- published: 07 Feb 2007
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- author: Flora Siami
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- Agnes Moorehead
- Alan Alda
- Alan Young
- Alcoholism
- Alice (TV series)
- Alice in Wonderland
- Are You With It?
- Bell Telephone Hour
- Bing Crosby
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- Bowery to Broadway
- Boy Trouble
- Bring Back Birdie
- Broadway theatre
- Call Me Madam (film)
- Cantinflas
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- Death of a Champion
- Dick Powell
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Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City. Along with London's West End theatre, Broadway theatre is widely considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world.
The Broadway theatre district is a popular tourist attraction in New York. According to The Broadway League, Broadway shows sold approximately $1.081 billion worth of tickets in calendar year 2011, compared with $1.037 billion for 2010. Attendance in 2011 was 12.13 million.
New York did not have a significant theatre presence until about 1750, when actor-managers Walter Murray and Thomas Kean established a resident theatre company at the Theatre on Nassau Street, which held about 280 people. They presented Shakespeare plays and ballad operas such as The Beggar's Opera. In 1752, William Hallam sent a company of twelve actors from Britain to the colonies with his brother Lewis as their manager. They established a theatre in Williamsburg, Virginia and opened with The Merchant of Venice and The Anatomist. The company moved to New York in the summer of 1753, performing ballad operas and ballad-farces like Damon and Phillida. The Revolutionary War suspended theatre in New York, but thereafter theatre resumed in 1798, the year the 2,000-seat Park Theatre was built on Chatham Street (now called Park Row). The Bowery Theatre opened in 1826, followed by others. Blackface minstrel shows, a distinctly American form of entertainment, became popular in the 1830s, and especially so with the arrival of the Virginia Minstrels in the 1840s.
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Chicago
Chicago (
i/ʃɪˈkɑːɡoʊ/ or /ʃɪˈkɔːɡoʊ/) is the largest city in the US state of Illinois and the third most populous city in the United States after New York City and Los Angeles. The city has around 2.7 million residents. Its metropolitan area, sometimes called "Chicagoland", is the third largest in the United States, with an estimated 9.8 million people. Chicago is the county seat of Cook County, though a small portion also extends into DuPage County.
Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837, near a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed. Today, Chicago is listed as an alpha+ global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, and ranks seventh in the world on the 2012 Global Cities Index. The city retains its status as an international hub for finance, industry, telecommunications and infrastructure, with O'Hare International Airport being the second busiest airport in the world in terms of traffic movements. In 2008[update], the city hosted 45.6 million domestic and overseas visitors. Among metropolitan areas, Chicago has the 4th largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world, ranking just behind Tokyo, New York City, and Los Angeles. Chicago is one of the most important Worldwide Centers of Commerce and trade.
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Chicago, Illinois
Chicago (i/ʃɪˈkɑːɡoʊ/ or /ʃɪˈkɔːɡoʊ/) is the largest city in the US state of Illinois and the third most populous city in the United States after New York City and Los Angeles. The city has around 2.7 million residents. Its metropolitan area, sometimes called "Chicagoland", is the third largest in the United States, with an estimated 9.8 million people. Chicago is the county seat of Cook County, though a small portion also extends into DuPage County.
Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837, near a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed. Today, Chicago is listed as an alpha+ global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, and ranks seventh in the world on the 2012 Global Cities Index. The city retains its status as an international hub for finance, industry, telecommunications and infrastructure, with O'Hare International Airport being the second busiest airport in the world in terms of traffic movements. In 2008[update], the city hosted 45.6 million domestic and overseas visitors. Among metropolitan areas, Chicago has the 4th largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world, ranking just behind Tokyo, New York City, and Los Angeles. Chicago is one of the most important Worldwide Centers of Commerce and trade.
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County Cork
County Cork (Irish: Contae Chorcaí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork (Irish: Corcaigh). Cork County Council is the local authority for the county.
There are two local authorities whose remit collectively encompasses the geographic area of the county and city of Cork. The county, excluding Cork city, is administered by Cork County Council while the city is administered separately by Cork City Council. Both city and county are part of the South-West Region. For standardized European statistical purposes, both Cork County Council and Cork City Council rank equally as first level local administrative units of the NUTS 3 South-West Region. There are 34 such LAU 1 entities in the Republic of Ireland.
Both local authorities are responsible for certain local services such as sanitation, planning and development, libraries, the collection of motor taxation, local roads and social housing.
The county is part of the South constituency for the purposes of European elections. For elections to Dáil Éireann, the county is divided into five constituencies - Cork East, Cork North–Central, Cork North–West, Cork South–Central and Cork South–West. Together they return 19 deputies (TDs) to the Dáil.
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The Great Movie Ride
The Great Movie Ride is an attraction at Walt Disney World's Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park. It is a dark ride which takes guests through scenes from famous films throughout motion picture history.
The ride is located inside a recreation of the famous Hollywood landmark Grauman's Chinese Theatre. However, because The Walt Disney Company was denied permission to use the name "Grauman," the proper name of the building is simply "The Chinese Theatre." (Also, at the time the attraction was opened, the actual Grauman's Theater was officially known as "Mann's Chinese Theater" as it was owned by the Mann film theater group.) The façade was almost completely blocked from view in 2001 when a giant replica of The Sorcerer's Hat was built directly in front of the façade. Since then, the hat has served as the park's symbol.
Scenes from all major film studios are represented in the film montage with one notable exception; there is no reference to any motion pictures released by Universal Studios (whose parent company operates the rival Universal Orlando Resort nearby).
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Agnes Moorehead
Agnes Robertson Moorehead (December 6, 1900 – April 30, 1974) was an American actress. Although she began with the Mercury Theatre, appeared in more than seventy films beginning with Citizen Kane and on dozens of television shows during a career that spanned more than thirty years, Moorehead is most widely known to modern audiences for her role as the witch Endora in the series Bewitched.
While rarely playing leads in films, Moorehead's skill at character development and range earned her one Emmy Award and two Golden Globe awards in addition to four Academy Award and six Emmy Award nominations. Moorehead's transition to television won acclaim for drama and comedy. She could play many different types, but often portrayed haughty, arrogant characters.
Moorehead was born in Clinton, Massachusetts, of English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh ancestry, to a Presbyterian clergyman, John Henderson Moorehead, and his wife, the former Mildred McCauley, who had been a singer. Moorehead later shaved six years off her age by claiming to have been born in 1906. Moorehead recalled her first public performance was at the age of three, reciting "The Lord's Prayer" in her father's church. The family moved to St. Louis, Missouri, and Moorehead's ambition to become an actress grew "very strong". Her mother indulged her active imagination often asking, "Who are you today, Agnes?", while Moorehead and her sister would often engage in mimicry, often coming to the dinner table and imitating parishioners. Moorehead noted and was encouraged by her father's amused reactions. She joined the chorus of the St. Louis Municipal Opera Company, known as "The Muny". In addition to her interest in acting, she developed a lifelong interest in religion; in later years actors such as Dick Sargent would recall Moorehead arriving on the set with "the Bible in one hand and the script in the other".
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Alan Alda
Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo (born January 28, 1936), better known as Alan Alda, is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and author. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is best known for his role as Hawkeye Pierce in the TV series M*A*S*H. He is currently a Visiting Professor at the State University of New York at Stony Brook School of Journalism and a member of the advisory board of The Center for Communicating Science.
In 1996, Alda was ranked #41 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.
