Raymond Wallace Bolger (January 10, 1904 – January 15, 1987) was an American film and television actor, vaudevillian, singer, dancer (particularly of tap) and stage performer (particularly musical theatre) who started in the silent film era. He was a major Broadway performer in the 1930s and beyond (see below). He is best known for his role as the Scarecrow and his Kansas counterpart farm worker "Hunk" in MGM's classic The Wizard of Oz (1939) and the villainous Barnaby in Walt Disney's holiday musical fantasy Babes in Toyland. He was also the host of his eponymous television show, The Ray Bolger Show. Bolger was born at 598 Second St., South Boston, Massachusetts into a Catholic family of Irish descent, the son of James Edward Bolger and Anne C. Wallace. His father James was first-generation Irish, and was born in Fall River, Massachusetts; his mother "Annie" who had a large family, was born in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. He grew up and attended school in the Codman Sqaure section of Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. After graduating high school he worked for a peanut company, as a bank messenger, and for the New England Mutual Life Insurance Company, before finding his way to vaudeville by gaining a role on Broadway in “The Passing Show of 1926." His entertainment aspirations evolved from the vaudeville shows of his youth. He began his career in a vaudeville tap show, creating the act "Sanford & Bolger" with his dance partner. In 1926, he danced at New York City's legendary Palace Theatre, the premier vaudeville theatre in the United States. His limber body and improvisational dance movement won him many leading roles on Broadway in the 1930s. Eventually, his career would also encompass film, television and nightclub work. In 1932 he was elected to the theater club, The Lambs and performed on opening night at Radio City Music Hall in December 1932. Bolger signed his first cinema contract with MGM in 1936, and although The Wizard of Oz was early in his film career, he appeared in other movies of note. His best known pre-Oz appearance was The Great Ziegfeld (1936), in which he portrayed himself. He also appeared in Sweethearts (1938), the first MGM film in Technicolor, starring Nelson Eddy, Jeanette MacDonald. He also appeared in the Eleanor Powell vehicle Rosalie (1937), which also starred Eddy and Frank Morgan. Bolger's MGM contract stipulated that he would play any part the studio chose. However, he was unhappy when he was originally cast as the Tin Woodman in the studio's 1939 feature film adaptation of The Wizard of Oz. The role of the Scarecrow had already been assigned to another dancing studio contract player, Buddy Ebsen. In time, the roles were shuffled around. Bolger's face was permanently lined by wearing the Scarecrow's makeup.