Top 20 Wizard of Oz facts

#5

The three tin men

In the film, the Tin Man was portrayed sentimentally and beautifully by Jack Haley. 

But he's actually the third man who got the part for that one movie. 

At first, Ray Bolger was cast as the Tin Man, mainly because he told the studio he'd play any role they gave him. 

But he changed his mind because he actually wanted to play the Scarecrow and convinced the crew to let him switch. 

So now, the guy who was originally cast as the Scarecrow was the Tin Man.

After Ray took some straw to the head, the Tin Man was to be played by Buddy Ebsen. 

You guessed it! Barnaby Jones was almost the Tin Man!

But even he couldn't make it because the makeup had aluminum dust in it. 

Buddy wore the costume, recorded the Tin Man's songs, and filmed some scenes, but the aluminum makeup poisoned him and he needed to go to the hospital.

And when I say poisoned, I don't mean an allergic reaction. I mean it actually poisoned him. It painted his lungs black. 

He was in the hospital for quite some time and the studio got impatient and replaced him with Jack Haley. 

Consequently, they needed to rerecord If I Only Had a Heart and every other singing line the Tin Man had. 

Although, you may not hear it, but if the Tin Man ever sings with the group, it's still Buddy's voice. 

Thank god, Jack survived the whole production! Even though he couldn't move in the costume. 

Buddy Ebsen's recording of If I Only Had a Heart is still available to listen to and it isn't half bad. 

Check it out. Link here.