Alda was born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo in The Bronx, New York City. His father, Robert Alda (born Alphonso Giuseppe Giovanni Roberto D'Abruzzo), was an actor and singer, and his mother, Joan Browne, was a former showgirl. His father was of Italian descent and his mother was of Irish ancestry. His adopted surname, "Alda," is a portmanteau of ALphonso and D'Abruzzo. When Alda was seven years old, he contracted Poliomyelitis. To combat the disease, his parents administered a painful treatment regimen developed by Sister Elizabeth Kenny that consisted of applying hot woolen blankets to his limbs and stretching his muscles. Alda attended Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, New York. In 1956, he received his Bachelor of Science degree in English from Fordham College of Fordham University in the Bronx, where he was a student staff member of its FM radio station, WFUV. Alda's half-brother, Antony Alda, was born the same year and would also become an actor.
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Alan Young
Alan Young (born 19 November 1919) is a British-born Canadian actor best known for his role as Wilbur Post in the television series Mister Ed and as the voice of Scrooge McDuck in Disney films, TV series and video games. During the 1940s and 1950s, he starred on his own shows on radio and television.
Young was born Angus Young in North Shields, Northumberland, England, to John Cathcart Young, a shipyard worker, and Florence Pinckney, whose ancestors included a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. The family moved to Edinburgh, Scotland when Young was a toddler, and to West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada when he was six years old. Young came to love radio when bedridden as a child because of severe asthma. Near the start of his radio career, during World War II, Young attempted to enlist in first the Royal Canadian Navy, then the Canadian Army, but was rejected by both due to his poor health.
Young became a broadcaster for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. In 1944, he moved to American radio with The Alan Young Show, NBC's summer replacement for Eddie Cantor's show. He switched to ABC two years later, then returned to NBC. Since 1994, he has played at least eight characters on the popular radio drama Adventures in Odyssey, most notably antique dealer Jack Allen.
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Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artistes of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation.
A multimedia star, from 1934 to 1954 Bing Crosby was a leader in record sales, radio ratings and motion picture grosses. His early career coincided with technical recording innovations; this allowed him to develop a laid-back, intimate singing style that influenced many of the popular male singers who followed him, including Perry Como,Frank Sinatra, and Dean Martin. Yank magazine recognized Crosby as the person who had done the most for American G.I. morale during World War II and, during his peak years, around 1948, polls declared him the "most admired man alive," ahead of Jackie Robinson and Pope Pius XII. Also in 1948, the Music Digest estimated that Crosby recordings filled more than half of the 80,000 weekly hours allocated to recorded radio music.
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Cantinflas
Fortino Mario Alfonso Moreno Reyes (August 12, 1911 – April 20, 1993), was a Mexican comic film actor, producer, and screenwriter known professionally as Cantinflas. He often portrayed impoverished campesinos or a peasant of pelado origin.[citation needed] The character came to be associated with the national identity of Mexico, and allowed Cantinflas to establish a long, successful film career that included a foray into Hollywood. Charlie Chaplin once commented that he was the best comedian alive, and Moreno has been referred to as the "Charlie Chaplin of Mexico". To audiences in the United States, he is best remembered as co-starring with David Niven in a Golden Globe Award-winning role in the 1956 film Around the World in 80 Days.
As a pioneer of the cinema of Mexico, Moreno helped usher in its golden era. In addition to being a business leader, he also became involved in Mexico's tangled and often dangerous labor politics. Although he was a political conservative, his reputation as a spokesperson for the downtrodden gave his actions authenticity and became important in the early struggle against charrismo, the one-party government's practice of co-opting and controlling unions.[citation needed]
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Carroll O'Connor
Carroll O'Connor (born John Carroll O'Connor) (August 2, 1924 – June 21, 2001) , was an American actor, producer and director whose television career spanned four decades. Known at first for playing the role of Major General Colt in the 1970 movie Kelly's Heroes, he later found fame as the bigoted working man Archie Bunker, the main character in the 1970s CBS television sitcoms All in the Family (1971 to 1979) and Archie Bunker's Place (1979 to 1983). O'Connor later starred in the NBC/CBS television crime drama In the Heat of the Night from 1988 to 1995, where he played the role of southern Police Chief William (Bill) Gillespie. At the end of his career in the late 1990s, he played the father of Jamie Stemple Buchman (Helen Hunt) on Mad About You.
In 1996, O'Connor was ranked #38 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.
O'Connor, an Irish American, was the eldest of three sons born in Manhattan,New York, to Elise Patricia and Edward Joseph O'Connor, who was a New York City lawyer. Both of his brothers were doctors: Hugh, who died in a motorcycle accident in 1961, and Robert, a psychiatrist in New York City. O'Connor spent much of his youth in Elmhurst and Forest Hills, Queens, in the same borough in which his character Archie Bunker would later live. In 1941 O'Connor enrolled at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, but dropped out when the United States entered World War II. During World War II he was rejected by the United States Navy and enrolled in the United States Merchant Marine Academy for a short time. After leaving that institution, he became a merchant seaman.
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Celeste Holm
Celeste Holm (born April 29, 1917) is an American stage, film, and television actress, known for her Academy Award-winning performance in Gentleman's Agreement (1947), as well as for her Oscar-nominated performances in Come to the Stable (1949) and All About Eve (1950). In 2011, despite health ailments, she completed filming the comedy feature film, College Debts, directed by Dexter Warr and Joshua Zilm.
Born and raised in New York City, Holm grew up as an only child. Her mother, Jean Parke, was an American portrait artist and author; her father, Theodor Holm, was a Norwegian businessman whose company provided marine adjustment services for Lloyd's of London. Because of her parents' occupations, she traveled often during her youth and attended various schools in Holland, France and the United States. She graduated from University High School for Girls in Chicago, where she performed in many school stage productions. She then studied drama at the University of Chicago before becoming a stage actress in the late 1930s.
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Claudette Colbert
Claudette Colbert (/koʊlˈbɛər/; 13 September 1903 – 30 July 1996) was an American actress of stage and film.
Born in Paris, France, and raised in New York City, Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the 1920s, progressing to film with the advent of talking pictures. She established a successful film career with Paramount Pictures, and was recognized as one of the leading female exponents of screwball comedy. Colbert was the highest paid actress in American cinema during late 1930s, and later became a freelance performer. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her comedic performance in It Happened One Night (1934), and also received Academy Award nominations for her dramatic roles in Private Worlds (1935) and Since You Went Away (1944).
Colbert's film career declined in the 1950s, and finished in 1961. Later in life, she returned to theater, except brief appearances in television. Her intermittent career lasted more than six decades. She moved in later life to Barbados, where she died at the age of 92, following a series of strokes.
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Conrad Nagel
Conrad Nagel ((1897-03-16)March 16, 1897 – February 24, 1970(1970-02-24)) was an American screen actor and matinee idol of the silent film era and beyond. He was also a well-known television actor and radio performer.
Born in Keokuk, Iowa, into an upper-middle-class family, he was the son of a musician father, Frank, and a mother, Frances (née Murphy), who was a locally praised singer. Nagel’s mother died early in his life, and he always attributed his artistic inclination to growing up in a family environment that encouraged self-expression. His father, Frank, became dean of the music conservatory at Highland Park College and when Nagel was three, the family moved to Des Moines.
After graduating from Highland Park College at Des Moines, Iowa, Nagel left for California to pursue a career in the relatively new medium of motion pictures where he garnered instant attention from the Hollywood studio executives. With his 6-foot-tall (1.8 m) frame, blue eyes, and wavy blond hair; the young, Midwestern Nagel was seen by studio executives as a potentially wholesome matinee idol whose unpretentious all-American charm would surely appeal to the nation's nascent film-goers.
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Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye (born David Daniel Kaminski; January 18, 1913 – March 3, 1987) was a celebrated American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian. His best known performances featured physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes, and rapid-fire nonsense songs.
