Jack Haley Biography

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

Early life

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.

Career

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. Haley hosted a radio show from 1937 to 1939 known to many as The Jack Haley Show. The first season (1937-1938), the show was sponsored by Log Cabin Syrup and was known as The Log Cabin Jamboree. The next season (1938-1939), the show was sponsored by Wonder Bread and was known as The Wonder Show. During the second season the show featured Gale Gordon and Lucille Ball as regular radio performers.

Haley returned to musical comedies in the 1940s. Most of his '40s work was for RKO Radio Pictures. He left the studio in 1947 when he refused to appear in a remake of RKO's Seven Keys to Baldpate. Phillip Terry took the role. He subsequently went into real estate, taking guest roles in television series over the next couple of decades.

"The Tin Man" in The Wizard of Oz

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer hired Haley for the part of the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz after its contracted song-and-dance comedian Buddy Ebsen suffered an almost fatal allergic reaction. He had unwittingly inhaled some of the aluminum dust that composed the majority of the components that went into the creation of his silver face makeup. Bits of it instantly began to settle on his lungs and within a few days of principal photographic testing, he found himself preparing to sit down to dinner one night only to encounter difficulties taking a regular breath of oxygen. The dust was subsequently converted into a paste for Haley in the hope that the previous catastrophe that befell Ebsen would not be repeated. This time around, however, a different incident occurred. The application of the aluminum paste to Haley's face resulted in an eye infection that led to his being off the set for four days of shooting. Appropriate surgical treatment was administered and any chance of serious or permanent eye damage averted. Haley also portrayed the Tin Man's Kansas counterpart, Hickory, one of Aunt Em and Uncle Henry's farmhands.

Haley did not remember the makeup or the costume fondly. Interviewed about the film years later by Tom Snyder, he related that many fans assumed making the film was a fun experience. Haley said, "Like hell it was. It was work!" For his role as the Tin Woodman, Haley spoke in the same soft tone he used when reading bedtime stories to his children. Oz was one of only two films Haley made for MGM. The other was Pick a Star, a 1937 Hal Roach production distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Personal life

Haley was raised Roman Catholic. He was a member of the Good Shepherd Parish and the Catholic Motion Picture Guild in Beverly Hills, California. He married Florence McFadden (1902-1996), a native of Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania on February 25, 1921; "I met her casually"? Jack recalled. "As show people often do, and we became inseparable."? They remained married until his death. Flo Haley opened a successful beauty shop and had many film personalities among her clients. The couple had a son, Jack Haley Jr. (1933-2001), who became a successful film producer, and a daughter, Gloria (1923-2010). In 1974, the younger Haley married entertainer Liza Minnelli, the daughter of his father's Oz co-star Judy Garland. The marriage ended in divorce in 1979. Jack Haley Jr. died on April 21, 2001. Gloria Haley-Parnassus died on May 1, 2010. His nephew Bob Dornan served as a Republican congressman from California.

Final years and death

Haley's last film appearance was in 1977's New York, New York"?in the lavish "Happy Endings" musical number, he played a host who introduces a top Broadway star at an award ceremony, played by his then-daughter-in-law, Liza Minnelli. On April 9, 1979 he appeared at the 51st Academy Awards ceremony with his Oz co-star Ray Bolger to present the award for Best Costume Design. Bolger announced the nominees, Haley the winner. Before he could open the envelope, Bolger asked, "How come you get to read the winner?", to which Haley replied, "When your son produces the show, you can announce the winner." Jack Jr. was the show's producer that year. Haley remained active until a week before his death.

On June 6, 1979, Haley died of a heart attack at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California at the age of 81. He is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California.

Haley's autobiography, Heart of the Tin Man, was published in 2000.

