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Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Birthday
January 10, 1904
Died
January 15, 1987
Place of Birth
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Also Known As
- Raymond Wallace Bulcao
- Рэй Болджер
- Raymond Wallace Bolger
Ray Bolger
1.5 Popularity
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. Interred at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California, USA, in the Mausoleum, Crypt F2, Block 35.
Known For
7.2
Scarecrow (archive footage) (uncredited)
Lynch/Oz
2023
🎬
0.0
Self
To Oz! The Making of a Classic
2009
0.0
Self (archive)
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s: Dancing Away the Great Depression
2009
7.5
Self - Actor (archive sound)
Judy Garland: By Myself
2004
8.0
'Hunk' (archive footage)
The Dark Side of the Rainbow
2000
0.0
Hunk / Scarecrow (archive footage)
The Dark Side of Oz
1995
7.0
(archive footage)
That's Entertainment! III
1994
8.3
Self (archive footage)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: 50 Years of Magic
1990
7.0
Self - Host
That's Dancing!
1985
🎬
0.0
Self
The Whimsical World of Oz
1985
Credits
Lynch/Oz
as Scarecrow (archive footage) (uncredited)
2023
7.2
🎬
To Oz! The Making of a Classic
as Self
2009
0.0
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s: Dancing Away the Great Depression
as Self (archive)
2009
0.0
Judy Garland: By Myself
as Self - Actor (archive sound)
2004
7.5
The Dark Side of the Rainbow
as 'Hunk' (archive footage)
2000
8.0
The Dark Side of Oz
as Hunk / Scarecrow (archive footage)
1995
0.0
That's Entertainment! III
as (archive footage)
1994
7.0
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: 50 Years of Magic
as Self (archive footage)
1990
8.3
That's Dancing!
as Self - Host
1985
7.0
🎬
The Whimsical World of Oz
as Self
1985
0.0
Peter and the Magic Egg
as Uncle Amos (voice)
1983
3.0
Annie
as Sound Effects Man at Radio Station (uncredited)
1982
6.5
The Runner Stumbles
as Monsignor Nicholson
1979
6.8
Just You and Me, Kid
as Tom
1979
5.5
The Making of the Wizard of Oz
as Self
1979
0.0
Diff'rent Strokes
1978
7.0
Battlestar Galactica
as Vector
1978
7.1
Three on a Date
as Andrew
1978
1.0
Fantasy Island
as Spencer Randolph
1978
6.4
The Love Boat
as Horace McDonald
1977
6.3
The Love Boat
as Andy Hopkins
1977
6.3
Captains and the Kings
as R.J. Squibbs
1976
8.3
The Entertainer
as Billy Rice
1976
5.5
Donny & Marie
as Self
1976
6.5
Baretta
1975
6.3
Little House on the Prairie
1974
7.9
That's Entertainment!
as (archive footage)
1974
7.3
The Partridge Family
as Grandpa Fred Renfrew
1970
6.7
The Partridge Family
as Grandpa Walter Renfrew
1970
6.7
Nanny and the Professor
as Uncle Horace
1970
6.0
Omnibus
as Self
1967
7.2
The Daydreamer
as The Pieman
1966
5.0
The Hollywood Palace
as Self - Host
1964
4.5
The Judy Garland Show
as Self
1963
8.0
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
as Self
1962
7.4
The Merv Griffin Show
as Self
1962
5.8
Backstage Party
as Self
1961
7.0
Babes in Toyland
as Barnaby
1961
5.8
The Mike Douglas Show
as Self
1961
5.4
The Mike Douglas Show
as Self - Co-Host
1961
5.4
🎬
The Bell Telephone Hour
as Self
1959
7.3
🎬
The Bell Telephone Hour
as Self - Host
1959
7.3
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
as Self
1956
6.0
Tony Awards
as Self - Presenter
1956
5.1
The Wonderful World of Disney
as Self
1954
7.8
🎬
The George Gobel Show
as Self
1954
7.3
🎬
A Star Is Born World Premiere
as Self
1954
8.0
Where's Raymond?
as Raymond Wallace
1953
7.0
General Electric Theater
as Alfred Boggs
1953
6.3
General Electric Theater
as Stan Maylor
1953
6.3
April in Paris
as Sam Winthrop Putnam
1952
4.9
Where's Charley?
as Charley Wykeham
1952
10.0
The Red Skelton Show
as 'Mayor' Threadbare III
1951
7.4
The Colgate Comedy Hour
as Self - Host
1950
6.8
The Bob Hope Show
as Self
1950
7.0
What's My Line?
as Self - Mystery Guest
1950
6.9
Make Mine Laughs
as (archive footage)
1949
5.0
Look for the Silver Lining
as Jack Donahue
1949
5.7
The Harvey Girls
as Chris Maule
1946
6.5
Stage Door Canteen
as Ray Bolger
1943
5.8
Four Jacks and a Jill
as Nifty Sullivan, a Jack
1942
6.0
Sunny
as Bunny Billings
1941
5.5
Harold Arlen's Home Movies on set of The Wizard of Oz
1939
0.0
The Wizard of Oz
as "Hunk" / Scarecrow
1939
7.6
Another Romance of Celluloid: Electrical Power
as Self (uncredited)
1938
4.8
Sweethearts
as Hans
1938
5.7
Rosalie
as Bill Delroy
1937
5.5
The Great Ziegfeld
as Ray Bolger
1936
6.3