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Jack Haley

Jack Haley
Jack haley ragtime3.jpg
Haley in Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938)
Born John Joseph Haley
(1897-08-10)August 10, 1897
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died June 6, 1979(1979-06-06) (aged 81)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death Heart attack
Occupation Vaudeville performer
Actor
Light Comedian
Singer and Dancer
Years active 1924–1979
Known for His role as the Tin Man
Spouse(s) Florence McFadden (m. 1921–1979; his death)
Children Jack Haley, Jr. (1933–2001)
Gloria Haley-Parnassus (1923–2010)

John Joseph "Jack" Haley (August 10, 1897 – June 6, 1979) was an American vaudevillian, stage, radio, and film actor, light comedian, singer and dancer best known for his portrayal of the Tin Man in the classic 1939 MGM film The Wizard of Oz.

Haley was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Canadian-born parents John Joseph Haley Sr. and Ellen Curley Haley. His father was a sailor by trade and died in a ship wreck off the coast of Nova Scotia on February 1, 1898 when Jack was only six months old. He had one older brother, Bill, who died of pneumonia in 1915 at the age of 20 after contracting tuberculosis.

Haley headlined in vaudeville as a song-and-dance comedian. One of his closest friends was Fred Allen, who would frequently mention "Mr. Jacob Haley of Newton Highlands, Massachusetts" on the air. In the early 1930s, Haley starred in comedy shorts for Vitaphone in Brooklyn, New York. His wide-eyed, good-natured expression gained him supporting roles in musical feature films, including Poor Little Rich Girl with Shirley Temple, Higher and Higher with Frank Sinatra and the Irving Berlin musical Alexander's Ragtime Band. Both Poor Little Rich Girl and Alexander's Ragtime Band were released by Twentieth Century-Fox. Haley was under contract to them and appeared in the Fox films Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and Pigskin Parade, marking his first appearance with Judy Garland.


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