>>>>>(like Buddy Epson - but he went on to do other stuff I've seen - what was that ageing private dick or cop he did?)
>>>>
>>>>Ebsen. Barbaby Jones.
>>>>
>>>>IIRC, he was in the original cast for the Wizard of Oz as the tin man, but had a bad reaction to whatever they were using to make his skin silver and had to bow out.
>>>>
>>>>Tamar
>>>
>>>Didn't know about the Wizard story but I certainly believe it. According to my parents he started as a song and dance man. I also remember him as Davy Crockett's sidekick on the Disney episodes.
>>
>>He was a knock-out song and dance man. He had one of the oddest dancing styles I've ever seen, but it was great to watch.
>>
>>A lot of actors that we know better from non musical roles are also musical folk. James Cagney, Dan Dailey, George Raft, Angela Lansbury, Hugh Jackman, Will Smith, Treat Williams, Paul Sorvino. There are lots of them. The one that surprised me the most when I found out was Christopher Walken.
>
>Alan;
>
>Ray Bolger, who played the scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz also had a peculiar dance style. I saw him dance when he was 80. I could not believe how flexible he was!
>
>
>Oh and speaking of George Raft, he was a partner of Rudolph Valentino. They worked as "tearoom dancers", the male version of a dance hall girl and sometimes called a gigolo.
>
>Tom

Yes, Ray Bolger was boneless, or maybe he as made out of rubber, but he also was a joy to watch. One of my all time favourites (barring Astaire and Eleanor Powell, of course) was Donald O'Connor. Interestingly I saw him in a very early movie - he must have been in his teens, and he did dance, but everybody around him danced more front and center. He was one of the stars, but as a dancer, he played about 5th fiddle. The movie was called "Private Buckaroo" (not to be confused with "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th dimension").