Biography
Ray Bolger began his career in vaudeville. He was half of a team called "Sanford and Bolger" and also did numerous Broadway shows on his own. He, like Gene Kelly, was a song-and-dance man as well as an actor. He was signed to a contract with MGM in 1936 and his first role was as himself in The Great Ziegfeld (1936). This was soon followed by a role opposite Eleanor Powell in Rosalie (1937). His first dancing and singing role was in Sweethearts (1938), where he did the "wooden shoes" number with ...
Known For
Complete Filmography
To Oz! The Making of a Classic
2009
as Self
A look into how L. Frank Baum's classic novel was transformed into one of the most beloved films of all time including archival interviews, behind-the...
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s: Dancing Away the Great Depression
2009
as Self (archive)
A two-hour in-depth exploration into the Hollywood musicals of the 1930s.
Judy Garland: By Myself
2004
as Self - Actor (archive sound)
As Hollywood biographies go, Judy Garland's story is one of the saddest success stories you'll ever hear. The sanitized studio version of her life pre...
The Dark Side of the Rainbow
2000
as 'Hunk' (archive footage)
The movie The Wizard of Oz (1939) with the soundtrack replaced by Pink Floyd's album The Dark Side of the Moon (1973); several uncanny moments of sync...
The Dark Side of Oz
1995
as Hunk / Scarecrow (archive footage)
Pink Floyd Meets The Wizard of Oz
That's Entertainment! III
1994
as (archive footage)
Some of MGM'S musical stars review the studios history of musicals. From The Hollywood Revue of 1929 to Brigadoon, from the first musical talkies to G...
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: 50 Years of Magic
1990
as Self (archive footage)
Documentary about the making of the 1939 MGM classic film The Wizard of Oz. Includes interviews of cast and crew members, their families and fans of t...
That's Dancing!
1985
as Self - Host
A documentary film about dancing on the screen, from it's orgins after the invention of the movie camera, over the movie musical from the late 20s, 30...
The Whimsical World of Oz
1985
as Self
A promotional piece for the Disney film "Return to Oz", that also traces the history of the Oz books and films.
Peter and the Magic Egg
1983
as Uncle Amos (voice)
A boy named Peter must save Easter. An evil character named Tin Whiskers takes over the town and re-names everything including the streets to have tin...
Annie
1982
as Sound Effects Man at Radio Station (uncredited)
An orphan in a facility run by the mean Miss Hannigan, Annie believes that her parents left her there by mistake. When a rich man named Oliver "Daddy"...
The Runner Stumbles
1979
as Monsignor Nicholson
Dick Van Dyke stars as a priest accused of murdering a nun. Directed by Stanley Kramer, this 1979 drama also features Kathleen Quinlan, Maureen Staple...
Just You and Me, Kid
1979
as Tom
George Burns stars as a former vaudevillian who befriends a young runaway, played by 14-year old Brooke Shields, who is being chased by drug dealers.
The Making of the Wizard of Oz
1979
as Self
The time was 1938. The place, Hollywood. This is the story of one of the 456 films made that year, how it was made, and why it has endured.
Three on a Date
1978
as Andrew
The adventures and mishaps of four couples, winners on a TV game show, along with their young chaperone, on a Hawaiian holiday.
The Entertainer
1976
as Billy Rice
A vaudeville entertainer approaches middle age still not having attained success or stardom.
That's Entertainment!
1974
as (archive footage)
Various MGM stars from yesterday present their favorite musical moments from the studio's 50 year history.
The Daydreamer
1966
as The Pieman
A young Hans Christian Andersen goes in search of knowledge in the Garden of Paradise in order to make his studies easier. Each time he falls asleep, ...
Backstage Party
1961
as Self
Party, enterianment, and Behind the scenes
Babes in Toyland
1961
as Barnaby
All roads lead to magical, merry Toyland as Mary Contrary and Tom Piper prepare for their wedding! But villainous Barnaby wants Mary for himself, so h...
A Star Is Born World Premiere
1954
as Self
Live television broadcast of the world premiere. Described by various participants as the biggest world premiere in memory, even bigger than the Acade...
April in Paris
1952
as Sam Winthrop Putnam
A series of misunderstandings leads to a chorus girl traveling to Paris to represent the American theater, where she falls in love with a befuddled bu...
Where's Charley?
1952
as Charley Wykeham
Musical version of the comedy, "Charley's Aunt," by Brandon Thomas. As part of a simple enough ruse, a Cambridge student poses as his aunt but his sch...
Make Mine Laughs
1949
as (archive footage)
A kind of filmed vaudeville show, using old material from RKO films and some new.
Look for the Silver Lining
1949
as Jack Donahue
After getting her start in her parents' vaudeville act, Marilyn Miller is taken under the wing of dance sensation Jack Donahue. He senses the girl's e...
The Harvey Girls
1946
as Chris Maule
On a train trip out west to become a mail-order bride, Susan Bradley meets a cheery crew of young women traveling out to open a "Harvey House" restaur...
Stage Door Canteen
1943
as Ray Bolger
A young soldier on a pass in New York City visits the famed Stage Door Canteen, where famous stars of the theater and films appear and host a recreati...
Four Jacks and a Jill
1942
as Nifty Sullivan, a Jack
Karanina "Nina" Novak, is befriended by Nifty, the leader of a four-piece orchestra, and in return, secures an engagement for them at the Little Arega...
Sunny
1941
as Bunny Billings
Sunny is a 1941 film American film directed by Herbert Wilcox. It was adapted by Sig Herzig from the Jerome Kern-Oscar Hammerstein II musical play Sun...
The Wizard of Oz
1939
as "Hunk" / Scarecrow
Young Dorothy finds herself in a magical world where she makes friends with a lion, a scarecrow and a tin man as they make their way along the yellow ...
Another Romance of Celluloid: Electrical Power
1938
as Self (uncredited)
This short begins at Boulder Dam (now Hoover Dam). The electricity generated here by the Colorado River is sent to Hollywood, where movie studios need...
Sweethearts
1938
as Hans
The team behind a successful Broadway production tries to stop the married stars from transitioning to Hollywood.
Rosalie
1937
as Bill Delroy
West Point cadet Dick Thorpe falls in love with a girl, who turns out to be a princess from an European kingdom.
The Great Ziegfeld
1936
as Ray Bolger
At the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, sideshow barker Florenz Ziegfeld turns the tables on his more-successful neighbor Billings, and also steals his girl...