Editing Buddy Ebsen (section)

===''The Wizard of Oz''===
[[File:Buddy Ebsen Tin Man.jpg|right|thumb|Ebsen as the Tin Man before being replaced by Jack Haley]]
Ebsen turned down [[Louis B. Mayer]]'s offer of an exclusive MGM contract, and Mayer warned him that he would never work in Hollywood again. Nonetheless, MGM cast him as the Scarecrow in its 1939 film ''[[The Wizard of Oz]]''. Ebsen then swapped roles with actor [[Ray Bolger]], who was originally cast as the Tin Man. Bolger wanted to play the Scarecrow, and Ebsen did not object to the change. Ebsen had recorded all of his songs as the Tin Man, attended all the rehearsals, and had begun filming. However, he soon began experiencing body aches, muscle cramps, and shortness of breath, eventually leading to a lengthy  hospitalization. Doctors determined that the aluminum dust used in the Tin Man makeup was coating his lungs and keeping his blood from being oxygenated,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Nolasco |first1=Stephanie |title='Beverly Hillbillies' Star Buddy Ebsen Lost 'The Wizard of Oz' Role for This Horrifying Reason, Daughter Says |url=https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/beverly-hillbillies-star-buddy-ebsen-lost-wizard-oz-role-horrifying-reason-daughter |access-date=2 April 2023 |work=[[Fox News]] |date=31 March 2023}}</ref> and he was forced to leave the production.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/movies/films/ozebsen.asp |title=Wizard of Oz and Buddy Ebsen |date=July 26, 1997 |publisher=snopes.com |access-date=September 9, 2012}}</ref><ref>[[SAG-AFTRA]] ''Early Members: 1937'' {{Cite web |url=http://www.sagaftra.org/early-members-1937 |title=Early Members: 1937 &#124; SAG-AFTRA |access-date=February 21, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303061728/http://www.sagaftra.org/early-members-1937 |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |url-status=deviated }} ''Frank 'Buddy' Ebsen'': "When I was cast as the original Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz (1939), I almost disappeared over the rainbow because of the poisonous aluminum dust in my silvery make-up. It cost me a big medical bill. If that happened today, the Guild would have taken care of it. SAG, long may they wave."</ref> Ebsen recalled in an interview included on the 2005 DVD release of ''The Wizard of Oz'' that the MGM  studio heads did not believe that he was ill until he was ordered back to the set and was intercepted by an angry nurse.

Ebsen was replaced by [[Jack Haley]], with the makeup quickly changed to a safer aluminum paste. MGM did not publicize the true reason for Ebsen's departure; even Haley was not told until much later. Haley re-recorded most of Ebsen's vocals, although Ebsen's Midwestern accent can still be heard on the soundtrack during several reprises of "We're Off to See the Wizard", with the enunciated "r" in the word "wizard", as opposed to Haley's [[Boston accent]]. Ebsen's recording of the Tin Man's solo "[[If I Only Had a Brain|If I Only Had a Heart]]" is included on the deluxe edition of the film's soundtrack, while a still photo recreation of the sequence featuring shots of Ebsen as the Tin Man was included as an extra with all VHS and DVD releases of the film since 1989. For the rest of his life, Ebsen complained of breathing problems from his involvement in "that damned movie". Nonetheless, he outlived all the major cast members in the film, with only some [[Munchkin]] actors, extras such as [[Shep Houghton]] and stand-ins such as [[Caren Marsh Doll]] outliving him.<ref>Cox, Stephen (1988, rev. 2003). ''The Beverly Hillbillies: A Fortieth Anniversary Wing Ding''. Cumberland House Publishing; Rev Exp edition. {{ISBN|1-58182-302-9}}.</ref>