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

• 2000The Dark Side of the Rainbow — 'Hunk' (archive footage)
• 1994That's Entertainment! III — (archive footage) (uncredited)
• 1983Peter and the Magic Egg — Uncle Amos (voice)
• 1982Annie — Sound Effects Man at Radio Station (uncredited)
• 1979Heaven Only Knows — Simon
• 1979Just You and Me, Kid — Tom
• 1979The Runner Stumbles — Monsignor Nicholson
• Battlestar Galactica — Vector
• Diff'rent Strokes
• Fantasy Island — Spencer Randolph, Gaylord Nelson
• 1978Three on a Date — Andrew
• The Love Boat — Horace McDonald, Andy Hopkins
• Captains and the Kings — R.J. Squibbs
• 1976The Entertainer — Billy Rice
• Baretta
• Little House on the Prairie — Toby Noe
• 1974That's Entertainment! — (archive footage) (uncredited)
• Nanny and the Professor — Uncle Horace
• The Partridge Family — Grandpa Fred Renfrew, Grandpa Walter Renfrew
• 1966The Daydreamer — The Pieman
• 1961Babes in Toyland — Barnaby
• MGM Parade
• General Electric Theater — Alfred Boggs, Stan Maylor
• Where's Raymond? — Raymond Wallace
• 1952April in Paris — Sam Winthrop Putnam
• 1952Where's Charley? — Charley Wykeham
• The Red Skelton Show — 'Mayor' Threadbare III
• 1949Look for the Silver Lining — Jack Donahue
• 1949Make Mine Laughs — (archive footage)
• 1946The Harvey Girls — Chris Maule
• 1943Stage Door Canteen — Ray Bolger
• 1942Four Jacks and a Jill — Nifty Sullivan, a Jack
• 1941Sunny — Bunny Billings
• 1939The Wizard of Oz — Scarecrow / Hunk
• 1938Sweethearts — Hans
• 1937Rosalie — Bill Delroy
• 1936The Great Ziegfeld — Ray Bolger

Appearances as themselves (29)

• 2009Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s: Dancing Away the Great Depression — Self (archive footage)
• 2009To Oz! The Making of a Classic — Self
• 2004Judy Garland: By Myself — Self - Actor (archive sound)
• 1997Vaudeville — Self (archive footage)
• 1990The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: 50 Years of Magic — Self (archive footage)
• 1985That's Dancing! — Self - Host
• 1985The Whimsical World of Oz — Self
• 1979The Making of the Wizard of Oz — Self
• Donny & Marie — Self
• Omnibus — Self
• The Hollywood Palace — Self - Host
• The Judy Garland Show — Self
• The Merv Griffin Show — Self
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson — Self
• 1961Backstage Party — Self
• The Mike Douglas Show — Self, Self - Co-Host
• The Bell Telephone Hour — Self, Self - Host
• 1958The All-Star Christmas Show — Self
• The Dinah Shore Chevy Show — Self
• Tony Awards — Self - Presenter
• Washington Square — Self - HOst
• 1954A Star Is Born World Premiere — Self
• The George Gobel Show — Self
• The Wonderful World of Disney — Self
• The Bob Hope Show — Self
• The Colgate Comedy Hour — Self - Host
• What's My Line? — Self
• 1938Another Romance of Celluloid: Electrical Power — Self (uncredited)
• Oz — Self / Scarecrow (archive footage)