A Leading Man Straight Out of Oz
Before Buddy Ebsen’s role as main character Jed Clempett, he was a successful dancer and vaudeville performer, who had shared the stage with movie icons like Judy Garland and Shirley Temple.
His gangly moves secured him the role of the Tin Man in ‘The Wizard of Oz’, but he was forced to drop out due to an extremely allergic reaction to the aluminium metallic makeup. He blamed lung problems later on in life on “that damned movie”.