Bolger was one of the few Oz actors who lived long enough to enjoy the movie’s success after it became a television phenomenon. As the last surviving Oz lead, Bolger faithfully gave interviews, made Oz-related appearances, and signed autographs as long as he was able. According to the book Cooking in Oz, Bolger would often send fans actual strands of straw from his costume, which later ended up in the Smithsonian.
Born Raymond Wallace Bulcao in 1904, Bolger was inspired to become a performer by the "original" Scarecrow: an actor named Fred Stone, who played the role in the 1902 stage version. In The Making of The Wizard of Oz by Aljean Harmetz, Bolger recalled the first time he saw Stone in a play in 1920.
"He bounded on a trampoline out of a haystack looking just like a scarecrow," Bolger remembered. "I’ve never forgotten it. That moment opened up a whole new world for me."
Bolger began his career in vaudeville as half of a team called "Sanford and Bolger." He next moved to Broadway, where his shows included Life Begins at 8:40 with one of his future Oz co-stars, Cowardly Lion Bert Lahr. He made his first movie at MGM in 1935 and signed a long-term contract with the studio the following year.
When casting began for The Wizard of Oz, Bolger was delighted to be included, then horrified to find out that he had been cast as the Tin Man. Knowing his dance style was better suited to the rubbery-legged straw man, he fought for the Scarecrow role and eventually wore down studio executives, who agreed to a switch.
The slow pace of movie-making took its toll on the energetic Bolger. One month after finishing The Wizard of Oz, he asked to be released from his MGM contract. Although he still made an occasional movie, reuniting with Judy Garland in The Harvey Girls in 1946 and with Margaret Hamilton in The Daydreamer in 1966, he spent most of his time with his first love – the theater. Bolger won a Tony Award in 1949 for his role in the musical Where’s Charley? and was elected to the Theatre Hall of Fame in 1980.
In 1953, Bolger starred in his own TV series, Where’s Raymond?, which was later changed to The Ray Bolger Show. He went on to make numerous guest appearances on television. Watch for him on reruns of The Partridge Family, Little House on the Prairie, The Love Boat, and Diff’rent Strokes.
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