Kaye starred in 17 movies, notably The Kid from Brooklyn (1946), The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947), The Inspector General (1949), Hans Christian Andersen (1952), and — perhaps his most accomplished performance — The Court Jester (1956). His films were extremely popular, especially his bravura performances of patter songs and children's favorites such as The Inch Worm and The Ugly Duckling. He was the first ambassador-at-large of UNICEF in 1954 and received the French Legion of Honor in 1986 for his many years of work with the organization.
David Daniel Kaminski was born to Ukrainian Jewish immigrants in Brooklyn. Jacob and Clara Nemerovsky Kaminski and their two sons, Larry and Mac, left Ekaterinoslav two years before his birth; he was the only one of their sons born in the United States. He spent his early youth attending Public School 149 in East New York, Brooklyn, where he began entertaining his young classmates with songs and jokes, before moving to Thomas Jefferson High School, but he never graduated. His mother died when he was in his early teens. Clara enjoyed the impressions and humor of her youngest son and always had words of encouragement for them; her death was a great loss for young Danny.
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Danny Thomas
Danny Thomas (born Amos Muzyad Yakhoob Kairouz; January 6, 1912 – February 6, 1991) was an American nightclub comedian and television and film actor, best known for starring in the television sitcom Make Room for Daddy (also known as The Danny Thomas Show). He was also the founder of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. He was the father of Marlo Thomas, Terre Thomas, and Tony Thomas.
Thomas was born in Deerfield, Michigan, to Charles Yakhoob Kairouz and his wife Margaret Taouk in 1912. His parents were Maronite Catholic immigrants from Lebanon. Thomas was raised in Toledo, Ohio, attending St. Francis de Sales Church (Roman Catholic), Woodward High School and finally The University of Toledo, where he was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. Thomas was confirmed in the Catholic Church by the bishop of Toledo, Samuel Stritch. Stritch, a native of Tennessee, was a lifelong spiritual advisor for Thomas, and urged him to locate the St. Jude Hospital in Memphis. He married Rose Marie Cassaniti in 1936, a week after his 24th birthday.
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David Niven
James David Graham Niven (1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983), was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. "the Phantom", in The Pink Panther. He was awarded the 1958 Academy Award for Best Actor in Separate Tables.
Born in London, Niven attended Heatherdown and Stowe before gaining a place at Royal Military College at Sandhurst. He was gazetted a Lieutenant in the Highland Light Infantry. Having developed an interest in acting, he left the Highland Light Infantry, travelled to Hollywood and had several minor roles in film. He first appeared as an extra in the British film There Goes the Bride (1932). From there, he hired an agent and had several small parts in films from 1933, 1934 and 1935, including a non-speaking part in MGM's Mutiny on the Bounty. This brought him to wider attention within the film industry and he was spotted by Samuel Goldwyn. Upon the outbreak of the Second World War, Niven returned to England, and rejoined the army and was recommissioned as a lieutenant.
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Dick Powell
Richard Ewing "Dick" Powell (November 14, 1904 – January 2, 1963) was an American singer, actor, producer, director and studio boss. Though he came to stardom as a musical comedy performer, he successfully transformed into a hardbitten leading man of darker projects.
Born in Mountain View, the seat of Stone County in northern Arkansas, Powell attended the former Little Rock College in the state capital, before he started his entertainment career as a singer with the Charlie Davis Orchestra, based in the midwest. He recorded a number of records with Davis and on his own, for the Vocalion label in the late 1920s.
Powell moved to Pittsburgh, where he found great local success as the Master of Ceremonies at the Enright Theater and the Stanley Theater. In April 1930, Warner Bros. bought Brunswick Records, which at that time owned Vocalion. Warner Bros. was sufficiently impressed by Powell's singing and stage presence to offer him a film contract in 1932. He made his film debut as a singing bandleader in Blessed Event. He went on to star as a boyish crooner in movie musicals such as 42nd Street, Footlight Parade, Gold Diggers of 1933, Dames, Flirtation Walk, and On the Avenue, often appearing opposite Ruby Keeler and Joan Blondell.
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Dick Van Dyke
Richard Wayne "Dick" Van Dyke (born December 13, 1925) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer with a career spanning six decades. He is the older brother of Jerry Van Dyke and father of Barry Van Dyke. Van Dyke starred in the films Bye Bye Birdie, Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and in the TV series The Dick Van Dyke Show and Diagnosis: Murder. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Blvd.
Van Dyke was born in West Plains, Missouri, to Loren (nickname "Cookie") and Hazel (born McCord) Van Dyke, but he grew up in Danville, Illinois. He is the older brother of actor Jerry Van Dyke, who is best known for his role on the TV series Coach. His grandson, Shane Van Dyke, is also an actor, and directed Titanic II. He is of Dutch descent on his father's side, and his mother was a descendant of Mayflower passenger Peter Browne from England.
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Don Adams
Don Adams (April 13, 1923 – September 25, 2005) was an American actor, comedian and director. In his five decades on television, he was best known as Maxwell Smart (Agent 86) in the television situation comedy Get Smart (1965–1970, 1995), which he also sometimes directed and wrote. Adams won three consecutive Emmy Awards for his portrayal of Smart (1967–1969). He provided the voices for the animated series Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales (1963–1966) and Inspector Gadget (1983–1986) as their title characters. He voiced Sid Pickles in all episodes of Spike & Mike (1993–1999), and two follow up films, Spike & Mike Movie and Spike and Mike: Got Hostaged.
Adams was born Donald James Yarmy in Manhattan, son of William Yarmy and his wife Consuelo Dieter. His father, a restaurant manager, was Hungarian and Jewish and his mother was Irish and Roman Catholic. Adams and his brother (actor Dick Yarmy) were each raised in the religion of one parent: Don in the Catholic faith of their mother, and Dick in the Jewish faith of their father.
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Donald O'Connor
Donald David Dixon Ronald O’Connor (August 28, 1925 - September 27, 2003) was an American dancer, singer, and actor who came to fame in a series of movies in which he co-starred alternately with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talking Mule. He is best known today for his role as Gene Kelly's friend and colleague Cosmo Brown in Singin' in the Rain (1952).
Though he considered Danville, Illinois to be his home town, O’Connor was born in St. Elizabeth Hospital in Chicago. His parents, Effie Irene (née Crane) and John Edward "Chuck" O'Connor, were vaudeville entertainers. His father's family was from County Cork, Ireland. When O'Connor was only a few years old, he and his sister Arlene were in a car crash outside a theater in Hartford, Connecticut; O'Connor survived, but his sister was killed. Several weeks later, his father died of a heart attack while dancing on stage in Brockton, Massachusetts. O'Connor at the time was being held in the arms of the theater manager Mr. Maurice Sims.
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Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra,
/sɨˈnɑːtrə/, (December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and film actor.
Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the "bobby soxers", he released his first album, The Voice of Frank Sinatra in 1946. His professional career had stalled by the 1950s, but it was reborn in 1953 after he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in From Here to Eternity.
He signed with Capitol Records in 1953 and released several critically lauded albums (such as In the Wee Small Hours, Songs for Swingin' Lovers, Come Fly with Me, Only the Lonely and Nice 'n' Easy). Sinatra left Capitol to found his own record label, Reprise Records in 1961 (finding success with albums such as Ring-a-Ding-Ding!, Sinatra at the Sands and Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim), toured internationally, was a founding member of the Rat Pack and fraternized with celebrities and statesmen, including John F. Kennedy. Sinatra turned 50 in 1965, recorded the retrospective September of My Years, starred in the Emmy-winning television special Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music, and scored hits with "Strangers in the Night" and "My Way".
