Buddy Ebsen had a brush with death before he found fame as a hillbilly in Beverly Hills.
The actor, who would have turned 115 on April 2, was originally cast at the Tin Woodman in 1939’s “The Wizard of Oz.” But the chance to walk down the yellow brick road proved to be a slippery slope that nearly ended his Hollywood career and his life.
“I didn’t know much about ‘The Wizard of Oz,’” his daughter Kiki Ebsen admitted to Fox News Digital.
After the actor passed away in 2003 at age 95, the singer/songwriter/pianist came across a trunk, a treasure trove filled with memorabilia from his decades-long career which dates back to the 1920s. It has since compelled her to launch a one-woman show titled “My Buddy: The Other Side of Oz.”
“I found a songbook that he had for ‘The Wizard of Oz,’” she said. “That was a rumor in our family. He never spoke to us directly about that. So I got inspired to read these letters and go through his timeline… He had great success, but he also had great failures. And the way he dealt with all of that, especially in the end, was just so inspiring.”
Ebsen started his career in vaudeville and nightclubs. His lanky 6 feet, 3 inches stature and flamboyant dancing quickly caught the eye of filmmakers. He was signed to MGM when he heard all about the “big buzz” concerning “Oz.”
“It was a big-budget movie, and it was going to be in color,” Kiki explained. “And anyone who was cast in that movie – it was going to be a major career advancement for them. It would be huge. A lot of publicity.”
Film producer Arthur Freed, who Kiki described as the “right-hand man” for MGM co-founder Louis B. Mayer, approached Ebsen with shocking news – he was cast as The Scarecrow.
“Dad was like, ‘This is great, I’ve made it!’” Kiki chuckled. “He started practicing his moves, the wobbly dance, the whole thing.”
Unexpectedly, actor Ray Bolger appeared on set. His agent, a “powerful” figure from William Morris, declared that his client was going to take on the role instead. A confused Ebsen approached Freed, but it was too late – he was pushed out.
“Arthur Freed says, ‘Don’t tell anybody I told you [that] you were gonna be The Scarecrow – You’re [now] going to be the Tin Woodman,'” said Kiki. “And the makeup is what almost killed him.”
Kiki said the character’s costume was originally made out of bulky stove pipe. The sharp metal pressed against the actor’s joints and “very delicate parts of his body,” making it difficult to dance in. The costume was then remade with cardboard.
“They covered his face in white clown makeup,” Kiki shared. “And they dusted his face and hands with aluminum powder… real aluminum dust. It was in the air. And because the lights were hot, his makeup melted several times a day. So he had to be reapplied with aluminum dust. And he inhaled it over time. It coated the inside of his lungs like paint. He could not get oxygen to his blood, but he didn’t know this was happening. He just knew that he was cramping up [on] set and during shooting.”