Bert Lahr
(Zeke/Cowardly Lion)

All of Dorothy's entourage had to undergo their share of hardships when it came to costumes and make-up on the set of The Wizard of Oz and Bert Lahr was no exception. To portray the King of the Jungle, Lahr had to don an outfit made from two genuine lion skins that weighed fifty pounds. The result was an extremely hot and cumbersome costume that Lahr claimed was like "working inside a mattress." Like his companions on the Yellow Brick Road, Lahr was a veteran of vaudeville. Post-Oz, he made a few less-than-notable appearances in films (he reportedly once quipped to reporters, "How many lion parts are there in pictures?"), as well as a now-classic Lays Potato Chip commercial in the '60s. Lahr died in 1967 at the age of 72.