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Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute. He is particularly associated with Ginger Rogers, with whom he made ten films.
Gene Kelly, another major innovator in filmed dance, said that "the history of dance on film begins with Astaire". Beyond film and television, many classical dancers and choreographers, Rudolf Nureyev, Sammy Davis, Jr., Michael Jackson, Gregory Hines, Mikhail Baryshnikov, George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins among them, also acknowledged his importance and influence.
Astaire was born in Omaha, Nebraska, the son of Johanna "Ann" (née Geilus) and Frederic "Fritz" Austerlitz (born September 8, 1868, as Friedrich Emanuel Austerlitz). Astaire's mother was born in the United States to Lutheran German immigrants from East Prussia and Alsace, while Astaire's father was born in Linz, Austria, to Jewish parents who had converted to Catholicism.
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Fredric March
Fredric March (born Ernest Frederick McIntyre Bickel; August 31, 1897 – April 14, 1975) was an American stage and film actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1932 for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and in 1946 for The Best Years of Our Lives.
March was born in Racine, Wisconsin, the son of Cora Brown (née Marcher), a schoolteacher, and John F. Bickel, a devout Presbyterian Church elder who worked in the wholesale hardware business. March attended the Winslow Elementary School (established in 1855), Racine High School, and the University of Wisconsin–Madison where he was a member of Alpha Delta Phi. He began a career as a banker, but an emergency appendectomy caused him to reevaluate his life, and in 1920 he began working as an extra in movies made in New York City, using a shortened form of his mother's maiden name, Marcher. He appeared on Broadway in 1926, and by the end of the decade signed a film contract with Paramount Pictures.
March received an Oscar nomination in 1930 for The Royal Family of Broadway, in which he played a role based upon John Barrymore (which he had first played on stage in Los Angeles). He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1932 for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (tied with Wallace Beery for The Champ although March accrued one more vote than Beery), leading to a series of classic films based on stage hits and classic novels like Design for Living (1933) with Gary Cooper, Death Takes a Holiday (1934), Les Misérables (1935) with Charles Laughton, Anthony Adverse (1936) with Olivia de Havilland, and as the original Norman Maine in A Star is Born (1937) with Janet Gaynor, for which he received his third Oscar nomination.
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Gene Kelly
Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly (August 23, 1912 - February 2, 1996) was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer. Kelly was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style, his good looks and the likeable characters that he played on screen.
Although he is known today for his performances in Singin' in the Rain and An American in Paris, he was a dominant force in Hollywood musical films from the mid 1940s until this art form fell out of fashion in the late 1950s. His many innovations transformed the Hollywood musical film, and he is credited with almost single-handedly making the ballet form commercially acceptable to film audiences.
Kelly was the recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 1952 for his career achievements. He later received lifetime achievement awards in the Kennedy Center Honors, and from the Screen Actors Guild and American Film Institute; in 1999, the American Film Institute also numbered him 15th in their Greatest Male Stars of All Time list.
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Gloria Jean
Gloria Jean (born April 14, 1926) is an American actress and singer. Beginning a prolific career as a child actress in feature films at the age of thirteen, Jean is a Young Artist Award–Former Child Star "Lifetime Achievement" Award honoree who starred or co-starred in 26 feature films between 1939 and 1959, as well as making numerous radio, television, stage, and nightclub appearances.
Gloria Jean was born Gloria Jean Schoonover in Buffalo, New York. Her family moved to Scranton, Pennsylvania, where she sang on radio with Paul Whiteman's band. She was being trained as a coloratura soprano, when her voice teacher, Leah Russel, took her to an audition held by Universal Pictures movie producer Joe Pasternak in 1938. Pasternak had guided Deanna Durbin to stardom, and with Durbin now advancing to ingenue roles, Pasternak wanted a younger singer to make the same kind of musicals. Up against hundreds of other girls, Jean won the audition.
Under contract to Universal, she was given the leading role in the 1939 feature The Under-Pup, and became instantly popular with moviegoers. Universal's publicity department initially claimed the singer was 11 years old instead of 13; her actual age was not well known until recently. For her next two vehicles, she co-starred with Bing Crosby in If I Had My Way and starred in the well-received A Little Bit of Heaven (which reunited her with many from the Under-Pup cast). Her best-known picture is her fourth, Never Give a Sucker an Even Break, in which she co-starred with W. C. Fields.
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Harry Shum, Jr.
Harry Shum, Jr. (Chinese: 岑勇康; born April 28, 1982) is an American dancer, actor, and choreographer. He is best known for his role as Mike Chang on the Fox television show Glee. He has appeared in dance films such as Stomp the Yard, You Got Served, Step Up 2: The Streets and Step Up 3D. He also plays the character of Elliot Hoo in The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers.
Shum was born in Puerto Limón, Costa Rica on April 28, 1982. His mother is a native of Hong Kong, and his father is from Guangzhou, China. They relocated to Costa Rica, where Shum and his two older sisters were born. When Shum was six years old, the family moved to San Francisco, California. He states, "I feel I have the best of so many worlds. I speak Chinese and Spanish. Spanish is actually my first language before I learned Chinese and English". In an interview, he said that his earliest motivations to dance were from Ginuwine, Dru Hill, and Usher, before becoming influenced by iconic dancers like Gene Kelly and Michael Jackson.
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Jack Benny
Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American comedian, vaudevillian, radio, television, and film actor, and also a notable violinist. Widely recognized as one of the leading American entertainers of the 20th century, Benny played the role of the comic penny-pinching miser, insisting on remaining 39 years old on stage despite his actual age, and often playing the violin badly.
Benny was known for his comic timing and his ability to get laughs with either a pregnant pause or a single expression, such as his signature exasperated "Well!" His radio and television programs, tremendously popular from the 1930s to the 1960s, were a foundational influence on the situation comedy genre. Dean Martin, on the celebrity roast for Johnny Carson in November 1973, introduced Benny as "the Satchel Paige of the world of comedy".
Benny was born Benjamin Kubelsky on February 14, 1894, in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in neighboring Waukegan, Illinois. He was the son of Meyer Kubelsky and Emma Sachs Kubelsky. Meyer was a Jewish saloon owner, later to become a haberdasher, who had emigrated to America from Poland. Emma had emigrated from Lithuania. Benny began studying the violin, an instrument that would become his trademark, when he was just six, with his parents' hopes that he would be a great classical violinist. He loved the violin, but hated practice. By age 14, he was playing in local dance bands as well as in his high school orchestra. Benny was a dreamer and a poor student and he was expelled from high school. He did equally badly in business school and at his father's trade. At age 17, he began playing the instrument in local vaudeville theaters for $7.50 a week. He was joined by Ned Miller, a young composer and singer, on the vaudeville circuit. They became life-long friends and Miller eventually joined the cast of The Jack Benny Program in the 1960s.
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Jack Lemmon
John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts (for which he won the 1955 Best Supporting Actor Academy Award), Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger (for which he won the 1973 Best Actor Academy Award), The Out-of-Towners, The China Syndrome, Missing (for which he won 'Best Actor' at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival), Glengarry Glen Ross, Grumpy Old Men and Grumpier Old Men.
