Ray Bolger

'Ray Bolger' (qv) was born Raymond Wallace Bolger on January 10, 1904 in Dorchester, Massachusetts, to Anne C. (Wallace) and James Edward Bolger, both Irish-Americans. Ray began his career in vaudeville. He was half of a team called "Sanford and Bolger" and also did numerous Broadway shows on his own. Like 'Gene Kelly' (qv), he was a song-and-dance man as well as an actor. He was signed to a contract with MGM and his first role was as himself in _The Great Ziegfeld (1936)_ (qv). This was soon followed by a role opposite 'Eleanor Powell' (qv) in the romantic comedy _Rosalie (1937)_ (qv). His first dancing and singing role was in _Sweethearts (1938)_ (qv), where he did the "wooden shoes" number with redheaded soprano/actress 'Jeanette MacDonald' (qv). This got him noticed by MGM producers and resulted in his being cast in his most famous role, the Scarecrow in _The Wizard of Oz (1939)_ (qv).Surprisingly, even though the film was a success, Bolger's contract with MGM ended. He went to RKO Radio Pictures to make the romantic comedy _Four Jacks and a Jill (1942)_ (qv). After this, Bolger went to Broadway, where he received his greatest satisfaction. In 1953, he turned to television and received his own sitcom, _Where's Raymond? (1953)_ (qv), later changed to "The 'Ray Bolger' (qv) Show". After his series ended, Bolger guest starred on many television series such as _Battlestar Galactica (1978)_ (qv) and _Fantasy Island (1977)_ (qv), and had some small roles in movies. In 1985, he co-hosted the documentary film _That's Dancing! (1985)_ (qv) with 'Liza Minnelli' (qv). 'Ray Bolger' (qv) died of bladder cancer in Los Angeles, California on January 15, 1987, five days after his 83rd birthday.::Donovan Webber