1904 Raymond Wallace "Ray" Bolger (January 10, 1904 – January 15, 1987) was an American entertainer of stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of the Scarecrow and Kansas farmworker Hunk in the 1939 film,
The Wizard of Oz
. Also recognized as an actor and dancer he is also associated with introducing
two popular songs of the 20th century. Bolger's Broadway credits included
Life Begins at 8:40, On Your Toes, By Jupiter, All American, and Where's Charley?, for which he won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical and in which he introduced "
Once in Love with Amy", the song often connected with him. He repeated his stage role in the 1952 Technicolor film version of the musical. "
Once Upon a Time" is a song with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams from the 1962 musical
All American. In the musical, the song was performed by Ray Bolger and Eileen Herlie, and their version appears on the Broadway Cast recording. In his later years, he danced in a Dr Pepper television commercial. He had a recurring role as the father of Shirley Partridge (played by Shirley Jones) on The Partridge Family.
