Before plunging into show business, comedian Rags Ragland was a truck driver, a boxer (which explains his cauliflower ears), and a movie projectionist. He entered burlesque in his twenties, working his way up to "top banana" at Minsky's. Among his fellow burlesque performers, Ragland was famous (or notorious) for his wild ad-libs, his unpredictable intrusions into other comics' acts, and his healthy off-stage libido. In 1940, he graduated to the big time in Ethel Merman's Broadway musical Panama Hattie. Shortly afterward, he became a contract player at MGM, where he gained popularity as Red Skelton's cohort in the Whistling movies (Whistling in the Dark, Whistling in Dixie, and Whistling in Brooklyn). Rags Ragland died suddenly of uremia at the age of 40.
| Title | Year | Editors' Rating | User Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
The Hoodlum Saint
Actor |
1946 | |||
| 1945 | ||||
|
Anchors Aweigh
Actor |
1945 | |||
| 1945 | ||||
|
Meet the People
Actor |
1944 | |||
|
The Canterville Ghost
Actor |
1944 | |||
|
Three Men in White
Actor |
1944 | |||
|
Du Barry Was a Lady
Actor |
1943 | |||
|
Girl Crazy
Actor |
1943 | |||
|
Whistling in Brooklyn
Actor |
1943 | |||
|
Born to Sing
Actor |
1942 | |||
|
Maisie Gets Her Man
Actor |
1942 | |||
|
Panama Hattie
Actor |
1942 | |||
|
Somewhere I'll Find You
Actor |
1942 | |||
|
Sunday Punch
Actor |
1942 | |||
| 1942 | ||||
|
Whistling in Dixie
Actor |
1942 | |||
|
Ringside Maisie
Actor |
1941 | |||
|
Whistling in the Dark
Actor |
1941 |








