Ray Bolger
- Birthday
- Jan 10, 1904
Bio: The son of a house painter, American actor/dancer Ray Bolger grew up in a middle-class Boston neighborhood called Dorchester. Bolger knew what he wanted to do in life the moment he saw Broadway entertainer Fred Stone literally bounce on stage in a Boston production of Jack O'Lantern. "That moment opened up a whole new world for me" Bolger would remember; after a… More Bio: The son of a house painter, American actor/dancer Ray Bolger grew up in a middle-class Boston neighborhood called Dorchester. Bolger knew what he wanted to do in life the moment he saw Broadway entertainer Fred Stone literally bounce on stage in a Boston production of Jack O'Lantern. "That moment opened up a whole new world for me" Bolger would remember; after a relatively aimless childhood, he determined to become a performer himself. Starting out in vaudeville as a dancer, Bolger developed a loose-limbed ad lib style that would win him starring spots in such 1930s Broadway musicals as Life Begins at 8:40 and On Your Toes; in the latter, Bolger introduced Richard Rodgers' "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue". Signed by MGM in 1936 for a featured solo in The Great Ziegfeld, Bolger was given a $3,000 per week contract and was expected to take whatever part was assigned him. But Bolger balked when he was cast as the Tin Man in the studio's Wizard of Oz. He felt the role was too confining for his talents, so Bolger convinced the film's Scarecrow, Buddy Ebsen, to switch parts with him. This move, of course, assured film immortality for Bolger, but wasn't so beneficial for Ebsen, whose allergic reaction to the Tin Man's silver makeup forced him to drop out of the film and be replaced by Jack Haley. Bolger's movie career pretty much took second place to his Broadway work in the 1940s. In 1948, Bolger was awarded the lead in a musical version of Charley's Aunt titled Where's Charley? It was when the daughter of one of the production people began singing his lyrics back to him during out-of-town tryouts that Bolger, in league with composer Frank Loesser, developed the "everybody sing" chorus for the song "Once in Love With Amy". Bolger repeated his role in the 1952 filmization of Where's Charley (1952), then continued his Broadway career with intermittent film appearances into the 1960s. He also starred in a 1953 TV series, alternately titled The Ray Bolger Show and Where's Raymond?, which was so bad that even he was uncharacteristically putting himself down before the inevitable cancellation. Bolger suffered a few career setbacks on stage in the early 1960s, and his villain role in Disney's Babes in Toyland (1961) hardly showed him to best advantage, but the performer prospered as a nightclub performer during the rest of the decade in a nostalgic (if slightly lachrymose) act which recalled his past song hits. Bolger charmed live audiences with his still-athletic hoofing skills into the 1970s. In the twilight of his career, Bolger was allowed to sparkle in guest spots on such TV programs as The Partridge Family, The Love Boat, Baretta, and even PBS's Evening at the Pops. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Filmography
-
Broadway's Best at Pops (2007)
- Actor
-
That's Dancing! (1985)
- Actor
-
Peter and the Wolf and Other Tales (1984)
- Actor
-
Peter and the Magic Egg (1983)
- Actor
-
Just You and Me, Kid (1979)
- Tom
- See all 22 films
Ray Bolger Videos
The Harvey Girls
2 minutes 28 seconds
That's Dancing
1 minutes 18 seconds
The Wizard Of Oz 70th Anniversary Edition
2 minutes 12 seconds
The Great Ziegfeld
1 minutes 32 seconds
Rosalie
30 seconds
Born Today
- Steve Miner (62 years old)
- Lisa Barbuscia (42 years old)
- Max Records (16 years old)
- Kenan Imirzalioglu (39 years old)
- Tara Platt (33 years old)
- Renee Olstead (24 years old)
- Marie Gillain (38 years old)
- Kathleen Turner (59 years old)
- Eddie Cibrian (40 years old)
- Keye Luke (109 years old)
- Roger Ebert (71 years old)
- Jamel Debbouze (38 years old)
- Kevin Bishop (33 years old)
- Julie Depardieu (40 years old)
- Brian Benben (57 years old)
- Isabella Rossellini (61 years old)
- George Hearn (79 years old)
- Kim Dickens (48 years old)
- Alana De La Garza (37 years old)
- Willa Holland (22 years old)
- Paul McCartney (71 years old)
- Ian Carmichael (93 years old)
- Blake Shelton (37 years old)
- Carol Kane (61 years old)
- See more (24)
