Is it true Buddy Ebsen was originally cast to play the Tin Woodman?
Not exactly. While Ebsen, later known for his television roles as Jed Clampett in The Beverly Hillbillies and the title role in Barnaby Jones, was originally cast in The Movie, it was as the Scarecrow. Ray Bolger was cast as the Tin Woodman, as the Scarecrow was the bigger part and Ebsen the bigger star. But Bolger protested, as he felt his fluid style of dancing was better suited to the Scarecrow. LeRoy agreed, and switched Ebsen and Bolger’s roles. After two weeks filming, however, Ebsen found that he suddenly couldn’t breathe one night, and was rushed to a hospital and put in an iron lung. He had developed a reaction to the aluminum dust used to tint his face silver. (At the time, aluminum dust was erroneously thought to be safe to breathe.) As all of the footage shot to that point was later abandoned anyway (see question 12.1, about The Movie’s directors), it meant the part of the Tin Woodman could be recast without affecting the film. Ebsen doesn’t appear in the finished film, but
