Bert Lahr
American actor and comedianWikipedia
21
MENTIONS
13
EPISODES
10
PODCASTS
Search complete. 21 mentions across 13 episodes found for "Bert Lahr".
Nov 5, 2026
Mike GaengerPANELIST
He was known as Zeke in the opening, but of course went on to be known as the Cowardly Lion.
Mike GaengerPANELIST
But that is Bert Lahr.
Mike GaengerPANELIST
He was there, and so was a young lady who had a tie to the star of it.
Mike GaengerPANELIST
Let me let you listen to what it sounded like back in 1956 for the premiere of The Wizard of Oz on television.
speaker_6SOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
Most of you sitting with your families tonight will find a special pleasure in being acquainted with a story, characters, and familiar music which have timeless appeal.
speaker_6SOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
Now, as a special treat, we want you to meet one of the stars of The Wizard of Oz, Mr. Bert Lahr, with friends.
Bert LahrSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
Bert LahrSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
I'm indeed happy to be with you.
Mike GaengerPANELIST
He was known as Zeke in the opening, but of course went on to be known as the Cowardly Lion.
Mike GaengerPANELIST
But that is Bert Lahr.
Mike GaengerPANELIST
He was there, and so was a young lady who had a tie to the star of it.
Mike GaengerPANELIST
Let me let you listen to what it sounded like back in 1956 for the premiere of The Wizard of Oz on television.
speaker_6NARRATOR
Most of you sitting with your families tonight will find a special pleasure in being acquainted with a story, characters, and familiar music which have timeless appeal.
speaker_6NARRATOR
Now, as a special treat, we want you to meet one of the stars of The Wizard of Oz, Mr. Bert Lahr, with friends.
Bert LahrSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
Bert LahrSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
I'm indeed happy to be with you.
Yusuf LamontGUEST
pressure what was it Boeing Boeing was the damn movie yeah
Frank SantopadreHOST
with Jerry Lewis and Tony Curtis yeah okay Thompson's Ghost we'll start with Yusuf this time a supernatural comedy starring Burt Lahr of Cowardly Lion fame as a 4,000 year old ancient spirit who was accidentally conjured up by a young American girl it also featured Superman's Phyllis Coates And former Amazing Colossal guest Tim Matheson.
Frank SantopadreHOST
I'm going to say yes.
Frank SantopadreHOST
He says that's TV.
speaker_0HOST
The film's television debut was on CBS as part of the Ford Star Jubilee series.
speaker_0HOST
It was hosted by Burt Lahr and Liza Minnelli.
speaker_0HOST
who was, of course, Judy Garland's daughter.
speaker_0HOST
Judy, of course, was part of The Wizard of Oz.
Chris GarciaHOST
And while we have two very Sororan-like characters, the situation is so much more the source of the comedy, especially in the interactions the painters have with the expected performance of their duties and how they mirror their actual behaviors.
Chris GarciaHOST
The leads of the play were Burt Lahr and Bobby Clark.
Chris GarciaHOST
Clark was well-known comedian for the day, starting with performing in minstrel shows and then forming a pair with Paul McCullough that lasted until McCullough's suicide in 1936.
Chris GarciaHOST
Clark would go on to appear in several movies and on Broadway stages.
Chris GarciaHOST
He appeared on television in the early years and was known for his comedic timing.
Chris GarciaHOST
Burt Lahr, by 1953, was one of America's most famous comic actors.
Chris GarciaHOST
He had made his name on Broadway in the 1920s and followed that up with film work starting in the early sound era.
Chris GarciaHOST
He was best known, of course, for playing the cowardly lion in The Wizard of Oz.
Frank ConniffGUEST
All of the, you know...
Frank ConniffGUEST
Judy Garland and Ray Bolger and Jack Haley and Burt Lahr, they're all from Vaudeville and that's why nobody's been able to quite recreate that kind of vibe in a Wizard of Oz movie because there's no Vaudevillians around anymore.
Drew McWeenyHOST
Well, and you had directors who shot these comedians the way you shot musical numbers where you go head to toe, you get to see the whole comedian, and you get to watch a scene play out with other people without a lot of cutting so that you get that sense of timing that's built into the actor's interaction.
Drew McWeenyHOST
It's not all built by a director later.
CherieHOST
Yeah, exactly.
CherieHOST
Bert Lahr, the Cowardly Lion, was paid $2,500 a week.
MichelleHOST
Wait, wait, that's more.
MichelleHOST
That's a lot more.
ChrisHOST
He lived to age 80, and he died in 1979.
ChrisHOST
We had Bert Lahr as Zeke, also the Cowardly Lion.
ChrisHOST
Lahr did a lot of work in Vaudeville and burlesque prior to being cast as the Lion.
ChrisHOST
The Lion costume was composed of real lion fur, and under the high-intensity lighting required for the Oz's Technicolor scenes, the costume was unbearably hot.
Paris ThemmenGUEST
Uh, so I grew up in Manhattan, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, in New York City.
Paris ThemmenGUEST
Uh, but before I forget, I should probably mention, uh, in terms of Wizard of Oz, I am fairly closely related to Bert Lahr.
Jason FraleyHOST
Are you kidding me? The Cowardly Lion?
Paris ThemmenGUEST
No.
CherieHOST
And then, of course, as we all know, it starred Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale.
CherieHOST
Yes, of course, Frank Morgan, Ray Boulder, Jack Haley, Burt Lahr, and many others who became famous through this film.
CherieHOST
Although many of them had pretty solid careers even beforehand.
MichelleHOST
Yeah, a lot of them were already established actors.
3 more episodes mention Bert Lahr.
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