Raymond Wallace Bolger (/ˈboʊldʒər/;[1] January 10, 1904 – January 15, 1987)[2] was an American vaudevillian, dancer, comedian, actor and singer best known for his performance as the Scarecrow in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. He first became interested in dancing as a teenager and, while working as a bank clerk in Boston, participated in dance contests and attended musical performances. In 1923, after being fired from a later job as an insurance clerk, he formed a short-lived vaudeville act, Sanford and Bolger, with Ralph Sanford. He went on to perform in several revues in the 1920s and early 1930s, as well as Gus Edwards' variety show Ritz Carlton Nights (which ran from 1926 to 1929).
Ray Bolger | |
|---|---|
 Bolger in 1953 | |
| Born | Raymond Wallace Bolger January 10, 1904 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | January 15, 1987 (aged 83) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Resting place | Holy Cross Cemetery |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1923–1985 |
Political party | Republican |
| Spouse |
Gwendolyn Rickard (m. 1929) |
As vaudeville declined at the onset of the Great Depression, Bolger moved on to musical theatre and film, playing roles in Life Begins at 8:40 and The Great Ziegfeld before getting the lead in On Your Toes. In late 1938 he was chosen by MGM to play the Tin Woodman in The Wizard of Oz; unhappy with that part, he convinced MGM's executives to let him swap with Buddy Ebsen, who had been slated to play the Scarecrow. He entertained soldiers overseas during the Second World War and in 1943 appeared in the wartime film Stage Door Canteen. He starred in his own ABC sitcom The Ray Bolger Show, originally titled Where's Raymond?, from 1953 to 1955.[2] In his later years he made frequent guest appearances in television shows, including The Jean Arthur Show, The Partridge Family, Little House on the Prairie and Diff'rent Strokes.
Early life
editRaymond Wallace Bolger was born, prematurely, on January 10, 1904[3] in St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Brighton, Massachusetts, into a Catholic family of Irish descent. A misconception exists, however, that he was instead of Portuguese descent and named Raymond Bulcao.[4] He was the son of James Edward Bolger, then a delivery wagon driver for a bakery, and Johannah Cecilia "Annie" Bolger (née Wallace). James was born in Fall River, Massachusetts to parents from Ireland. Annie was born into a large Irish-American family in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. They had married in 1902, whereupon they moved to Dorchester, Massachusetts. In 1909 a sister named Regina was born.[5] Bolger grew up in the Codman Square section of the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston and attended Dorchester High School, from which he graduated in 1920.[6][7] He recounted that he was fifteen years old when he first learned how to waltz, and that nobody at his high school wanted to dance with him. He initially aspired toward being a banker instead of an entertainer,[8] until he discovered that "to be a success in life, [he] had to learn how to dance", after his senior prom date abandoned him because of his poor dancing.[9] His mother, whom he favored over his father,[10] instilled in him a love of reading and introduced him to L. Frank Baum's Oz series of novels. He also liked Horatio Alger's novels.[8]
His parents separated, but did not divorce, by 1918.[11] In 1918 a bout of pleurisy and bilateral pneumonia struck James, who was working as a ship painter for Hamburg America; for a period thereafter, Ray did menial work for the Kelly Peanut Company and for local grocers. That same year he went to see Fred Stone perform as the titular scarecrow in Jack O'Lantern, a musical loosely based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Stone became Bolger's idol because of his dancing prowess and competency at acting.[11] After Annie's death, in July of 1919, of a cerebral hemorrhage, Ray clerked Boston's First National Bank each afternoon, which provided the family a weekly $18.[12] He would, in his leisure time, participate in dancing contests held in Scollay Square, which was within walking distance of the bank, and attend musical performances in the area. Ray, whom Holly Van Leuven speculates resented his father for "[adding] to Annie's discomforts", rarely ever made public mention of him.[13]