Lemmon was born in an elevator[citation needed] at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Newton, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. He was the only child of Mildred Burgess LaRue (née Noel) and John Uhler Lemmon, Jr., who was the president of a doughnut company. Lemmon attended John Ward Elementary School in Newton and The Rivers School in Weston, Massachusetts. He had stated that he knew he wanted to be an actor from the age of eight. Lemmon attended Phillips Academy (Class of 1943) and Harvard University (Class of 1947), where he lived in Adams House and was an active member of several Drama Clubs - becoming president of the Hasty Pudding Club - as well as a member of the Delphic Club for Gentleman, a final club at Harvard. After Harvard, Lemmon joined the Navy, receiving V-12 training and serving as an ensign. On being discharged, he took up acting professionally, working on radio, television and Broadway. He studied acting under coach Uta Hagen. He also became enamored of the piano and learned to play it on his own. He could also play the harmonica, organ, and the double bass.
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James Cagney
James Francis Cagney, Jr. (July 17, 1899 – March 30, 1986) was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing tough guys. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth among its 50 Greatest American Screen Legends.
In his first professional acting performance, he danced dressed as a woman in the chorus line of the 1919 revue Every Sailor. He spent several years in vaudeville as a hoofer and comedian, until he got his first major acting part in 1925. He secured several other roles, receiving good notices, before landing the lead in the 1929 play Penny Arcade. After rave reviews, Warner Bros. signed him for an initial $500-a-week, three-week contract to reprise his role; this was quickly extended to a seven-year contract.
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James Mason
James Neville Mason (15 May 1909 - 27 July 1984) was an English actor who attained stardom in both British and American films. Mason remained a powerful figure in the industry throughout his career and was nominated for three Academy Awards as well as three Golden Globes (winning once).
Mason was born in Huddersfield, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to John and Mabel Mason; his father was a wealthy merchant. He was educated at Marlborough College, and earned a first in architecture at Peterhouse, Cambridge where he became involved in stock theatre companies in his spare time. Mason had no formal training as an actor and initially embarked upon it for fun. After Cambridge he joined the Old Vic theatre in London under the guidance of Tyrone Guthrie and Alexander Korda. In 1933 Korda gave Mason a small role in The Private Life of Don Juan but fired him three days into shooting.
From 1935 to 1948 he starred in many British quota quickies. A conscientious objector during World War II (causing his family to break with him for many years), he became immensely popular for his brooding anti-heroes in the Gainsborough series of melodramas of the 1940s, including The Man in Grey (1943) and The Wicked Lady (1945). He also starred with Deborah Kerr and Robert Newton in Hatter's Castle (1942). He then took the lead role in the critically acclaimed and immensely popular The Seventh Veil (1945) that set box office records in postwar Britain and raised him to international stardom. He followed it with a role as a mortally wounded Irish bank robber in Odd Man Out (1947) and his first Hollywood film, Caught (1949). Exhibitors voted him the most popular star in Britain in 1944 and 1945.
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James Stewart
James Maitland "Jimmy" Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime Achievement award. He was a major MGM contract star. He also had a noted military career and was a World War II and Vietnam War veteran, who rose to the rank of Brigadier General in the United States Air Force Reserve.
James Maitland Stewart was born on May 20, 1908, in Indiana, Pennsylvania, the son of Elizabeth Ruth (née Jackson) and Alexander Maitland Stewart, who owned a hardware store. Stewart's parents were of Scottish descent and Presbyterians. His maternal ancestors served in the American Revolution, the War of 1812 and the American Civil War. The eldest of three children (he had two younger sisters, Virginia and Mary), he was expected to continue his father's business, which had been in the family for three generations. His mother was an excellent pianist but his father discouraged Stewart's request for lessons. But when his father accepted a gift of an accordion from a guest, young Stewart quickly learned to play the instrument, which became a fixture off-stage during his acting career. As the family grew, music continued to be an important part of family life.
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Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis (born March 16, 1926) is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis.
In addition to the duo's popular nightclub work, they starred in a successful series of comedy films for Paramount Pictures. Lewis is also known for his charity fund-raising telethons and position as national chairman for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA).
Lewis has won several awards for lifetime achievements from The American Comedy Awards, The Golden Camera, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and The Venice Film Festival, and he has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In 2005, he received the Governors Award of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Board of Governors, which is the highest Emmy Award presented. On February 22, 2009, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded Lewis the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
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Jimmy Durante
James Francis "Jimmy" Durante (February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American singer, pianist, comedian and actor. His distinctive clipped gravelly speech, comic language butchery, jazz-influenced songs, and large nose helped make him one of America's most familiar and popular personalities of the 1920s through the 1970s. His jokes about his nose included referring to it as a "Schnozzola", and the word became his nickname.
Durante was born on the Lower East Side of New York City. He was the youngest of four children born to Bartolomeo Durante and his mail-order bride Rosa, both of whom were immigrants from Salerno, Italy. Bartolomeo was a barber, and his wife Rosa was the sister of a woman who lived in the same boarding house. Jimmy Durante served as an altar boy at Saint Malachy's Roman Catholic Church, known as the Actor's Chapel.
Durante dropped out of school in eighth grade to become a full-time ragtime pianist. He first played with his cousin, whose name was also "Jimmy Durante." It was a family act, but he was too professional for his cousin. He continued working the city's piano bar circuit and earned the nickname "Ragtime Jimmy," before he joined one of the first recognizable jazz bands in New York, the Original New Orleans Jazz Band. Durante was the only member not from New Orleans. His routine of breaking into a song to deliver a joke, with band or orchestra chord punctuation after each line, became a Durante trademark. In 1920, the group was renamed Jimmy Durante's Jazz Band.
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Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Joseph Leo Mankiewicz (February 11, 1909 – February 5, 1993) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Mankiewicz had a long Hollywood career and is best known as the writer-director of All About Eve (1950), which was nominated for 14 Academy Awards and won six. He was brother to screenwriter and drama critic Herman J. Mankiewicz who also won an Oscar for co-writing Citizen Kane (1941).
Joseph Mankiewicz was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania to Franz Mankiewicz (died 1941) and Johanna Blumenau, Jewish immigrants from Germany. He had a sister, Erna Mankiewicz (1901–1979), and a brother, Herman J. Mankiewicz, who became a screenwriter.
At age four, Mankiewicz moved with his family to New York City where he graduated in 1924 from Stuyvesant High School. In 1928, he obtained a bachelor's degree from Columbia University. For a time he worked in Berlin, Germany, as a foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune newspaper before entering the motion picture business.
Comfortable in a variety of genres and able to elicit career performances from actors and actresses alike, Joseph L. Mankiewicz combined ironic, sophisticated scripts with a precise, sometimes stylised mise en scène. Mankiewicz worked for seventeen years as a screenwriter for Paramount and as a producer for MGM before getting a chance to direct at Twentieth Century-Fox. Over six years he made 11 films for Fox, reaching a peak in 1950 and 1951 when he won consecutive Academy Awards for Screenplay and Direction for both A Letter to Three Wives and All About Eve.
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Kathy Najimy
Kathy Ann Najimy (born February 6, 1957) is an American actress and comedian, most notable as Olive Massery on the television series Veronica's Closet, Sister Mary Patrick in Sister Act and the voice of Peggy Hill on the animated television series King of the Hill. Prior to her film work, she was best known for two Off Broadway shows with Mo Gaffney working as the duo Kathy and Mo. One of the shows became an HBO comedy special and garnered Najimy her first nationwide fan base.
Najimy was born in San Diego, California, the daughter of Lebanese American parents Samia (née Massery) and Fred Najimy, a postal worker. She was raised Catholic and attended Crawford High School.
