My Take
Bert Lahr is one of those performers who could have faded into the vaudeville footnotes, but instead landed the role of a lifetime and never let go of it. His Cowardly Lion in the 1939 Wizard of Oz is pure comic genius — that booming, self-pitying bravado, the mangled grammar, the way he could be utterly ridiculous and genuinely touching in the same breath. What I love about him is that he wasn't just a movie guy; he was a stage animal first, grinding through burlesque and vaudeville before Broadway embraced him, and he won a Tony in 1964 at nearly seventy years old, which tells you everything about his staying power. He died in 1967 before he could fully see how immortal that Lion made him, which feels genuinely unfair.
Overview
Irving Lahrheim (August 13, 1895 – December 4, 1967), known professionally as Bert Lahr, was an American actor and comedian. He was best known for his role as the Cowardly Lion, as well as his counterpart Kansas farmworker "Zeke", in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer adaptation of The Wizard of Oz (1939). He was well known for his quick-witted humor and his work in burlesque and vaudeville and on Broadway.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Bert Lahr
- Name (Japanese)
- バート・ラー
- Reading
- ばーと・らー
- Born
- August 13, 1895 – December 4, 1967
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Leo / Goat
- Origin
- New York City, New York, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- film actor / screenwriter / stage actor / voice actor / actor
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
Awards & achievements
- 1964 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | The Wizard of Oz | — |
6. Links
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.