Editing Ray Bolger (section)

==Death and legacy==
[[File:Ray & Gwendolyn Bolger's grave.JPG|thumb|right|Ray and Gwendolyn Bolger's grave at [[Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City]]]]

Bolger was diagnosed with [[bladder cancer]] in 1986. His health deteriorated and by the end of that year, he left his [[Beverly Hills]] home to live at a nursing home in Los Angeles. He died there on January 15, 1987, five days after his 83rd birthday.<ref name=obit/>

At the time of his death, Bolger was the last surviving main-credited cast member of ''The Wizard of Oz''.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.masterworksbroadway.com/artist/ray-bolger| title=Ray Bolger| publisher=The Official Masterworks Broadway Site| access-date=March 8, 2018}}</ref> He was the only one of Judy Garland's ''Oz'' costars who attended her funeral ([[Bert Lahr]] pre-deceased her in 1967), joining [[Harold Arlen]], the composer of "[[Over the Rainbow]]", and his wife, [[Anya Taranda]]. They were reported as among the last remaining guests at the conclusion of the service.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/00/04/09/specials/garland-funeral.html|title=Judy Garland's Funeral Draws Her Colleagues| last=Van Gelder| first=Lawrence| date=June 28, 1969| newspaper=The New York Times| access-date=April 2, 2017}}</ref>

Whenever asked whether he had received any residuals from telecasts of ''The Wizard of Oz'', Bolger would reply: "No, just immortality. I'll settle for that."<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.ozclub.org/reference/oztlfrm.htm| title=Return to Oz & 50th Anniversary of MGM Film| first=Jane| last=Albright| publisher=The Oz Reference Library| access-date=June 5, 2008| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080419114829/http://www.ozclub.org/reference/oztlfrm.htm| archive-date=April 19, 2008| year=2008}}</ref> Bolger's Scarecrow is ranked among the "most beloved movie characters of all time" by AMC and the American Film Institute.<ref>{{cite web |title=Greatest Movie Characters |url=https://www.filmsite.org/greatfilmcharacters-s.html |access-date=July 14, 2024 |website=filmsite.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=AFI: 10 Top 10 |url=http://www.afi.com/10top10/moviedetail.aspx?id=7892&thumb=6 |access-date=August 20, 2017 |website=afi.com}}</ref>

For his contributions to the film industry, Bolger received a [[List of actors with Hollywood Walk of Fame motion picture stars|motion pictures star]] on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] in 1960. It is located at 6788 [[Hollywood Boulevard]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.walkoffame.com/ray-bolger |title=Hollywood Walk of Fame - Ray Bolger |website=Hollywood Walk of Fame |publisher=Hollywood Chamber of Commerce |access-date=November 29, 2017}}</ref>

In 2019, the first comprehensive biography of Bolger, ''More Than a Scarecrow'' by Holly Van Leuven, was published.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tuttle |first=Kate |date=March 13, 2019 |title=How a high schooler's obsession became a biography - The Boston Globe |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/2019/03/13/how-high-schooler-obsession-became-biography/K5pndff9Quyycbqpw5rxSK/story.html |access-date=July 14, 2024 |website=BostonGlobe.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Statham |first=William |title=Review: RAY BOLGER: MORE THAN A SCARECROW by Holly Van Leuven |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwbooks/article/BWW-Review-RAY-BOLGER-MORE-THAN-A-SCARECROW-by-Holly-Van-Leuven-20190507 |access-date=July 14, 2024 |website=BroadwayWorld.com |language=en}}</ref>