Why The Tin Man Was The Most Dangerous Role In The Wizard Of Oz

Except it wasn't. Ebsen was well along in the role — he'd recorded the soundtrack, rehearsed choreography, been fitted for costumes, reports Snopes, — but nine days into shooting he couldn't, well, breathe. Which, we can all agree, is pretty important for a dancer, or anyone else, for that matter. "I was sure I was dying," he wrote in his autobiography. He'd had an allergic reaction of some kind to the makeup concoction. The next stop was the hospital, where he was to remain for two weeks, followed by another four weeks recuperating in San Diego.

The studio, ever mindful of its actors, replaced Ebsen with Jack Haley as the Tin Man. The base-plus-dust was replaced with a paste that was painted on. Even that wasn't perfect; Haley developed an eye infection from the gunk, which caused him to miss four days of shooting. But he didn't lose his eye as a result. Or his life. Or his job.

While they replaced Ebsen on film, his voice is still heard in Oz's soundtrack, in "We're Off to See the Wizard." Even better, ThoughtCo points out that Buddy outlived Bolger and Haley both; the original Tin Man died in 2003 at the age of 95.