I have mixed feelings about Ray Bolger. He was an extremely talented dancer, who incorporated very witty physical comedy into his dance routines. He was also quite talented as a verbal comedian. I always enjoy watching him in a movie or in one of his rare TV appearances. Unfortunately, as a human being, Ray Bolger was a real S.O.B. Many, many people who worked with him had war stories about Bolger. In 'The Wizard of Oz', Bolger was originally cast as the Tin Woodman (a more appropriate choice than the Scarecrow, given Bolger's Massachusetts accent) and Buddy Ebsen was cast as the Scarecrow (an excellent choice, given Ebsen's folksy accent and his loose-limbed dance routines). When Bolger saw the stiff costume he was required to wear as the Tin Woodman, he bullied Ebsen into switching roles with him ... and Ebsen nearly died when he developed an allergic reaction to the Tin Woodman's metallic make-up. When Ray Bolger starred in "Where's Charley?" on Broadway, one night he blew a cue onstage in a dance number, in front of an audience ... so he deliberately tripped his leading lady, Beverley Bozeman, sprawling her on the stage and leaving her to figure out how to save the number with the audience watching. During a guest appearance on the TV show 'Nanny and the Professor', Bolger angrily berated a child actor who blew a cue, reducing the child to tears in front of the entire cast and crew. On the closing night of Bolger's last Broadway show 'Come Summer', Bolger delivered an angry curtain speech to the audience that is still remembered for its mean-spiritedness. In fairness to Bolger, one person who has spoken well of him was his friend William F Buckley Jnr, who knew him socially ... but Mr Buckley never worked with Bolger.