 · Movie
as Self (archive footage)
That's Dancing!
1985 · Movie
as Self - Host
No image
The Whimsical World of Oz
1985 · Movie
as Self
Peter and the Magic Egg
1983 · Movie
as Uncle Amos (voice)
Annie
1982 · Movie
as Sound Effects Man at Radio Station (uncredited)
Just You and Me, Kid
1979 · Movie
as Tom
The Making of the Wizard of Oz
1979 · Movie
as Self
The Runner Stumbles
1979 · Movie
as Monsignor Nicholson
Heaven Only Knows
1979 · Movie
as Simon
Three on a Date
1978 · Movie
as Andrew
Diff'rent Strokes
1978 · TV Show
Battlestar Galactica
1978 · TV Show
as Vector
Fantasy Island
1978 · TV Show
as Spencer Randolph, Gaylord Nelson
The Love Boat
1977 · TV Show
as Horace McDonald, Andy Hopkins
The Entertainer
1976 · Movie
as Billy Rice
Donny & Marie
1976 · TV Show
as Self
Captains and the Kings
1976 · TV Show
as R.J. Squibbs
Baretta
1975 · TV Show
That's Entertainment!
1974 · Movie
as (archive footage) (uncredited)
Little House on the Prairie
1974 · TV Show
as Toby Noe
Nanny and the Professor
1970 · TV Show
as Uncle Horace
The Partridge Family
1970 · TV Show
as Grandpa Fred Renfrew, Grandpa Walter Renfrew
Omnibus
1967 · TV Show
as Self
The Daydreamer
1966 · Movie
as The Pieman
The Hollywood Palace
1964 · TV Show
as Self - Host
The Judy Garland Show
1963 · TV Show
as Self
The Merv Griffin Show
1962 · TV Show
as Self
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962 · TV Show
as Self
Babes in Toyland
1961 · Movie
as Barnaby
Backstage Party
1961 · Movie
as Self
The Mike Douglas Show
1961 · TV Show
as Self, Self - Co-Host
The Bell Telephone Hour
1959 · TV Show
as Self, Self - Host
The All-Star Christmas Show
1958 · Movie
as Self
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
1956 · TV Show
as Self
Tony Awards
1956 · TV Show
as Self - Presenter
Washington Square
1956 · TV Show
as Self - HOst
MGM Parade
1955 · TV Show
A Star Is Born World Premiere
1954 · Movie
as Self
No image
The George Gobel Show
1954 · TV Show
as Self
The Wonderful World of Disney
1954 · TV Show
as Self
General Electric Theater
1953 · TV Show
as Alfred Boggs, Stan Maylor
Where's Raymond?
1953 · TV Show
as Raymond Wallace
April in Paris
1952 · Movie
as Sam Winthrop Putnam
Where's Charley?
1952 · Movie
as Charley Wykeham
The Red Skelton Show
1951 · TV Show
as 'Mayor' Threadbare III
The Colgate Comedy Hour
1950 · TV Show
as Self - Host
What's My Line?
1950 · TV Show
as Self
The Bob Hope Show
1950 · TV Show
as Self
Look for the Silver Lining
1949 · Movie
as Jack Donahue
Make Mine Laughs
1949 · Movie
as (archive footage)
The Harvey Girls
1946 · Movie
as Chris Maule
Stage Door Canteen
1943 · Movie
as Ray Bolger
Four Jacks and a Jill
1942 · Movie
as Nifty Sullivan, a Jack
Sunny
1941 · Movie
as Bunny Billings
The Wizard of Oz
1939 · Movie
as "Hunk"
Sweethearts
1938 · Movie
as Hans
Another Romance of Celluloid: Electrical Power
1938 · Movie
as Self (uncredited)
Rosalie
1937 · Movie
as Bill Delroy
The Great Ziegfeld
1936 · Movie
as Ray Bolger
No image
Oz
· Movie
as Self / Scarecrow (archive footage)
