John Joseph "Jack" Haley (August 10, 1897 – June 6, 1979)
He was best known for his portrayal of the Tin Man in the classic 1939 MGM film The Wizard of Oz. Haley hosted a radio show from 1937 to 1939 known to many as The Jack Haley Show. The first season (1937-1938), the show was sposored by Log Cabin Syrup and was known as The Log Cabin Jamboree. The next season (1938-1939), the show was sponsored by Wonder Bread and was known as The Wonder Show. During the second season the show featured Gale Gordon and Lucille Ball as regular radio performers. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer hired Haley for the part of the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz after its contracted song-and-dance comedian Buddy Ebsen suffered an almost fatal allergic reaction. The aluminum dust, used in makeup for Ebsen, was subsequently converted into a paste for Haley in the hope that the previous catastrophe that befell Ebsen would not be repeated. This time around, however, a different incident occurred.
The application of the aluminum paste to Haley's face resulted in an eye infection that led to him being off the set for four days of shooting. Appropriate surgical treatment was administered and any chance of serious or permanent eye damage averted. Oz was one of only two films Haley made for MGM. The other was Pick a Star, a 1937 Hal Roach production distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Haley's last film appearance was in 1977's New York, New York—in the lavish "Happy Endings" musical number, he played a host who introduces a top Broadway star at an award ceremony, played by his then-daughter-in-law, Liza Minnelli. Two years later, Haley died of a heart attack on June 6, 1979, in Los Angeles, California. He is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, CA.