---
name: "Jack Haley"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/jack-haley"
fi1m_id: "jack-haley"
imdb_id: "nm0355095"
tmdb_id: 9070
wikidata_id: "Q927057"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "10 August 1897"
died: "6 June 1979"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 80
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-19T23:42:42.092864+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Jack Haley

## Identity

Jack Haley

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/jack-haley
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** jack-haley
- **IMDb ID:** nm0355095
- **TMDB ID:** 9070
- **Wikidata ID:** Q927057
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Haley, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q927057, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0355095/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/9070

Actor. Born 10 August 1897 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Died 6 June 1979.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 10 August 1897, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- **Died:** 6 June 1979
- **Active:** 1938–1939
- **Also known as:** Jack Haley Sr., John Joseph "Jack" Haley Jr., John Joseph Haley Jr.
- **Average Fi1m score:** 80, as actor, over 2 titles
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Haley, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q927057, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0355095/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/9070

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*The Wizard of Oz*](https://film.one/film/the-wizard-of-oz.md) (91)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Jack Haley

> Jack Haley's Tin Man helps make *The Wizard of Oz* feel like a journey among friends. We rate his gentle voice and unshowy comic support: he gives the other performers someone worth keeping company with.

The Tin Man speaks softly in *The Wizard of Oz* (1939), and Jack Haley makes him sound like someone worth stopping to talk to. His pleasure in joining the group is clear without becoming another demand for attention. He seems happy to have been included. We were moved by that happiness, because it makes the travelling friendship feel necessary rather than merely convenient for the plot. The gentleness is a good comic choice, too.

Haley's work in vaudeville and Broadway fed a style built around singing, dancing and genial comedy. In the 1930s, Fox used him as a second lead and light comic, with *Poor Little Rich Girl* (1936), opposite Shirley Temple, and *Alexander's Ragtime Band* (1938) among his musicals. The Tin Man became his defining part, but it drew on skills he already had. RKO musical comedies kept him occupied through the 1940s, before he largely retired from features after 1947. This is a career in which being agreeable support was regular employment, and *Oz* shows how much care that apparently modest job can take.

Victor Fleming's film gives Haley partners who make that care count. Ray Bolger's loose, amiable Scarecrow shares his pleasure in belonging, while Judy Garland listens to both with a directness that gives the friendship substance. We believe they want to travel together, so their scenes do not feel like separate acts awaiting applause. Bert Lahr's Cowardly Lion is broader and fussier, and some of the comic business lasts longer than we would like. Haley's quieter manner is welcome, although Garland deserves much of the credit for making these different performers feel like companions.

The soft, reassuring voice is the detail to listen for. It gives the Tin Man a way of addressing the others that feels personal, even within such a conspicuous character part. There is no need to take this as proof that Haley could play anything; the pleasure is in hearing how precisely he suits this particular job. Start with *The Wizard of Oz*, and watch him with Garland and Bolger rather than waiting for a solo turn.

## Biography

Jack Haley was an American actor, comedian, dancer and singer. He began his career in vaudeville and appeared in numerous stage musicals before moving into film in the late 1920s.

He is best known for playing the Tin Man and his Kansas counterpart Hickory in the MGM musical *The Wizard of Oz* (1939). Haley replaced Buddy Ebsen in the role after Ebsen suffered an adverse reaction to the aluminium-powder makeup. His other screen credits include *Alexander's Ragtime Band* (1938) and later uncredited appearances in *That's Entertainment!* (1974) and *New York, New York* (1977).

Haley retired from acting after the Second World War and later worked in real estate. His son, Jack Haley Jr., also worked in film and television production.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *The Wizard of Oz* (1939), Fi1m 91, as Tin Man / Hickory — [page](https://film.one/film/the-wizard-of-oz.md)
- *Alexander's Ragtime Band* (1938), Fi1m 70, as Davey Lane — [page](https://film.one/film/alexanders-ragtime-band.md)

