RAY BOLGER BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:
Ray Bolger was born on January 10th, 1904 in Dorchester, Massachusetts with the birth name Raymond Wallace Bulcao. He first became involved in the entertainment industry working as a vaudeville performer. He began by joining a group called, “Sanford and Bolger” and soon began performing on stage in a number of Broadway productions.
In 1936, MGM signed him to a contract and he began appearing in films. Bolger’s first film role was in, “The Great Ziegfeld” (1936) followed by other appearances in such films as, “Rosalie” (1937) and “Sweethearts” (1938). From his successful performance in this film, he was cast in his most famous role of the Scarecrow, in, “The Wizard of Oz” (1939). He was originally cast as the Tin-Man but then got offered the role of the Scarecrow instead.
During World War II, Bolger also toured in the USO shows along with Joe E. Lewis in the Pacific Theater and worked on the film, "Stage Door Canteen" followed by a role in, “Four Jacks and a Jill” (1942) and "The Harvey Girls" (1946).
Along with having a successful film career, Bolgar never neglected his initial love of acting and performing as a stage actor. He also made a number of television appearances and was even given a role in his own sitcom, “Where’s Raymond” (1953) which later changed names to, “The Ray Bolger Show”. He also recorded ac soundtrack for children called, "The Churkendoose" and had a recurring role on the television series, "The Partridge Family".
As his career progressed, he continued to alternate between film, stage and television roles and film roles. Some of his other roles were on, "The Jean Arthur Show" (1966), "Life Begins at 8:40", "On Your Toes", "All American" and "Where's Charley", for which he was awarded a Tony Award for Best Actor in a musical.
He was only married once during his life to, Gwendolyn Bolger in 1929 and they remained married until he passed away on January 15th, 1987 at the age of eighty three in Los Angeles, California after suffering from bladder cancer. He is interred at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.
Filmography
1984 Diff'rent Strokes
1983 Peter and the Magic Egg
1978-1982 Fantasy Island
1982 Annie
1979 The Runner Stumbles
1979 Just You and Me, Kid
1979 Battlestar Galactica
1978-1979 Little House on the Prairie
1977-1979 The Love Boat
1979 Heaven Only Knows
1978 Three on a Date
1978 Baretta
1976 Captains and the Kings
1976 The Entertainer
1970-1972 The Partridge Family
1971 Nanny and the Professor
1966 The Jean Arthur Show
1966 The Daydreamer
1962 The Red Skelton Hour
1961 Babes in Toyland
1958-1959 G.E. True Theater
1953-1955 Where's Raymond?
1952 April in Paris
1952 Where's Charley?
1949 Look for the Silver Lining
1946 The Harvey Girls
1943 Forever and a Day
1942 Four Jacks and a Jill
1941 Sunny
1939 The Wizard of Oz
1938 Sweethearts
1938 The Girl of the Golden West
1937 Rosalie
