John Joseph “Jack” Haley was an American vaudevillian, stage, radio, and film actor, light comedian, singer and dancer best known for his portrayal of the Tin Man in the classic 1939 MGM film The Wizard of Oz. Haley was raised Roman Catholic. He was a member of the Good Shepherd Parish and the Catholic Motion Picture Guild in Beverly Hills, California.
Haley headlined in vaudeville as a song-and-dance comedian. One of his closest friends was Fred Allen, who would frequently mention “Mr. Jacob Haley of Newton Highlands, Massachusetts” on the air. In the early 1930s, Haley starred in comedy shorts for Vitaphone in Brooklyn, New York. His wide-eyed, good-natured expression gained him supporting roles in musical feature films, including Poor Little Rich Girl with Shirley Temple, Higher and Higher with Frank Sinatra and the Irving Berlin musical Alexander’s Ragtime Band. Both Poor Little Rich Girl and Alexander’s Ragtime Band were released by Twentieth Century-Fox. Haley was under contract to them and appeared in the Fox films Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and Pigskin Parade, marking his first appearance with Judy Garland.
Jack 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.
Haley returned to musical comedies in the 1940s. Most of his ’40s work was for RKO Radio Pictures. He left the studio in 1947 when he refused to appear in a remake of RKO’s Seven Keys to Baldpate. Phillip Terry took the role.
Jack Haley married Florence McFadden (1902-1996), a native of Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania on February 25, 1921, and they were married until his death. Flo Haley opened a successful beauty shop and had many film personalities among her clients.
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.