Najimy's film career began in the early 1990s, with a number of off-beat minor roles, but her first major role was in the 1992 comedy Sister Act, in the role of Sister Mary Patrick. She reprised this role in 1993 in Sister Act 2. She also starred in Hocus Pocus with Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker as the Sanderson sisters. In 1997, she lent her voice to Warner Bros. Family Entertainment as Tilly the Hippo in the film Cats Don't Dance, alongside actors Scott Bakula, Jasmine Guy, John Rhys-Davies and Don Knotts, and has also played a role on the Nightmare Ned video game. In 1998, she made a cameo in Bride of Chucky as the maid who discovers Diane and Russ' bodies. In 2001, she co-starred in the hit comedy film Rat Race alongside John Cleese, Rowan Atkinson, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Whoopi Goldberg, Jon Lovitz and Seth Green. She guest starred in That's So Raven. She has done four movies with Goldberg, (Soapdish, Sister Act 1 and 2, and Rat Race).
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Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM ( /ˈlɒrəns ɵˈlɪvi.eɪ/; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor, director, and producer. One of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century, he was the youngest actor to be knighted and the first to be elevated to the peerage. He married three times, to actresses Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright. Actor Spencer Tracy said that Olivier was 'the greatest actor in the English-speaking world'.
Olivier played a wide variety of roles on stage and screen from Greek tragedy, Shakespeare and Restoration comedy to modern American and British drama. He was the first artistic director of the National Theatre of Great Britain and its main stage is named in his honour. He is regarded by some to be the greatest actor of the 20th century, in the same category as David Garrick, Richard Burbage, Edmund Kean and Henry Irving in their own centuries. Olivier's AMPAS acknowledgments are considerable: twelve Oscar nominations, with two awards (for Best Actor and Best Picture for the 1948 film Hamlet), plus two honorary awards including a statuette and certificate. He was also awarded five Emmy awards from the nine nominations he received. Additionally, he was a three-time Golden Globe and BAFTA winner.
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Mara Wilson
Mara Elizabeth Wilson (born July 24, 1987) is a Jewish American former child actress and playwright, known for her roles as a child star, particularly Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), Miracle on 34th Street (1994) and Matilda (1996).
Mara Wilson was born in Los Angeles, California, to Michael Wilson and the late Suzie Shapiro Wilson. She has three older brothers, Danny, Jon, and Joel, and a younger sister, Anna. Suzie died from breast cancer in 1996 during the filming of Matilda and Michael remarried. "Matilda" was dedicated to Suzie's memory.
In 2005, Wilson graduated from Idyllwild Arts Academy. She is a 2009 graduate of New York University'sTisch School of the Arts. In an interview she stated that she does not want to be a celebrity, although she did add that she was considering doing a small film, just not mainstream films. Mara Wilson explained that she quit film acting because she did not find it enjoyable, and prefers stage acting.
Wilson had interest in acting at the age of 5. Wilson's film debut was in the 1993 hit Mrs. Doubtfire - based on the Anne Fine novel Madame Doubtfire, a sequel after Mrs. Doubtfire followed by the 1994 remake of Miracle on 34th Street. In 1995, she won the ShoWest Award for "Young Star of the Year." Her performances in those films caught the attention of Danny DeVito and led to her being cast as the title character in Matilda, adapted from the popular children's book by author Roald Dahl. Wilson won a Young Artist Award for her role in A Simple Wish in "Best Performance in a Feature Film Leading Young Actress" and a YoungStar Award for Matilda in "Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Comedy Film." She was twice nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor for both Matilda and A Simple Wish. Her appearance in the 2000 film Thomas and the Magic Railroad was her last major film role to date.
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Matthew Morrison
Matthew James Morrison (born October 30, 1978) is an American actor, dancer, musician, and singer-songwriter. He is best known for starring in multiple Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, including his portrayal of Link Larkin in Hairspray on Broadway, and most notably for his Emmy and Golden Globe nominated role as Will Schuester on the Fox television show Glee (2009–present). He has also received a Satellite Award for this role.
Matthew Morrison was born in Fort Ord, California, and raised in Orange County, and is of Scottish heritage. He was part of the Collaborative Arts Project 21 (CAP21) and the Orange County High School of the Arts, while at the Los Alamitos High School campus. While in high school, he did a musical with actress Jodie Sweetin. He attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts for two years before dropping out and joining the Broadway adaptation of Footloose.
By freshman year of college Morrison already was a regular performer on Broadway. He states in Details "There were all these beautiful, beautiful dancers. As a straight guy I had some room. There were the shared interests in singing and dancing, and I always find dancing with someone very erotic and sexual. I definitely hooked up with a lot of girls when I was a young guy on Broadway. It was fun, I guess. Very joyous and free."
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Mike Chang
Michael "Mike" Robert Chang, Jr. is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actor and dancer Harry Shum, Jr., and has appeared on Glee since the fourth episode in the first season, "Preggers", first broadcast on September 23, 2009. Glee follows the trials of the New Directions glee club at the fictional William McKinley High School in the town of Lima, Ohio, of which Mike is a member. He is introduced as a football player who joins the club together with a few of his teammates, and quickly shows himself to be an excellent dancer.
Mike is played by Harry Shum, Jr. He has also been portrayed as a very young boy by Evan Kishiyama in the episode "The Substitute". When Shum was hired, he had been through the audition process, but as far as he knew "it was just like a regular acting gig where you go on for a day." In an interview with the New York Post, he elaborated, "I got hired as a day player and it turned into a week, and then a month and so on. I was just rolling with it—I mean, who would say no to that?"
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Pat O'Brien (actor)
Pat O’Brien (November 11, 1899 – October 15, 1983) was an American film actor with more than one hundred screen credits.
O’Brien was born William Joseph Patrick O’Brien to an Irish-American Catholic family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He served as an altar boy at Gesu Church while growing up near 13th and Clybourn streets. O’Brien attended Marquette Academy with fellow actor Spencer Tracy, and later attended Marquette University. Reportedly, he also served with Jack Benny at Great Lakes Naval Station during World War I.[citation needed]
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O’Brien appeared with James Cagney in nine feature films, including Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) and Cagney’s last film, Ragtime (1981). The two originally met in 1926 and became lifelong friends. O'Brien began appearing in movies (many times playing Irish cops or priests) in the 1930s, starting with the role of ace reporter Hildy Johnson in the original version of The Front Page in 1931. He appeared in the successful 1946 suspense film, Crack-Up, and played the lead in the boxing film, The Personality Kid.
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Paul Douglas (actor)
Paul Douglas (April 11, 1907 – September 11, 1959) was an American actor, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as Paul Douglas Fleischer.
Douglas began his career as a stage actor. He made his Broadway debut in 1936 as the Radio Announcer in Doty Hobart and Tom McKnight's Double Dummy at the John Golden Theatre. In 1946 he won both a Theatre World Award and a Clarence Derwent Award for his portrayal of Herry Brock in Garson Kanin's Born Yesterday.
Douglas began appearing in films in 1949. He may be best remembered for two baseball comedy movies, Angels in the Outfield (1951) and It Happens Every Spring (1949). He also played Richard Widmark's police partner in the 1950 thriller Panic in the Streets, frustrated newlywed Porter Hollingsway in A Letter to Three Wives (1949), Sgt. Kowalski in The Big Lift (1950), businessman Josiah Walter Dudley in Executive Suite (1954) and a con man turned monk in When in Rome (1952). Douglas was host of the 22nd annual Academy Awards in March 1950. He also worked on radio as the announcer for The Ed Wynn Show, and he was the first host of NBC Radio's The Horn & Hardart Children's Hour. In April 1959 Douglas appeared in The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour as Lucy Ricardo's television morning show boss in the episode "Lucy Wants a Career".
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Peggy Ryan
Margaret O'Rene "Peggy" Ryan (August 28, 1924; Long Beach, California – October 30, 2004; Las Vegas, Nevada) was an American dancer, best known for starring in a series of movie musicals at Universal Pictures with Donald O'Connor and Gloria Jean.
