Ray Bolger began his career in Vaudeville. He was half of a team called Sanford and Bolger.
He, like Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire, 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.
Enjoy…. the humor of the acting hoping it will put a smile on your face, and his Tap dancing will brighten your day. Listen to the taps… Marvel in the Rhythm.