Bolger said in a 1940 interview that he once sold vacuums door-to-door in New England. Circa 1922 he joined the New England Mutual Life Insurance Company as an office boy and clerk. While delivering mail between offices he would "[dance] up and down the stairs". The company once hosted an amateur theatrical show.[14] He became a student of O’Brien’s School for Social and Formal Dancing, during which time he met ballet master Senia Russakoff. In exchange for lessons at Russakoff's studio, Bolger did his accounting.[15] In 1922 or 1923 Bolger was fired from New England Mutual for being late.[16]
Career
editIn 1923 Bolger joined the family theatre company of Bob Ott, who recruited him for his "funny-looking face". James Bolger, who saw in the show business an opportunity to turn a profit, became an advance man and publicist for the Otts, and took a portion of Ray's salary. Under the Otts' management Bolger formed the comedy act "Sanford and Bolger" with his dance partner Ralph Sanford, who was from Springfield, Massachusetts. They rebranded later on to "Sanford and Bolger: A Pair of Nifties". Despite popularity in New England, and support from vaudevillian Jimmy Duffy, Sanford and Bolger flopped in New York, and in 1925 their act was cancelled at Cohen's Theater in Newburgh. Sanford lost interest in performing the act but remained friends with Bolger.[17] In 1926 Bolger befriended composer Harold Arlen during a four-month stint performing at Shea's Hippodrome Theater. That same year he and Sanford performed, for a weekly $125 split between them, at the Rialto after Bolger improvised a dance for an audition before conductor Hugo Riesenfeld.[18] Bolger was cast by Reisenfeld in a short film, "The Berth Mark", as a banker who joins a troupe of travelling vaudevillians (one of them played by Peggy Shaw) as a condition for paying their fare. He suffered gum and tooth infections from a paste used to shine his teeth for the film.[19] He contracted with J. J. Shubert starting June 6, 1926 and appeared that evening in the revue The Merry World, at the Imperial Theatre, in the minor role of a "collegian with baggy pinstripe pants, a beanie, and an urge to chant fight songs".[20]
Bolger contracted with Gus Edwards, to be a member of Edwards's travelling troupe, on October 11, 1926. Edwards cast Bolger in the troupe's variety show, Ritz Carlton Nights, as a "quick-witted waiter" sidekick to Edwards.[21] With regard to Ritz Carlton Nights, The Washington Post described Bolger as a "'nut' comedian, with emphasis on the 'nut'".[22] Abe Lastfogel, who worked for the William Morris Agency, became Bolger's agent in 1928.[23] Bolger performed in the New York Palace Theatre, which was the United States' "most important vaudeville theater", with the Ritz Carlton Nights troupe in 1929.[24] Bolger danced in nightclubs in London while on his honeymoon with Rickard from July to August of that year. The British liked his sense of humor and energetic style of dancing. Because he had a passing resemblance to George VI (at the time Albert, Duke of York), people mistakenly curtsied toward him.[25] Bolger was cast as Jerry, a "loose-jointed bootlegger",[26] in Me for You, a musical by Alex A. Aarons and Vinton Freedley which began its 1929-1930 run at the Detroit Opera House on September 10, 1929. The show was received poorly and did not sell well, so Aarons and Freedley rewrote it in October; it returned as Heads Up! in November.[27]
