Ray Bolger, Oz's Scarecrow Trivia Quiz

Answer: Dorchester, Massachusetts

He was born Raymond Wallace Bulcano on January 10, 1904, in Dorchester, Massachusetts.

Answer: False

Bolger said that 'while his family was poor, he remembered growing up on a nice street in Boston'. He finished high school, attending school in the mornings and working in the afternoons. Bolger may have never worked for a bookmaker, but he did enjoy playing the ponies.

He said he 'always had five or six horses running while he was making "The Wizard Of Oz"'. He said he 'just got up one morning, decided it wasn't fun anymore, and quit'.

Answer: 1

The Bolger's had one of the happiest Hollywood marriages around. He married Gwendolyn Pickard on July 9, 1929, and they were together until his death in 1987--almost 58 years.

Answer: 'The Great Ziegfield'

Bolger signed a contract with MGM, and he made his film debut in 1936, playing himself in "The Great Ziegfield". Florenz Ziegfield, Jr. was the producer of the extravagant stage revue the "Ziegfield Follies". William Powell played the part of Flo Ziegfield and Mryna Loy starred as Ziegfield's wife, Billie Burke. "Sweethearts" (1938) starred Bolger and Jeanette MacDonald. James Cagney starred in the other two films. "Man Of A Thousand Faces" was on Lon Chaney's life, and "Yankee Doodle Dandy" was on the life of James M. Cohan.

Answer: Jack Haley

Jack Haley, who replaced Buddy Ebsen as Tin Man, was paid $3,000.00 per week. Frank Morgan and Bert Lahr were both paid $2,500.00 a week, and Billie Burke was paid $766.67 a week. If Buddy Ebsen had not gotten ill from the Tin Man makeup, he would have been paid $1,500.00 a week.

Answer: He had permanent lines in his face from the Scarecrow mask.

Bolger sat every morning for two hours in the makeup chair to become the Scarecrow. A latex sack, which had been made from a plaster cast of Bolger's head, was pulled down over his face and head. The sack was wrinkled up to look like burlap and glued onto his face and head. Bolger said that on the last day of filming, he noticed permanent lines in his face where the wrinkled latex had been glued on so many times.

Answer: Harvey Girls

All these are wonderful films, but the one that reunited Garland and Bolger was MGM's musical set out West, "Harvey Girls" in 1946.

Answer: Babes In Toyland

"Babes In Toyland" which opened in December of 1961, starred Ed Wynn as the Toymaker, Annette Funicello as Mary Contrary, and Tommy Sands as Tom Piper, and Ray Bolger as Barnaby.

Answer: 'Star Trek'

He starred in the episode "Greetings From Home". In the 1960's and 70's. Bolger was very active in television. He guest starred on "Battlestar Galactica" as Vector in the episode "Greetings From Home". Bolger starred in at least three episodes of "The Partridge Family" as Grandpa, "The Mod Father", "Whatever Happened to the Old Songs", and "Forty Winks". Bolger was in two sentimental episodes of "Little House On The Prairie" as Toby Noe in "Dance With Me" and "There's No Place Like Home".

Answer: Hunk

Hunk was the name of the farmhand who was played by Bolger in his dual role. Remember when Hunk says "Now Lookit, Dorothy--you ain't using your head about Miss Gulch. Think you didn't have any brains at all!", and "Well, your head ain't made of straw, you know!".

Then of course, Hunk is cast in Dorothy's dream as the Scarecrow who needs a brain. Ray Bolger passed away in Los Angeles, CA on January 15, 1987. Of the three actors who played Dorothy's companions, Bolger was the one who always remembered the role mostly fondly, and actively lobbied to play the role. Maybe that's why he gave the Scarecrow so much humanity, and why I like him the best.