John Joseph "Jack" Haley (August 10, 1897 – June 6, 1979) 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.

Biography

Haley was raised Roman Catholic. He was a member of the Good Shepherd Parish and the Catholic Motion Picture Guild in Beverly Hills, California. He 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. The couple had a son, Jack Haley, Jr., who became a successful film producer, and a daughter, Gloria. In 1974, the younger Haley married entertainer Liza Minnelli, the daughter of his father's Oz co-star Judy Garland. The marriage ended in divorce in 1979. Jack Haley, Jr. died on April 21, 2001. Gloria Haley-Parnassus died on May 1, 2010. His nephew Bob Dornan served as a Republican congressman from California.


Death

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. Two months prior, on April 9, 1979, he appeared at the 51st Academy Awards ceremony with his Oz co-star Ray Bolger to present the award for Best Costume Design. Bolger announced the nominees, Haley the winner. Before he could open the envelope, Bolger asked, "How come you get to read the winner?" Haley replied, "When your son produces the show, you can announce the winner". Jack Jr. was the show's producer that year.
Haley remained active until a week before his death. He is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California.

Haley's autobiography, Heart of the Tin Man, was published in 2000.

Best films