Ray Bolger

By the time of his death he was the last surviving member of the main Oz cast. William Boyd (June 5, 1895–September 12, 1972) was an American actor who became famous playing squeaky clean cowboy Hopalong Cassidy. Bolger died in Los Angeles, California, in 1987 of cancer just five days after his eighty-third birthday and was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. Mr. In 1985 he and Liza Minnelli, the daughter of his Oz co-star Judy Garland, starred in That's Dancing! -- a film also written Jack Haley, Jr., the son of Tin Man actor Jack Haley.

He also made frequent guest appearances on television. He starred in several more films and had a sitcom called Where's Raymond? 1953. Following Oz, Bolger moved to RKO. Bolger's sympathy for Dorothy's plight, his cleverness and bravery in her rescue from the Wicked Witch of the West and his deep affection for her shone through, endearing the character -- and Bolger -- in the public mind forever.

He displayed the full range of his physical, comedic, and dramatic talents playing the character searching for the brain that he's always had. Bolger's performance in Oz was a tour de force. (The powdered aluminum had been inhaled and coated Ebsen's lungs, leaving him near death.) Ebsen's illness paved the way for the role to be filled by Jack Haley. While Bolger was pleased with his role as the Scarecrow, Ebsen was struck ill by the powdered aluminum make-up used to complete the Tin Man costume.

In time the roles were switched. The part had already been assigned to another lean and limber dancing studio contract player, Buddy Ebsen. Bolger's studio contract stipulated that he would play any part the studio chose; however, he was unhappy when he was cast as Tin Woodsman in Oz. His best-known film prior to The Wizard of Oz was The Great Ziegfeld (1936).

His film career began when he signed a $3,000 a week contract with MGM in 1936. His limber body and ability to ad lib movement won him many starring roles on Broadway in the 1930s. He began his career as a dancer. He was inspired by the vaudeville shows he attended when he was young to become an entertainer himself.

His father was a house-painter, his mother a homemaker. Ray Bolger was born and grew up in Dorchester, Massachusetts, a middle-class neighborhood. Ray Bolger (January 10, 1904 - January 15, 1987) was an American entertainer of stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of the Scarecrow in the 1939 MGM film The Wizard of Oz.