She joined her parents' vaudeville act, "The Merry Dancing Ryans," before she was two years old. Her singing, acting, and dancing skills were noticed by song-and-dance actor George Murphy, who helped her get a role in 1937's Top of the Town. She continued working in small roles until 1942, when she had a solo number in the feature film What's Cookin'?. The Gloria Jean-Donald O'Connor-Peggy Ryan team made a great hit with audiences and exhibitors, and the three teens made five features together. Peggy Ryan's screen character in these films was usually brash, wisecracking, and boy-crazy. In 1944 Peggy Ryan advanced to more elaborate productions, in support of Jack Oakie and Abbott and Costello.
She left Universal in 1945 and married James Cross that same year; they were divorced in 1952. She returned to the screen with dancer Ray McDonald for 1949's There's a Girl in My Heart and Shamrock Hill, and 1953's All Ashore. They wed in 1953 and toured together in a nightclub act before being divorced in 1957. Her third marriage, in 1958, was to Hawaii columnist Eddie Sherman, following which she left movies for choreography and semi-retirement. Sherman adopted her two children from her previous marriages. On television, she played a recurring role as secretary Jenny Sherman in Hawaii Five-O from 1969 to 1976.
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Phil Silvers
Phil Silvers (May 11, 1911 – November 1, 1985) was an American entertainer and comedy actor, known as "The King of Chutzpah." He is best known for starring in The Phil Silvers Show, a 1950s sitcom set on a U.S. Army post in which he played Sergeant Bilko.
Born Philip Silver on Thursday, May 11, 1911, in Brooklyn, New York, in the working-class Brownsville section, he was the eighth and youngest child of Russian-Jewish immigrants, Saul and Sarah (née Handler) Silver. His siblings were Lillian, Harry, Jack, Saul, Pearl, Michael, and Reuben Silver. His father, a sheet metal worker, helped build the early New York skyscrapers.
Silvers started entertaining at age 11, when he would sing in theaters when the projector broke down (a common occurrence in those days). By age 13 he was working as a singer in the Gus Edwards Revue, and then worked in vaudeville and as a burlesque comic.
Silvers next worked in short films for the Vitaphone studio, such as Ups and Downs (1937), and on Broadway, where he made his debut in the short-lived show Yokel Boy in 1939. Critics raved about Silvers, who was hailed as the bright spot in the mediocre play. The Broadway revue High Kickers (1941) was based on his concept.
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Sid Caesar
Isaac Sidney "Sid" Caesar (born September 8, 1922) is an Emmy award winning American comic actor and writer known for the 1950s television series Your Show of Shows and Caesar's Hour, and to younger generations as Coach Calhoun in Grease and Grease 2.
Caesar was born in Yonkers, New York, the youngest son of Max Caesar and his wife Ida (née Raphael), Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire who ran a restaurant. Caesar would wait on tables and learned to mimic the accents, something he would use throughout his career. He first tried his double-talk with a group of Italians, his head barely reaching above the table. They enjoyed it so much that they sent him over to a group of Poles to repeat it in Polish, and so on with Russians, Hungarians, Frenchmen, Spaniards, Lithuanians and Bulgarians. Despite his apparent fluency in many languages, Caesar can actually speak only English and Yiddish. Sid's older brother David was his comic mentor and "one-man cheering section." They created their earliest family sketches from then current movies like Test Pilot and Wings.
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The Nanny
The Nanny is an American television sitcom originally broadcast 1993–1999, starring Fran Drescher as Fran Fine, a Jewish Queens native who becomes the nanny of three children from the New York/British high society.
Created and executive produced by Drescher and her then-husband Peter Marc Jacobson, The Nanny took much of its inspiration from Drescher's personal life growing up in Queens, involving names and characteristics based on her relatives and friends. The show earned a Rose d'Or and one Emmy Award, out of a total of thirteen nominations, and Drescher was twice nominated for a Golden Globe and an Emmy. The sitcom has also spawned several foreign adaptations, loosely inspired by the original scripts.
Jewish-American Fran Fine, fresh out of her job as a bridal consultant in her fiance's shop, first appears on the door step of Broadway producer Maxwell Sheffield (Charles Shaughnessy) peddling cosmetics, and quickly stumbles upon the opportunity to become the nanny for his three children. Soon Fran, with her off-beat nurturing and no-nonsense honesty, touches the whole family as she gives the prim-and-proper Maxwell and his children a dose of 'Queens logic,' helping them to become a healthy, happy family; a family that she later fully joins when she becomes engaged and then married to Maxwell. She then adds to this family of five when she and Maxwell have fraternal twins.
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Thelma Ritter
Thelma Ritter (February 14, 1902 — February 5, 1969) was an American actress. She typically played working class characters and was noted for her distinctive voice, with a strong Brooklyn accent. Ritter received six Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress.
Ritter was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1902. After appearing in high school plays and stock companies, she trained as an actress at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She established a stage career but took a hiatus to raise her two children by her husband, Joseph Moran, an actor turned advertising executive.
Ritter did stock theater and radio shows early in her career, without much impact. Ritter's first movie role was in Miracle on 34th Street (1947). She made a memorable impression in a brief uncredited part, as a frustrated mother unable to find the toy that Kris Kringle has promised to her son. Her second role, in writer-director Joseph L. Mankiewicz's A Letter to Three Wives (1949), also left a mark, although Ritter was again uncredited.
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Tim Curry
Timothy James "Tim" Curry (born 19 April 1946) is a British actor, singer, composer and voice actor, known for his work in a diverse range of theatre, film and television productions. Curry first became known to film audiences with his breakthrough role as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the 1975 cult film The Rocky Horror Picture Show, reprising the role he played in the 1973 London and 1974 Los Angeles stage productions of The Rocky Horror Show, then later for his supporting roles as Rooster in the film adaption of Annie (1982), Lord of Darkness in the film Legend (1985), Wadsworth in the film Clue (1985), as well as a starring role portraying Pennywise the Dancing Clown in the horror film It (1990).
He voiced Nigel Thornberry, the father in the Nickelodeon children's TV show The Wild Thornberrys. He originated the role of King Arthur in the Broadway hit Monty Python's Spamalot. He is notable for often playing or voicing villainous characters in film. Curry resides in Beverly Hills, California and London.
wn.com/Tim_Curry -
Tom Ewell
Tom Ewell (April 29, 1909 – September 12, 1994) was an American actor.
Born Samuel Yewell Tompkins in Owensboro, Kentucky, where his family expected him to follow in their footsteps as lawyers or whiskey and tobacco dealers.
Ewell began acting in summer stock in 1928 with Don Ameche, before moving to New York in 1931. He enrolled in the Actors Studio alongside classmates Montgomery Clift and Karl Malden. He made his Broadway debut in 1934 and his film debut in 1940, and for several years played comic supporting roles. He attracted attention with a strong performance in the film Adam's Rib (1949) and he began to receive Hollywood roles more frequently. Ewell continued acting in summer stock through the 1940s: He starred opposite June Lockhart in Lawrence Riley's biographical play Kin Hubbard in 1951, the story of one of America's greatest humorists and cartoonists. With this play, Ewell also made his debut as a producer. In 1947 he won a Clarence Derwent Award for his portrayal of Fred Taylor in the original Broadway cast of John Loves Mary.
wn.com/Tom_Ewell -
Tony Randall
Tony Randall (February 26, 1920 – May 17, 2004) was an American actor, comic, producer and director.
Randall was born Arthur Leonard Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Julia (née Finston) and Mogscha Rosenberg, an art and antiques dealer. He attended Tulsa Central High School.