The stock market crash of October 30, 1929 and the ensuing Great Depression destroyed the vaudeville industry, which was supplanted by that of motion pictures. In the Midwest and New England, Bolger performed comedy routines at the Paramount-Publix theaters, where films were screened concurrently to live performances. Most other gigs for entertainers, including Bolger, disappeared; to avoid spending money at restaurants and hotels he rented rooms for cheap and Rickard, who traveled with him, cooked his meals.[28] From September of 1931 to March of 1932, Bolger appeared in George White's yearly revue George White's Scandals, which began each autumn in Atlantic City and concluded at Broadway. Walter Winchell, Al Smith, Graham McNamee and the biblical Adam were subject to impersonation by Bolger for the Scandals. Bolger's performances in the Scandals were acclaimed by critics and brought fame to him in New York.[29] In 1932 he was elected to the theater club The Lambs[30] and performed on opening night at Radio City Music Hall on December 27, 1932.[31][32] President Franklin D. Roosevelt invited Bolger to his 1934 Birthday Ball as a performer. Bolger performed in The Earl Carroll Vanities in that same year but, after a wage dispute with Earl Carroll, quit.[33]
Bolger played Boccaccio in the musical Life Begins at 8:40, which ran for 237 performances at the Winter Garden Theatre between August 27, 1934 and March 16, 1935. Lee Shubert had asked Bolger to play Balzac, the lead, but Bolger, believing he did not yet have the fame and experience to be a leading man, let Bert Lahr take that role.[34] A contract for two films was made between Bolger and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on March 7, 1935. The first was the 1936 musical biopic The Great Ziegfeld, in which he played a minor role as himself and sang the number "She's a Follies Girl".[35] Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart brought Bolger into the lead role, vaudevillian-turned-music teacher Phil "Junior" Dolan III, of their musical On Your Toes (which featured two ballet pieces, "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" and "Zenobia Ballet"); Fred Astaire had been offered the part but refused. The script was edited by writer George Abbott and producer Dwight Wiman at the behest of Bolger, who had told Rodgers and Hart that the musical needed wittier dialogue and a more cohesive storyline. For On Your Toes Bolger was coached in ballet dancing, with which he had hitherto been only slightly acquainted, by George Balanchine. On Your Toes ran on Broadway from April 11, 1936 to January 23, 1937.[36] The dancing required for "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" was so strenuous that Bolger passed out, in multiple incidents, after exiting the stage.[37] 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.
In late 1938 Bolger was selected to play the Tin Woodman for MGM's film adaptation of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Although the contract stipulated that he would play any character MGM wanted him to, he was unhappy with the role, as he feared that the metal costume would stiffen his movements, ruining the appeal of his dancing. With a dance, he convinced MGM's executives to let him swap roles with Buddy Ebsen, who had been cast as the Scarecrow. (Jack Haley ended up playing the Tin Woodman, after the aluminum powder used for the Tin Woodman's face caused a severe allergic reaction in Ebsen).[38] Bolger's face was permanently lined by wearing the Scarecrow's makeup.[39]
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.[citation needed]
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and Bolger's performance[further explanation needed] was interrupted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt's announcement of the news of the attack.[40] Bolger toured in USO shows in the Pacific Theater during World War II,[41][42] and appeared in the United Artists wartime film Stage Door Canteen (1943).[43]
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".[citation needed]
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.[44]
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.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed] 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."[45] In 1976 Bolger performed the opening number for the 48th Academy Awards ceremony. Film critic Roger Ebert listed Bolger's opening as, in his opinion, one of the ceremony's few good parts.[46] His last television appearance was on Diff'rent Strokes in 1984, three years before his death.[47] 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.[citation needed] Bolger retired from dancing in 1984; he had broken his hip while leaving the stage after a one-man show and could not dance as well, after receiving a hip replacement, as he could before.[48]