## Complete filmography (48)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Dark Side of the Rainbow* (2000), as 'Hickory' (archive footage)
- *New York, New York* (1977), as Master of Ceremonies (uncredited)
- *These Are the Days* (1974), series, Actor
- *That's Entertainment!* (1974), as (archive footage) (uncredited)
- *Norwood* (1970), as Mr. Reese
- *Burke's Law* (1963), series, as Victor Haggerty
- *Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse* (1958), series, Actor
- *No Time at All* (1958), as Stanley Leeds
- *Playhouse 90* (1956), series, as Stanley Leeds
- *MGM Parade* (1955), series, Actor
- *Make Mine Laughs* (1949), as (archive footage)
- *Vacation in Reno* (1946), as Jack Carroll
- *People Are Funny* (1946), as Pinky Wilson
- *Sing Your Way Home* (1945), as Steven Kimball
- *George White's Scandals* (1945), as Jack Evans
- *Scared Stiff* (1945), as Larry Elliot
- *One Body Too Many* (1944), as Albert Tuttle
- *Take It Big* (1944), as Jack North
- *Higher and Higher* (1943), as Mike O'Brien
- *Beyond the Blue Horizon* (1942), as Squidge Sullivan
- *Navy Blues* (1941), as 'Powerhouse' Bolton
- *Moon Over Miami* (1941), as Jack O'Hara
- *The Wizard of Oz* (1939), as Tin Man / Hickory — Fi1m 91, [page](https://film.one/film/the-wizard-of-oz.md)
- *Thanks for Everything* (1938), as Henry Smith
- *Hold That Co-ed* (1938), as Wilbur Peters
- *Alexander's Ragtime Band* (1938), as Davey Lane — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/alexanders-ragtime-band.md)
- *Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm* (1938), as Orville Smithers
- *Danger – Love at Work* (1937), as Henry Throckmorton MacMorrow
- *Wake Up and Live* (1937), as Edward 'Eddie" Kane
- *She Had to Eat* (1937), as Danny Decker
- *Pick a Star* (1937), as Joe Jenkins
- *Pigskin Parade* (1936), as Slug Winters
- *Mister Cinderella* (1936), as Joe Jenkins
- *Poor Little Rich Girl* (1936), as Jimmy Dolan
- *F-Man* (1936), as Johnny Dime
- *Coronado* (1935), as Chuck Hornbostel
- *The Girl Friend* (1935), as Henry A. Henry
- *Redheads on Parade* (1935), as Peter Mathews
- *Spring Tonic* (1935), as Sykes
- *Here Comes the Groom* (1934), as Mike Scanlon
- *Sitting Pretty* (1933), as Pete Pendleton
- *Salt Water Daffy* (1933), as Elmer Wagonbottom
- *Mr. Broadway* (1933), as Jack Haley
- *Wrongorilla* (1933), as Elmer
- *Success* (1931), as Elmer
- *Follow Thru* (1930), as Jack Martin
- *The 20th Amendment* (1930), Actor
- *Broadway Madness* (1927), as Radio Announcer

## Gallery

- ![Jack Haley](https://film.one/media/person/104613/gallery-d7f0e8bbade8.jpg) Jack Haley — Trailer screenshot Licencing information : https://web.archive.org/web/20080321033709/http://www.sabucat.com/?pg=copyright and http://www.creativeclearance.com/guidelines.html#D2, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Jack_haley_ragtime3.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Grave of actor John Joseph "Jack" Haley and his wife Florence at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California (grotto, lot 100, grave 2). Haley was born Augus (2011)](https://film.one/media/person/104613/gallery-deb5d559cd4b.jpg) Grave of actor John Joseph "Jack" Haley and his wife Florence at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California (grotto, lot 100, grave 2). Haley was born Augus (2011) — IllaZilla, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/Jack_%26_Florence_Haley%27s_grave.JPG/1280px-Jack_%26_Florence_Haley%27s_grave.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Jack Haley's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6435 Hollywood Blvd. (2010)](https://film.one/media/person/104613/gallery-1ca8ebc0c8cb.jpg) Jack Haley's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6435 Hollywood Blvd. (2010) — JGKlein, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/Jack_Haley_HWF.JPG/1280px-Jack_Haley_HWF.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Jack Haley, Sr. - the tin man from The Wizard Of Oz, one week before his death. At right, Gary Owens ("Laugh-In"). Taken at the National Film Society convention (1979)](https://film.one/media/person/104613/gallery-b6bdc464bd51.jpg) Jack Haley, Sr. - the tin man from The Wizard Of Oz, one week before his death. At right, Gary Owens ("Laugh-In"). Taken at the National Film Society convention (1979) — Alan Light, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a3/Jack_Haley_and_Gary_Owens.jpg/1280px-Jack_Haley_and_Gary_Owens.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Jack Haley](https://film.one/media/person/104613/gallery-469f98570db8.jpg) Jack Haley — Image via TMDB
- ![Jack Haley, Sr. - the tin man from The Wizard Of Oz, one week before his death. At right, Gary Owens ("Laugh-In"). Taken at the National Film Society convention](https://film.one/media/person/104613/gallery-d153cf6b39bf.jpg) Jack Haley, Sr. - the tin man from The Wizard Of Oz, one week before his death. At right, Gary Owens ("Laugh-In"). Taken at the National Film Society convention — Alan Light, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/Jack_Haley_and_Gary_Owens_%28214260202%29.jpg/1280px-Jack_Haley_and_Gary_Owens_%28214260202%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Publicity photo of American entertainers, (L–R) Ray Bolger, Margaret Hamilton and Jack Haley, reunited in 1970 in commemoration of their roles in the 1939 featu](https://film.one/media/person/104613/gallery-e24a830343c4.jpg) Publicity photo of American entertainers, (L–R) Ray Bolger, Margaret Hamilton and Jack Haley, reunited in 1970 in commemoration of their roles in the 1939 featu — NBC Television Network., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/The_Wizard_of_Oz_Ray_Bolger_Jack_Haley_Margaret_Hamilton_Reunited_1970_No_1.jpg/1280px-The_Wizard_of_Oz_Ray_Bolger_Jack_Haley_Margaret_Hamilton_Reunited_1970_No_1.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

## Awards

### Other awards — 1 won

- star on Hollywood Walk of Fame 1960: star on Hollywood Walk of Fame (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/jack-haley