American performer
Wally Boag
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Wally Boag constructing one of his signature "Boagaloons" at the Golden Horseshoe Revue in the early 1970s.
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Born
| Wallace Vincent Boag
(
1920-09-13
)
September 13, 1920
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Died
| June 3, 2011
(2011-06-03)
(aged 90)
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Occupation(s)
| Actor, comedian
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Years active
| 1945?1982
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Spouse
|
Frances Ellen Morgan
(
m.
1943)
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Children
| 2
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Wallace Vincent Boag
(September 13, 1920 ? June 3, 2011) was an American performer known for his starring role in
Disney
's long-running stage show the
Golden Horseshoe Revue
and as the voice of Jose the parrot in
Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room
.
[1]
[2]
Biography
[
edit
]
Boag was born in
Portland, Oregon
, in 1920 to Evelyn G. and Wallace B. Boag. He joined a professional
dance
team at age nine, later established his own dance school, and by the age of 19 had turned to comedy. He toured the world's stages in hotels, theaters and nightclubs. While appearing at the
London Hippodrome
in
Starlight Roof
, he brought a young 12-year-old girl on stage to help with his
balloon act
. The girl, a young
Julie Andrews
, astonished the audience with her voice and was kept in the show. In 1945, Boag signed a contract with
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
and appeared in films such as
Without Love
and
Thrill of a Romance
, in credited roles.
[
citation needed
]
In the early 1950s, while appearing in revues in Australia, he met tenor
Donald Novis
. It was Novis who got
Walt Disney
to audition Boag for the
Golden Horseshoe Revue
, a 45-minute stage show which was written by its first pianist Charles LaVere and lyricist Tom Adair. Novis was the show's first tenor and was replaced by
Fulton Burley
when he retired in 1962. Both Boag and The
Golden Horseshoe Revue
were cited in
The Guinness Book of World Records
for having the greatest number of performances of any theatrical presentation. The show was often incorrectly introduced before a performance as the record holder of the longest running revue in the history of show business. The 10,000th performance of the Golden Horseshoe Revue was featured on
NBC
's
The Wonderful World of Disney
.
[
citation needed
]
Boag's Pecos Bill/Traveling Salesman character was a fast-paced comedy routine featuring
slapstick
humor, squirt guns, a seemingly endless supply of broken teeth which he would spit out throughout the routine, and his signature balloon animals which he called Boagaloons.
In 1963, Julie Andrews once again performed with Boag on the Golden Horseshoe stage along with the
Dapper Dans
, at a special press-only event to promote the following year's release of
Mary Poppins
. Together, Andrews and Boag recreated their act of long ago and sang "By the Light of the Silvery Moon."
While Walt Disney was alive, he did everything he could to further Boag's career. Boag voiced Jose in "
Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room
" and also wrote much of the script for the attraction, participating also in the development of "
Haunted Mansion
" in
Disneyland
.
Disney had small roles written for Boag in
The Absent-Minded Professor
and
Son of Flubber
. It was Disney's plan to use Boag as the voice of
Tigger
in
Winnie the Pooh
. While at a story meeting for
Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day
,
Disney felt that Wally Boag was perfect for the role of Tigger.
[3]
Disney died from lung cancer in December 1966. Boag voiced for Tigger when the featurette was aired but the role ultimately went to
Paul Winchell
.
[3]
Except for a cameo appearance in
The Love Bug
, Boag did not appear in any more Disney films.
In 1971, Boag took his Pecos Bill character to the newly opened
Walt Disney World
and re-crafted the saloon show into a faster, funnier
Diamond Horseshoe Revue
. Three years later he returned to Disneyland and finished his career there, entertaining adoring crowds at the Golden Horseshoe, retiring in 1982. (He had in the meantime performed his act as the human guest on the fifth season of
The Muppet Show
.) The
Golden Horseshoe Revue
closed in 1986. In 1995, Boag was inducted into the ranks of the
Disney Legends
and has his own
window on Main Street
in Disneyland above the Carnation Company. The inscription reads "Theatrical Agency - Golden Vaudeville Routines - Wally Boag, Prop."
Boag lived in
California
with his wife, Ellen Morgan Boag.
He died on June 3, 2011, in
Santa Monica, California
from
Alzheimer's disease
.
[1]
Legacy
[
edit
]
His autobiography, entitled
Wally Boag, Clown Prince of Disneyland
, was published in August 2009.
[4]
Boag's performances have influenced many later performers and comedians, most notable of whom is
Steve Martin
, who studied Boag's humor and timing while working at Disneyland as a teenager. Boag's performance appears on Week One of the
Mickey Mouse Club
DVD collection, and the soundtrack of the
Golden Horseshoe Revue
has been released on CD.
On June 3, 2011, it was announced by Steve Martin on
Twitter
"My hero, the first comedian I ever saw live, my influence, a man to whom I aspired, has passed on. Wally Boag."
[6]
The following day, June 4, 2011, Boag's longtime partner at the Golden Horseshoe Revue,
Betty Taylor
, also died.
[7]
Boag's wife Ellen died in July 2014.
Filmography
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Wally Boag
.
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1990
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1991
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1992
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1993
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1994
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1995
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1996
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1997
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- Lucien Ades*
- Angel Angelopoulos*
- Antonio Bertini
- Armand Bigle
- Gaudenzio Capelli
- Roberto de Leonardis
*
- Cyril Edgar*
- Wally Feignoux*
- Didier Fouret
- Mario Gentilini*
- Cyril James*
- Horst Koblischek
- Gunnar Mansson
- Arnoldo Mondadori
*
- Armand Palivoda*
- Poul Brahe Pedersen*
- Joe Potter
*
- Andre Vanneste*
- Paul Winkler
*
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1998
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1999
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International
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National
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Artists
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