Style
editBolger was informed by the Celtic form of eccentric dance, which required the dancer to be able to flail his lower legs (for which Bolger's long shins and extraordinary flexibility suited him). On his shoes he wore maple taps, in lieu of the typical metal ones, to create a unique sound. He would start using elements of comedy only after demonstrating his physicality. In his routines he acted out the roles of both celebrities and imagined characters for comedic effect.[49]
Personal life
editIn the 1920s, Bolger had a brief relationship with animator Max Fleischer's daughter, Ruth.[19] Bolger met, and was asked out by, Gwendolyn "Gwen" Rickard (1909–1997)[50] in 1926 in the backstage of the Los Angeles Orpheum Theater, after Bolger's performance in Ritz Carlton Nights; Rickard was looking for Gus Edwards, who had departed shortly after the show ended. They separated after Edwards' show went to New York but reunited in 1928 after Bolger returned to Los Angeles. They married in Port Chester, New York on July 9, 1929. James Bolger, who may have disapproved of Rickard's not being Catholic, did not go to the wedding. The newlyweds honeymooned in Europe from July to August.[51]
Rickard, who "wanted to live vicariously" through Bolger, was throughout his career his collaborator and supporter. In the early years of their marriage she wanted to become a songwriter and to write a novel, but decided to stick to helping her husband's career.[52] They had no children, although they tried.[53][54] It is unclear why they never conceived; either Bolger or Rickard could have been infertile, though Rickard consulted a gynecologist, in the 1930s, who found no problems with her.[55] Bolger had closer relationships with his in-laws than with his biological relatives (to whom he behaved distantly, even during public appearances), and financially supported his brothers-in-law.[56]
Bolger was a Roman Catholic and a member of the Good Shepherd Parish and the Catholic Motion Picture Guild in Beverly Hills, California.[57] He was a lifelong Republican who campaigned for Barry Goldwater in the 1964 United States presidential election,[58] Richard Nixon in the 1968 election,[59] and Ronald Reagan in the 1980 election.[60] He supported the United States' escalation in the Vietnam War.[61]
Death and legacy
edit
Bolger was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 1986. Initially his wife cared for him at their home in Beverly Hills, but in November of that year his deteriorating health incited him to check into Nazareth House, a Catholic nursing home in Los Angeles.[62] He died there on January 15, 1987, five days after his 83rd birthday.[2] His funeral took place on January 19 at the Church of the Good Shepherd. Among the pallbearers were Bob Hope and James Stewart. He was not eulogized, per his wife's wishes.[63] His body was interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City.[64][65]
At the time of his death, Bolger was the last surviving main-credited cast member of The Wizard of Oz.[66] He and Jack Haley (who played the Tin Man) are both buried in the same cemetery. He was the only one of Judy Garland's Oz costars who attended her funeral (Bert Lahr pre-deceased her in 1967), joining Harold Arlen, the composer of "Over the Rainbow", and his wife, Anya Taranda. They were reported as among the last remaining guests at the conclusion of the service.[67]
Whenever asked whether he had received any residuals from telecasts of The Wizard of Oz, Bolger would reply: "No, just immortality. I'll settle for that."[68] Bolger's Scarecrow is ranked among the "most beloved movie characters of all time" by AMC and the American Film Institute.[69][70] The costume was donated to the Smithsonian Institution a few months after his death in 1987.[63]
He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Both were dedicated on February 8, 1960, for his contributions to the entertainment industry: one for motion pictures, located at 6788 Hollywood Blvd, and the other for television, located at 6834 Hollywood Blvd.[71] In 1998, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars was dedicated to him.[72] In 2016, the City of Boston commissioned a mural in Bolger's honor in the Codman Square section of the Dorchester neighborhood.[7] The first comprehensive biography of Bolger, More Than a Scarecrow by Holly Van Leuven, was published in 2019 by the Oxford University Press.[73][74]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | "The Berth Mark" | Banker | |
