Hollywood Memorial

In Vaudeville he was half of a team called Sanford and Bolger. In 1926, Gus Edwards, a vaudeville legend and star maker, spotted Bolger and hired him for the Broadway show ‘A Merry World.’ Numerous Broadway roles followed including the lead in the Rodgers and Hart 1936 classic ‘On Your Toes.’ The strength of that performance earned him a movie contract from MGM. His feature film debut was as himself in the film ‘The Great Ziegfeld’ in 1936. In 1939, he was assigned to the role of Tin Man in the production of ‘The Wizard of Oz.’ Dismayed at the limited mobility of the character, Bolger convinced producer Mervyn LeRoy to allow him to switch roles and play the Scarecrow. It was to become the role that he is most associated with. He reunited with co-star Judy Garland for 1946’s ‘The Harvey Girls.’ In 1949 he returned to Broadway where he starred in ‘Where’s Charley?’ for which he won a Tony Award as Best Actor. Bolger succumbed to cancer in Los Angeles five days after his 83rd birthday attended by his wife of 60 years. He is entombed at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City.