Bert Lahr

Lahr was a member of the Hollywood Victory Caravan during World War II. This group traveled around the country giving performances in order to sell war bonds.

Lahr dropped out of school at the age of 15 to join a vaudeville act.

Lahr won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for Foxy in 1964.

Lahr appeared with Wizard of Oz co-star Ray Bolger in the Broadway play Life Begins at 8:40.

Along with a young Liza Minnelli, Lahr hosted the first ever telecast of The Wizard of Oz in 1956.

Lahr appeared in a total of 18 Broadway productions from 1927 to 1964.

Lahr's first wife, Mercedes, had a mental breakdown and had to be put into an asylum.

Lahr was married to Mildred Schroeder from 1940 until his death in 1967. They had two children: a son named John and a daughter named Jane.

Lahr was married to Mercedes Delpino from 1929 to 1940. They had one son named Herbert.

Lahr's son, John, is the senior theater critic for the New Yorker magazine.

In 1931, Lahr made his motion picture debut in Flying High.

Lahr's first major success on Broadway was in the musical Hold Everything.

In 1927, Lahr made his Broadway debut in Harry Delmar's Revels.

During the 1960s, Lahr did a series of TV commercials for Lay's potato chips. He later said he got paid more money for doing the commercials than he did from the rest of his show biz career combined.

Lahr is buried in Union Field Cemetary in Queens, NY.

Wizard of Oz co-star Judy Garland learned about Lahr's death right before she was to go on-stage in Las Vegas. She proceeded to dedicate her show to him.

Lahr's son, John, wrote a biography of him entitled Notes on a Cowardly Lion.

Lahr starred in the first American production of Samuel Beckett's classic play Waiting for Godot.

Lahr died during the filming of his final movie, The Night They Raided Minsky's. His scenes were completed using a double.

Lahr and Wizard of Oz co-stars Jack Hailey and Ray Bolger argued for years afterward over whose costume was the most uncomfortable.