Ray Bolger
Photoplayd Industry Rating
Not enough rated films yet to compute a weighted score.
Roles are weighted by involvement: director 1.0, screenwriter 0.7, lead 0.8, supporting 0.4, crew 0.1.
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
Credits
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
as Scarecrow / Hunk
Annie (1982)
as Sound Effects Man at Radio Station (uncredited)
Babes in Toyland (1961)
as Barnaby
That's Entertainment! (1974)
as (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
as Ray Bolger
The Harvey Girls (1946)
as Chris Maule
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s: Dancing Away the Great Depression (2009)
as Self (archive footage)
That's Dancing! (1985)
as Self - Host
That's Entertainment! III (1994)
as (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Entertainer (1976)
as Billy Rice
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: 50 Years of Magic (1990)
as Self (archive footage)
April in Paris (1952)
as Sam Winthrop Putnam
Rosalie (1937)
as Bill Delroy
Backstage Party (1961)
as Self
Stage Door Canteen (1943)
as Ray Bolger
Vaudeville (1997)
as Self (archive footage)
A Star Is Born World Premiere (1954)
as Self
Four Jacks and a Jill (1942)
as Nifty Sullivan, a Jack
Judy Garland: By Myself (2004)
as Self - Actor (archive sound)
The Dark Side of the Rainbow (2000)
as 'Hunk' (archive footage)
The Daydreamer (1966)
as The Pieman
Just You and Me, Kid (1979)
as Tom
Three on a Date (1978)
as Andrew
The Runner Stumbles (1979)
as Monsignor Nicholson
Heaven Only Knows (1979)
as Simon
The All-Star Christmas Show (1958)
as Self
Sweethearts (1938)
as Hans
Look for the Silver Lining (1949)
as Jack Donahue
Sunny (1941)
as Bunny Billings
The Wizard of Oz at Sphere (2025)
as Hunk (archive footage)
Where's Charley? (1952)
as Charley Wykeham
To Oz! The Making of a Classic (2009)
as Self
Another Romance of Celluloid: Electrical Power (1938)
as Self (uncredited)
Make Mine Laughs (1949)
as (archive footage)
Oz (—)
as Self / Scarecrow (archive footage)
Peter and the Magic Egg (1983)
as Uncle Amos (voice)
The Making of the Wizard of Oz (1979)
as Self
The Whimsical World of Oz (1985)
as Self