<Tr> <Th> Children </Th> <Td> 3, including John Lahr and Jane Lahr </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Signature </Th> </Tr> <P> Bert Lahr (August 13, 1895--December 4, 1967) was an American actor of stage and screen, vaudevillian and comedian . Lahr is best known for his role as the Cowardly Lion, as well as his counterpart Kansas farmworker Zeke, in The Wizard of Oz (1939). He was well known for his explosive humor, but also adapted well to dramatic roles and his work in burlesque, vaudeville, and on Broadway . </P> <P> Lahr was born as Irving Lahrheim, in New York City, the son of Augusta (1871 - 1932) and Jacob Lahrheim (1870 - 1947). His parents were German Jewish immigrants . Lahr grew up in the Yorkville section of Manhattan . Dropping out of school at 15 to join a juvenile vaudeville act, Lahr worked up to top billing on the Columbia Burlesque Circuit . In 1927 he debuted on Broadway in Delmar's Revels . He played to packed houses, performing classic routines such as "The Song of the Woodman" (which he reprised in the film Merry - Go - Round of 1938). Lahr had his first major success in a stage musical playing the prize fighter hero of Hold Everything! (1928--29). Other musicals followed, notably Flying High (1930), Florenz Ziegfeld's Hot - Cha! (1932) and The Show is On (1936) in which he co-starred with Beatrice Lillie . In 1939, he co-starred as Louis Blore alongside Ethel Merman in the Broadway production of DuBarry Was a Lady . </P>

Who was the actor that played the cowardly lion