Ray Bolger's 1948 Tony Award Sells For $19,490

Wizard of Oz actor Ray Bolger's 1948 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical in the Broadway production "Where's Charley?" sold Thursday night for $19,490 at Nate D. Sanders Auctions.

Bolger was immortalized for playing the Scarecrow in the 1939 MGM film "The Wizard of Oz." He was also an accomplished stage actor known for singing, ''Once in Love with Amy" in the show "Where's Charley?" Bolger repeated his Broadway role in film as Charley Wykeham in the 1952 Warner Brothers adaptation. Bolger also starred in the 1934 Broadway show "Life Begins at 8:40," and the 1936 and 1942 Richard Rodgers musicals "On Your Toes" and "By Jupiter."

The Tony award being auctioned was presented at the 3rd annual event, on April 24, 1949, when the design of the Tony award medallion was first introduced. The medal features the comedy and tragedy masks on the front, and a profile portrait of Antoinette Perry in relief on the reverse. The sterling silver medallion reads, ''The American Theatre Wing Presents to Ray Bolger This Award for His Performance in Where's Charley 1948-49."

Bolger's niece Ruth Ann Rickard consigned the medal.

Bidding for the medal began at $8,000.

Additional information on Bolger's Tony Award can be found at: https://natedsanders.com/Ray_Bolger_s_Tony_Award____From_the_3rd_Year_of_th-LOT55746.aspx