Early career His entertainment aspirations evolved from the
vaudeville shows of his youth. He began his career in a vaudeville tap show, creating the act "Sanford & Bolger" with his dance partner. In 1926, he danced at New York City's legendary
Palace Theatre, the premier vaudeville theater in the United States. His limber body and improvisational dance movements won him many leading roles on Broadway in the 1930s. Eventually, his career also encompassed film, television, and nightclub work. In 1932 he was elected to the theater club
The Lambs and performed on opening night at
Radio City Music Hall in December 1932. After starring in
Richard Rodgers' first stage production of
On Your Toes in 1936, in which he played the male lead Junior, as well as the hero of the
Slaughter on Tenth Avenue ballet within the musical, Bolger signed his first cinema contract with
MGM in 1936, and although
The Wizard of Oz was early in his film career, he appeared in other movies of note. His best-known pre-Oz appearance was
The Great Ziegfeld (1936), in which he portrayed himself. He also appeared in
Sweethearts (1938), the first MGM film in
Technicolor, starring
Nelson Eddy and
Jeanette MacDonald. He also appeared in the
Eleanor Powell vehicle
Rosalie (1937), which also starred Eddy and Frank Morgan.
The Wizard of Oz in
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's 1939 adaptation of
The Wizard of Oz Bolger's MGM contract stipulated that he would play any part the studio chose. However, he was unhappy when he was originally cast as the
Tin Woodman in the studio's 1939 feature-film adaptation of
The Wizard of Oz. The role of the
Scarecrow had already been assigned to another dancing, studio-contract player,
Buddy Ebsen. In time, the roles were shuffled around. Bolger's face was permanently lined by wearing the Scarecrow's makeup.
Post-Oz film career Following
The Wizard of Oz, Bolger moved to
RKO Pictures. In 1941, he was a featured act at the
Paramount Theatre in New York, working with the
Harry James Band. He would do
tap dance routines, sometimes in a mock-challenge dance with the band's pianist,
Al Lerner. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese
attacked Pearl Harbor and Bolger's performance was interrupted by President
Franklin D. Roosevelt's announcement of the news of the attack. Bolger toured in
USO shows in the Pacific Theater during
World War II, and appeared in the
United Artists wartime film
Stage Door Canteen (1943). In 1946, he returned to MGM for a featured role in
The Harvey Girls. Also that year, he recorded a children's album,
The Churkendoose, featuring the story of a misfit fowl ("part chicken, turkey, duck, and goose"), which teaches children that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it "all depends on how you look at things".
Broadway '', 1963 Bolger's Broadway credits included
Life Begins at 8:40 (1934),
On Your Toes (1936),
By Jupiter (1942),
All American (1962) and ''
Where's Charley?'' (1948), for which he won the
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical and in which he introduced "Once in Love with Amy", the song often connected with him. He repeated his stage role in the
1952 film version of the musical.
Television Bolger appeared in his own
ABC television sitcom with a variety show theme, ''
Where's Raymond? (1953–1954), renamed the second year as The Ray Bolger Show'' (1954–55). He continued to star in several films, including Walt Disney's remake of
Babes in Toyland (1961) and smaller cameos throughout the 1960s and 1970. Bolger made frequent guest appearances on television, including the episode "Rich Man, Poor Man" of the short-lived
The Jean Arthur Show in 1966. In the 1970s, he had a recurring role as Fred Renfrew, the father of Shirley Partridge (
Shirley Jones) on
The Partridge Family, and appeared in
Little House on the Prairie as Toby Noe and also guest-starred on other television series, such as
Battlestar Galactica,
Fantasy Island, and
The Love Boat. In the late 1970s, Bolger played in a commercial for Safeway Supermarket's "Scotch Buy" brand, in which he popularized the jingle, "Scotch Buy – 'taint fancy, but it shore is good." His last television appearance was on ''
Diff'rent Strokes'' in 1984, three years before his death. In 1976 Bolger performed the opening number for the
48th Academy Awards ceremony. In his later years, he danced in a
Dr Pepper television commercial, and in 1985, he and
Liza Minnelli, the daughter of his
Oz costar
Judy Garland, starred in ''
That's Dancing!, a film written by Jack Haley Jr., the son of Jack Haley, who portrayed the Tin Woodman in The Wizard of Oz''. ==Honors==