Rags Ragland

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Rags Ragland (b.John Lee Morgan Beauregard Ragland, August 23, 1905, Louisville, Kentucky; d. August 20, 1946, Los Angeles, California) was an American comedian and character actor. Ragland first made his reputation in burlesque, where he was one of the house comics for the famed Minsky burlesque shows. One of the Minsky striptease stars, Georgia Sothern, remembered him fondly in her 1971 memoir, saying she considered Ragland a close friend and the funniest comedian the Minskys had ever produced.

After burlesque in its classic style died, Ragland made his way to films, best known for playing good-natured oafs with a knack for fracturing the English language in various films. He was strictly an MGM player, beginning with 1942's Panama Hattie, in which he repeated a role he played on Broadway, with Ann Sothern taking to film the lead role played by Ethel Merman. Ragland acted in about two dozen MGM light comedies and musicals, cast with such names as Abbott and Costello, Lucille Ball, Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Red Skelton, and others.

Prior to his acting career, Ragland was a truck driver and a boxer before acting on Broadway as well as burlesque. His final film, The Hoodlum Saint (1946), starred William Powell, Esther Williams, and Angela Lansbury.

Ragland died suddenly of uremia three days prior to his 41st birthday. His funeral was attended by many Hollywood celebrities, including Frank Sinatra, who sang at his funeral.