| 1936 | The Great Ziegfeld | Ray Bolger | |
| 1937 | Rosalie | Bill Delroy | |
| 1938 | The Girl of the Golden West | Happy Moore | (scenes deleted) |
| 1938 | Sweethearts | Hans | |
| 1939 | The Wizard of Oz | Hunk / The Scarecrow | |
| 1941 | Sunny | Bunny Billings | |
| 1942 | Four Jacks and a Jill | Nifty Sullivan | |
| 1943 | Forever and a Day | Sentry | (scenes deleted) |
| 1943 | Stage Door Canteen | Ray Bolger | |
| 1946 | The Harvey Girls | Chris Maule | |
| 1949 | Look for the Silver Lining | Jack Donahue | |
| 1952 | Where's Charley? | Charley Wykeham | |
| 1952 | April in Paris | S. Winthrop Putnam | |
| 1961 | Babes in Toyland | Barnaby | |
| 1966 | The Daydreamer | The Pieman | |
| 1979 | Just You and Me, Kid | Tom | |
| 1979 | The Runner Stumbles | Monsignor Nicholson | |
| 1982 | Annie | Sound Effects Man | Uncredited |
| 1985 | That's Dancing! | Himself – Host | Documentary film |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1953–1955 | Where's Raymond? | Raymond 'Ray' Wallace | Lead role (61 episodes) |
| 1956–1957 | Washington Square | Host | |
| 1958–1959 | General Electric Theater | Stan Maylor / Alfred Boggs | 2 episodes |
| 1962 | The Red Skelton Show | Mayor Threadbare III | Episode: "The Mayor of Central Park" |
| 1962 | The Little Sweep | Storyteller | Television film |
| 1963 | The Judy Garland Show | guest star | Garland's weekly tv series |
| 1966 | The Jean Arthur Show | Wealthy Man | Episode: "Rich Man, Poor Man" |
| 1970–1972 | The Partridge Family | Grandpa Renfrew | Recurring role (3 episodes) |
| 1971 | Nanny and the Professor | Uncle Horace | Episode: "South Sea Island Sweetheart" |
| 1976 | The Entertainer | Billy Rice | Television film |
| 1976 | Captains and the Kings | R.J. Squibbs | Television miniseries (Chapter I) |
| 1977–1979 | The Love Boat | Andy Hopkins / Horace McDonald | 2 episodes |
| 1978 | Baretta | Episode: "Just for Laughs" | |
| 1978 | Three on a Date | Andrew | Television film |
| 1978–1982 | Fantasy Island | Gaylord Nelson / Spencer Randolph | 2 episodes |
| 1978–1979 | Little House on the Prairie | Toby Noe | 2 episodes |
| 1979 | Heaven Only Knows | Simon | Television pilot |
| 1979 | Battlestar Galactica | Vector | Episode: "Greetings from Earth" |
| 1981 | Aloha Paradise | Harry Carr | Episode: "Best of Friends/Success/Nine Karats" |
| 1981 | Peter and the Wolf | Narrator | Television film |
| 1983 | Peter and the Magic Egg | Uncle Amos | Voice, Television special |
| 1984 | Diff'rent Strokes | Clarence Markwell | Episode: "A Haunting We Will Go", (final appearance) |
Stage work
edit| Year | Title | Role | Theatre |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | The Merry World | Performer | Imperial Theatre |
| 1926 | A Night in Paris | Performer | 44th Street Theatre |
| 1929 | Heads Up | Georgie | Alvin Theatre |
| 1931 | George White's Scandals of 1931 | Performer | Apollo Theatre |
| 1934 | Life Begins at 8:40 | Performer | Winter Garden Theatre |
| 1936 | On Your Toes | Phil Dolan III, Hoofer | Imperial Theatre |
| 1940 | Keep Off the Grass | Performer | Broadhurst Theatre |
| 1942 | By Jupiter | Sapiens | Shubert Theatre |
| 1946 | Three to Make Ready | Performer | Adelphi Theatre |
| 1948 | Where's Charley? | Charley Wykeham | St. James Theatre |
| 1951 | Where's Charley? (revival) | Charley Wykeham | Broadway Theatre |
| 1962 | All-American | Professor Fodorski | Winter Garden Theatre |
| 1969 | Come Summer | Phineas Sharp | Lunt-Fontanne Theatre |
| Year | Title | Role | Theatre | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1932 | Radio City Music Hall Inaugural Program | performer | Radio City Music Hall | [75] |
| 1969 | Come Summer | Phineas Sharp | O'Keefe Centre | [76] |
| 1969 | The Happy Time | performer | Starlight Musicals | [77] |
References
edit- ↑ "Bolger". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.
