Ray Bolger was the actor who took on the portrayal of the brave but brainless Scarecrow in the MGM version of The Wizard of Oz. Like Judy Garland, it is the movie he is best remembered for today. Also like Garland, and many of his costars, he was also plagued with the negative after-effects of his participation in the project. The mask Bolger wore for his portrayal, while not as dangerous as the Tin Man makeup, did leave its own lasting impression on the actor.
Though designed specifically for Bolger’s face the consistent donning of the mask left marks on the actor’s face that remained noticeable up to a year after filming had ended.
Poor Puppy
The set of The Wizard of Oz was fraught with dangers for the entirety of its cast, and not just the human actors who worked there. Terry, the Cairn terrier who played Toto also suffered an injury while working. While Terry fit perfectly in Judy Garland's prop basket, she was not carried about for the entirety of filming.
When roaming around out of the basket the poor tiny puppy had her paw trod on by one of the Wicket Witch's guardsmen. The paw was soon deemed broken. Terry, our famous Toto, did recover and go on to star in over 15 films.
The Yellow Brick Road
The Yellow Brick Road, unlike the Silver Slippers of the original book, was translated as described to the screen. It is one of the most iconic images from either Baum's book or MGM's movie. Sometimes, however, things are a bit clearer in the imagination. Due to MGM's insistence on using Technicolor industrial-grade paint had to be brought in to repaint the yellow on the set.
In Technicolor the original road came through with a green tint on camera. While clear in his colorful description Baum could not have imagined the trouble his colorful world would give 20th century moviemakers.
Jack Haley As The Tin Man
After the debilitating poisoning of the original Tin Man, Buddy Ebsen, Jack Haley was hired to take over the roll. Not wanting to duplicating the experience of poisoning one of their actors the MGM makeup department switched from using aluminum powder to using aluminum paste on Jack Haley's face.
While Haley's lungs were safe, and he avoided the severity of Ebsen's allergic reaction, he still fell victim to a rather serious eye infection that required surgical treatment and put all of shooting on hold for 4 days.
Bert Lahr As The Cowardly Lion
The Cowardly Lion, and the actor Bert Lahr, brought like and comedy to the often plagued set of The Wizard of Oz. A comic, both lovable and down to earth in real life, was the first, and the successful choice to play the Lion. Yet, just as his costars Bolger and Haley suffered through makeup and costume problems, Lahr had his own issues to attend to.
Lahr had no fear of being typecast at production's end. He was a talented performer of vaudeville, burlesque, and Broadway. And, as the man said himself, "How many parts are there for lions?"