Film

Year	Title	Role	Director/Studio	Notes
1927	Broadway Madness	Radio Announcer	Burton L. King Excellent Pictures	Film debut
1930	Follow Thru	Jack Martin	Lloyd Corrigan and Laurence Schwab Paramount	Performer: Button Up Your Overcoat
1933	Mr. Broadway	Jack Haley	Johnnie Walker and Edgar G. Ulmer Broadway-Hollywood Productions
	Sitting Pretty	Pete Pendleton	Harry Joe Brown Paramount	Performer: You"?re Such a Comfort to Me; I Wanna Meander with Miranda and Good Morning Glory
1934	Here Comes the Groom	Mike Scanlon	Edward Sedgwick Paramount
1935	Spring Tonic	Sykes	Clyde Bruckman Fox Film Corporation
	Redheads on Parade	Peter Mathews	Norman Z. McLeod Fox Film Corporation
	The Girl Friend	Henry H. Henry	Edward Buzzell Columbia Pictures	Performer: What is This Power and Two Together
	Coronado	Chuck Hornbostel	Norman Z. McLeod Paramount	Performer: All's Well in Coronado by the Sea and Keep Your Fingers Crossed
1936	F-Man	Johnny Dime	Edward F. Cline Paramount
	Poor Little Rich Girl	Jimmy Dolan	Irving Cummings 20th Century Fox	Performer: You've got to Eat your Spinach Baby and Military Man
	Mr. Cinderella	Joe Jenkins/ Aloysius P. Merriweather	Edward Sedgwick MGM
	Pigskin Parade	Winston "?Slug"? Winters	David Butler 20th Century Fox	Performer: You Do the Darndest Things Baby and The Balboa
1937	Pick a Star	Joe Jenkins	Edward Sedgwick MGM	Performer: Pick A Star and I've Got It Bad
	She Had to Eat	Danny Decker	Malcolm St. Clair 20th Century Fox
	Wake Up and Live	Eddie Kane	Sidney Lanfield 20th Century Fox
	Danger - Love at Work	Henry MacMorrow	Otto Preminger 20th Century Fox	Performer: Danger Love at Work Uncredited
	Ali Baba Goes to Town	Himself - Cameo	David Butler 20th Century Fox	Uncredited
1938	Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm	Orville Smithers	Allan Dwan 20th Century Fox	Performer: Alone With You
	Alexander"?s Ragtime Band	Davey Lane	Henry King 20th Century Fox	Performer: Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning; That International Rag and In My Harem (DVD extra only)
	Hold That Co-ed	Wilber Peters	George Marshall 20th Century Fox
	Thanks for Everything	Henry Smith	William A. Seiter 20th Century Fox
1939	The Wizard of Oz	The Tin Man / Hickory	Victor Fleming MGM	(writer, uncredited) Performer: If I Only Had a Heart and The Merry Old Land of Oz
1941	Moon Over Miami	Jack O"?Hara	Walter Lang 20th Century Fox	Performer: Is That Good?
	Navy Blues	"?Powerhouse"? Bolton	Lloyd Bacon Warner Bros.	Performer: When are we Going to Land Abroad
1942	Beyond the Blue Horizon	Squidge Sullivan	Alfred Santell Paramount
1944	Higher and Higher	Mike O"?Brien	Tim Whelan RKO Pictures	Performer: Today I'm a Debutante and The Music Stopped
	Take It Big	Jack North	Frank McDonald Paramount	Performer: Take It Big
	One Body Too Many	Albert Tuttle	Frank McDonald Paramount
1945	Scared Stiff	Larry Elliot	Frank McDonald Paramount
	George White's Scandals	Jack Evans	Felix E. Feist RKO Pictures
	Sing Your Way Home	Steve Kimball	Anthony Mann RKO Pictures
1946	People Are Funny	Pinky Wilson	Sam White Paramount	Performer: Hey Jose
	Vacation in Reno	Jack Caroll	Leslie Goodwins RKO Pictures	Last major film before retirement from motion pictures
1970	Norwood	Mr. Reese	Jack Haley, Jr. Paramount	Directed by his son producer/director Jack Haley Jr.
1977	New York, New York	Master of Ceremonies	Martin Scorsese United Artists	This film marked Jack Haley"?s final screen appearance. Uncredited, (final film role)

Short films

Year	Movie title	Role	Notes
1928	Haleyisms	Jack Haley	Also stars his wife Flo McFadden; Vitaphone production reel #2269
1930	The 20th Amendment	Wallace Moore
	Success	Elmer	Performer: "Just a Gigolo"; Vitaphone production reel #1257-1258
1932	The Imperfect Lover		Vitaphone production reel #1324-1325
	Absent Minded Abner	Abner	Vitaphone production reel #1372-1373
	Sherlock"?s Home		Vitaphone production reel #1441-1442
	Then Came the Yawn
1933	The Build Up		Vitaphone production reel #1444-1445
	Wrongorilla	Elmer	Vitaphone production reel #1486-1484
	Hollywood on Parade No. A-9	Himself
	An Idle Roomer		Vitaphone production reel #1531-1532
	Nothing but the Tooth	Smilie Jones	Performer: "Smiles"; Vitaphone production reel #1542-1543
	Salt Water Daffy	Elmer Wagonbottom
1939	Screen Snapshots Series 18, No. 9	Himself	Documentary/News Reel
1946	Screen Snapshots: The Skolsky Party	Himself	Documentary/News Reel
	Screen Snapshots: Famous Fathers and Sons	Himself	Documentary/News Reel

Broadway

Title	Role	Run	Theater	Notes
Round the Town	Jack Haley	May 21, 1924 - May 31, 1924	Century Promenade Theatre	15 performances
Gay Paree	Jack Haley	August 18, 1925 - January 30, 1926	Shubert Theatre	181 performances
Gay Paree	Jack Haley	November 9, 1926 - April 9, 1927	Winter Garden Theatre	192 performances
Follow Thru	Jack Martin	January 9, 1929 - December 21, 1929	Chanin"?s 46th Theatre	401 performances Sang: Button Up Your Overcoat with Zelma O"?Neal In 1930, he starred in Technicolor"?s film version
Free For All	Steve Potter Jr.	September 8, 1931 - September 19, 1931	Manhattan Theatre	15 performances
Take a Chance	Duke Stanley	November 26, 1932 - July 1, 1933	Apollo Theatre	243 performances
Higher and Higher	Zachary Ash	April 4, 1940 - June 15, 1940	Shubert Theatre	84 performances
Higher and Higher	Zachary Ash	August 5, 1940 - August 24, 1940	Shubert Theatre	24 performances In 1943, he starred with Frank Sinatra in film version
Show Time	Jack Haley	September 16, 1942 - April 3, 1943	Broadhurst Theatre	342 performances
Inside U.S.A.	Jack Haley	April 30, 1948 - February 19, 1949	New Century Theatre and Majestic Theatre	399 performances