- 1 2 3 Fowler, Glenn (January 16, 1987). "Ray Bolger, Scarecrow in 'Oz' Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
- ↑ Van Leuven 2019, p. 8.
- ↑ Van Leuven 2019, p. 3.
- ↑ Van Leuven 2019, pp. 7–9.
- ↑ Van Leuven 2019, p. 12.
- 1 2 Eaurise (August 3, 2016). "Mayor's Mural Crew creates homage to Ray Bolger, OFD". Dorchester Reporter. Archived from the original on August 5, 2016. Retrieved July 4, 2026.
- 1 2 Zolotow, Maurice. "Muscles With a Sense of Humor". Saturday Evening Post, vol. 222, no. 5, July 1949, pp. 32–76. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f6h&AN=19959167&lang=fr&site=eds-live&scope=site.
- ↑ Dreifus, Claudia (October 5, 1980). "The LI Interview by Claudia Dreifus: Ray Bolger". Newsday (Suffolk Edition). p. 465. Retrieved July 9, 2026.
- ↑ Van Leuven 2019, p. 19.
- 1 2 Van Leuven 2019, pp. 10, 11.
- ↑ Van Leuven 2019, pp. 9–12.
- ↑ Van Leuven 2019, pp. 13, 15, 19.
- ↑ "Scarecrow of Oz actor dead at 83". The Sun Journal. January 16, 1987. p. 3. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
- ↑ Francis, Robert. "Candid Close-Ups." Brooklyn Eagle, June 9, 1940.
- ↑ Van Leuven 2019, pp. 12–13, 16, 18.
- ↑ Van Leuven 2019, pp. 19, 22–24, 27.
- ↑ Van Leuven 2019, p. 28, 30, 35.
- 1 2 Van Leuven 2019, p. 29.
- ↑ Van Leuven 2019, p. 30,31.
- ↑ Van Leuven 2019, pp. 31–32.
- ↑ "Offerings at the theaters: Palace". The Washington Post. December 27, 1926. p. 7. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
- ↑ Van Leuven 2019, p. 38.
- ↑ Van Leuven 2019, pp. 35, 37.
- ↑ Van Leuven 2019, pp. 44–46.
- ↑ Shaw, Len G. (September 16, 1929). "The Theater". Detroit Free Press. p. 6. Retrieved July 16, 2026.
- ↑ Van Leuven 2019, pp. 43, 47, 49.
- ↑ Van Leuven 2019, pp. 48–50.
- ↑ Van Leuven 2019, pp. 52–56, 60.
- ↑ "Historic Roster". The Lambs,Inc. Retrieved July 9, 2026.
- ↑ Oldfield, Barney, Col. (April 12, 1978). "Ray Bolger Was There At Music Hall's Birth". Variety. p. 2.
{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ↑ Van Leuven 2019, p. 60.
- ↑ Van Leuven 2019, p. 64.
- ↑ Van Leuven 2019, pp. 65–67, 70.
- ↑ Van Leuven 2019, pp. 70–75.
- ↑ Van Leuven 2019, pp. 77–78, 81, 83, 85.
- ↑ Thomas 1984, p. 132.
- ↑ Thomas 1984, p. 134.
- ↑ Harmetz, Aljean (October 1, 2013). The Making of The Wizard of Oz. Chicago Review Press. p. 169. ISBN 978-1613748350.
- ↑ Lerner, Al (2007). Vamp 'Til Ready. BearManor Media. ISBN 978-1593930806.[page needed]
- ↑ "Ray Bolger" masterworksbroadway.com, accessed August 26, 2019
- ↑ "Ray Bolger Bio" allmusic.com, accessed August 26, 2019
- ↑ Stage Door Canteen tcm.com, accessed August 26, 2019
- ↑ Ray Bolger at the Internet Broadway Database
- ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Ray Bolger 1978 Safeway Scotch Buy Commercial". YouTube. July 29, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
- ↑ Ebert, Roger (April 3, 1976). "Few High Points During The 1976 Academy Awards". The Missoulian. p. 24. Retrieved July 4, 2026.
