Ridge Bond

Ridgely McClure Bond, known professionally as Ridge Bond, was born on July 12, 1922, in McAlester, Oklahoma, and died on May 6, 1997, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. An actor, singer, and businessman, he is best remembered for his portrayal of Curly in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Oklahoma! during its original Broadway run and subsequent revivals.

Bond attended the University of Tulsa, where he performed a leading role in Green Grow the Lilacs, the play that would later serve as the basis for Oklahoma!. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and following his discharge he joined the Broadway cast of Oklahoma! in 1946, assuming the role of Curly from Howard Keel. According to the Deseret News, Bond held the role of Curly for a longer continuous period than any other actor during the original Broadway production. He was also the only native Oklahoman to play the part.

Bond's Broadway career spanned from 1943 to 1953, encompassing the original production of Oklahoma! as well as the show's 1951 and 1953 Broadway revivals. He additionally toured with the production, and over the course of his career he performed the role of Curly approximately 2,600 times. His likeness, in character as Curly alongside the character Laurie, was featured on a U.S. postage stamp issued to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Oklahoma!.

In 1953, Bond worked alongside Oklahoma state representative George Nigh, who later became governor, to advocate for the show's title song being designated the official Oklahoma state song. When Oklahoma! closed in 1954, Bond retired from acting and joined American Family Life Insurance Co. as a district coordinator in its Tulsa office, where he continued working in the insurance industry.

Bond received several honors recognizing his contributions to Oklahoma's cultural heritage. In 1991, Rogers State University presented him with the Lynn Riggs Award. In 1993, the Oklahoma Heritage Association named him an Ambassador of Goodwill, and that same year he was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame.

On September 25, 1943, Bond married restoration artist Maxine Vincent, born in 1921 and died in 2008. The couple were married for 54 years and had two children, musician and sound engineer Geoffrey Bond and Pamela Bond-Simmons. Bond died at the age of 74, and he and his wife are buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Claremore, Oklahoma.