- ↑ Cross, Lucy E. "About Ray Bolger". Masterworks Broadway. Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved June 12, 2011.
- ↑ Van Leuven 2019, p. 212.
- ↑ Van Leuven 2019, pp. 15, 44–45.
- ↑ Van Leuven 2019, pp. 40, 214.
- ↑ Van Leuven 2019, pp. 33–34, 39, 42–44, 46.
- ↑ Van Leuven 2019, pp. 51, 62.
- ↑ Adelman, Gary (2008). "Ray Bolger in The Wizard of Oz as the Scarecrow". Kansas Wizard of Oz 'N More. Archived from the original on June 18, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
- ↑ Christy, Marian (December 14, 1980). "The irrepressible Ray Bolger [2]". The Boston Globe. p. 178. Retrieved July 9, 2026.
- ↑ Van Leuven 2019, p. 63.
- ↑ Van Leuven 2019, pp. 5, 72.
- ↑ "Our History". Church of the Good Shepherd. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
- ↑ Critchlow, Donald T. (October 21, 2013). When Hollywood Was Right: How Movie Stars, Studio Moguls, and Big Business Remade American Politics. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107650282.
- ↑ ""1968 Presidential Race" Republicans". The Pop History Dig. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
- ↑ Larsen, David (February 11, 1980). "The Stars Come Out In Election Year". The Los Angeles Times. p. 18. Retrieved July 9, 2026.
- ↑ Van Leuven 2019, p. 192.
- ↑ Van Leuven 2019, pp. 212–213.
- 1 2 Van Leuven 2019, p. 213.
- ↑ "Obituaries: Ray Bolger, actor, comedian, dancer; portrayed 'Wizard of Oz' scarecrow". Courier-Post. January 16, 1987. p. 16. Retrieved July 9, 2026.
- ↑ "Bolger's Funeral Set". Los Angeles Times. January 17, 1987. Retrieved July 9, 2026.
- ↑ "Ray Bolger". The Official Masterworks Broadway Site. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
- ↑ Van Gelder, Lawrence (June 28, 1969). "Judy Garland's Funeral Draws Her Colleagues". The New York Times. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
- ↑ Albright, Jane (2008). "Return to Oz & 50th Anniversary of MGM Film". The Oz Reference Library. Archived from the original on April 19, 2008. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
- ↑ "Greatest Movie Characters". filmsite.org. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
- ↑ "AFI: 10 Top 10". afi.com. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
- ↑ "Star Facts". Hollywood Walk of Fame. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
- ↑ Palm Springs Walk of Stars by date dedicated, palmspringswalkofstars.com; accessed September 26, 2014.
- ↑ Tuttle, Kate (March 13, 2019). "How a high schooler's obsession became a biography - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
- ↑ Van Leuven 2019, Copyright page.
- ↑ "Radio City Music Hall Inaugural Program – Broadway Special – Original". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Retrieved February 4, 2025.
- ↑ Goode, Jeff (January 24, 1969). "Ray Bolger stars in come summer, He shows enormous zest in musical at the O'Keefe". Toronto Public Library Digital Archive. Retrieved February 4, 2025.
- ↑ "The Happy Time". Indianaplis Public Library Digital Collections. 1969. Retrieved February 4, 2025.
Works cited
edit- Van Leuven, Holly (2019). Ray Bolger: More Than a Scarecrow. Oxford: Oxford University Press USA - OSO. ISBN 978-0-19-063905-1.
- Thomas, Tony (1984). That's Dancing. New York: Abrams.
External links
edit
- Ray Bolger at IMDb
- Ray Bolger at the TCM Movie Database (archived)
- Churkendoose album (mp3)
- "Did these stories Really Happen" by Michelle Bernier. Createspace Pub. 2010; ISBN 1-4505-8536-1