Randall attended Northwestern University for a year before traveling to New York City to study at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. He studied under Sanford Meisner and choreographer Martha Graham around 1935. As Anthony Randall, he worked onstage opposite stars Jane Cowl in George Bernard Shaw's Candida and Ethel Barrymore in Emlyn Williams's The Corn Is Green. Randall then served for four years with the United States Army Signal Corps in World War II, refusing an entertainment assignment with Special Services. Then he worked at the Olney Theatre in Montgomery County, Maryland before heading back to New York City. Prior to his appearance in "Candida", Randall worked as an announcer at radio station WTAG, Worcester MA.
wn.com/Tony_Randall -
Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau (October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon, as well as his role as Coach Buttermaker in the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears. He won an Academy Award for his performance in the 1966 Billy Wilder film The Fortune Cookie.
Matthau was born Walter John Matthow in New York City's Lower East Side on October 1, 1920, the son of Rose (née Berolsky; from Lithuania), who worked in a sweatshop, and Milton Matthow, an electrician and peddler (from Russia), both Jewish immigrants. His surname has often incorrectly been listed as Matuschanskayasky (see below for a detailed discussion). As a young boy, Walter attended a Jewish non-profit sleepaway camp, Tranquillity Camp, where he first began acting in the shows the camp would stage on Saturday nights. He also attended Surprise Lake Camp. His high school was Seward Park High School.
During World War II, Matthau served in the U.S. Army Air Forces with the Eighth Air Force in England as a B-24 Liberator radioman-gunner, in the same 453rd Bombardment Group as James Stewart. He reached the rank of staff sergeant and became interested in acting. He took classes in acting at the Dramatic Workshop of The New School in New York with the influential German director Erwin Piscator. He often joked that his best early review came in a play where he posed as a derelict. One reviewer said, "The others just looked like actors in make-up, Walter Matthau really looks like a skid row bum!" Matthau was a respected stage actor for years in such fare as Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? and A Shot in the Dark. He won the 1962 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a play.
wn.com/Walter_Matthau
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Singing in the Rain
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:49
- Updated: 21 Nov 2012
-
http://wn.com/Singing_in_the_Rain
Donald O'Connor - Great Tap Dance Solo
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:15
- Updated: 15 Nov 2012
Donald O'Connor in great tap dance solo. He also sings.
http://wn.com/Donald_O'Connor_Great_Tap_Dance_Solo
Donald O'Connor tap dancing on roller skates
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:31
- Updated: 22 Nov 2012
Donald O'Connor in a roller-skating routine two years before Gene Kelly attempted a similar one. The song 'Life Has Its Funny Ups and Downs' is sung by Noreen Corcoran
http://wn.com/Donald_O'Connor_tap_dancing_on_roller_skates
Make them laugh
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:41
- Updated: 22 Nov 2012
from "Singin' in the rain"
http://wn.com/Make_them_laugh
Donald O'Connor-Vera Ellen 'It's a Lovely Day Today'
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:36
- Updated: 16 Nov 2012
Donald O'Connor-Vera Ellen 'It's a Lovely Day Today'
http://wn.com/Donald_O'Connor-Vera_Ellen_'It's_a_Lovely_Day_Today'
Donald O'Connor Anything Goes (1956)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 105:56
- Updated: 21 Nov 2012
http://wn.com/Donald_O'Connor_Anything_Goes_1956
Donald O'Connor in a sensational unforgettable balloon dance
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:42
- Updated: 21 Nov 2012
What chance have you with love when you fall for an honest-to-goodness princess? Singing, dancing and... cracking the balloons seem to be the best remedy for a broken heart... From Call Me Madam (1953)
http://wn.com/Donald_O'Connor_in_a_sensational_unforgettable_balloon_dance
Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds - Where did you learned to dance
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:21
- Updated: 21 Nov 2012
(I don't own anything) From Movie I love Melvin (1953) Melvin Hoover is a bumbler (except when hes dancing on skates), a workaday go-fer for Look magazine (except when he fakes being a big-time photog) and in love (without exception) with Broadway chorine Judy LeRoy. Melvin convinces Judy he can send her star aloft by putting her on the cover of Look. Now he has to make it happen! Singin in the Rains Debbie Reynolds and Donald OConnor dazzle again like July 4 sparklers in I Love Melvin.Theres lots to love here.
http://wn.com/Donald_O'Connor_and_Debbie_Reynolds_Where_did_you_learned_to_dance
Sitting dance
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:21
- Updated: 22 Nov 2012
Do not try to repeat ;) ;-P ("Pontiac Star Parade", 1959)
http://wn.com/Sitting_dance
Gene Kelly & Donald O'Connor dance medley 1959
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:05
- Updated: 22 Nov 2012
Gene Kelly & Donald O'Connor do a "sit-down" dance medley on a Gene Kelly TV special from 1959.
http://wn.com/Gene_Kelly_Donald_O'Connor_dance_medley_1959
Donald O'Connor: Me and My Shadow
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:30
- Updated: 21 Nov 2012
Donald O'Connor performs the 1927 song "Me and My Shadow" (Dave Dreyer/Billy Rose/Al Jolson) in this clip from Feudin', Fussin' and a-Fightin' (1948).
http://wn.com/Donald_O'Connor_Me_and_My_Shadow
Donald O'Connor & Ethel Merman - I Hear Singing and There's No One There
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:21
- Updated: 19 Sep 2012
I Hear Singing and There's No One There by Donald O'Connor and Ethel Merman - from 1953
http://wn.com/Donald_O'Connor_Ethel_Merman_I_Hear_Singing_and_There's_No_One_There
Mitzi & Donald in "It's De-lovely"
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:26
- Updated: 21 Nov 2012
Mitzi Gaynor and Donald O'Connor in the musical number "It's Delovely" from the 1955 movie "Anything Goes".
http://wn.com/Mitzi_Donald_in_It's_De-lovely
Gene Kelly & Donald O'Connor - Moses supposes (with hun sub)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:00
- Updated: 22 Nov 2012
Title: Singin' in the rain Year: 1952 Cast: Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell Music: Nacio Herb Brown Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer All Right Reserved by the Warner Bros. Entertainment. (I don't own this video.)
http://wn.com/Gene_Kelly_Donald_O'Connor_Moses_supposes_with_hun_sub
1080p HD "Make 'Em Laugh" ~ Singin' in the Rain (1952)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:08
- Updated: 22 Nov 2012
From a recently surfaced 1080p High-Definition digital transfer of Singin' in the Rain (1952). Let's hope Warner decides to release a restored version of this transfer on Blu-Ray (& DVD) for the film's upcoming 60th anniversary! "Make 'Em Laugh" (1948) Note: The melody of Cole Porter's "Be a Clown" (1948), first heard in Kelly's film, The Pirate, was "borrowed"/sampled without permission for this song. ~~~~~ Music by Nacio Herb Brown Lyrics by Arthur Freed Sung and Danced by Donald O'Connor ~~~~~~~~~~Lyrics~~~~~~~~~~ Though the world is so full of a number things, I know we should all be as happy as But are we? No, definitely no, positively no. Decidedly no. Mm mm. Short people have long faces and Long people have short faces. Big people have little humor And little people have no humor at all! And in the words of that immortal buddy Samuel J. Snodgrass, as he was about to be lead To the guillotine: Make 'em laugh Make 'em laugh Don't you know everyone wants to laugh? (Ha ha!) My dad said "Be an actor, my son But be a comical one They'll be standing in lines For those old honky tonk monkeyshines" Now you could study Shakespeare and be quite elite And you can charm the critics and have nothin' to eat Just slip on a banana peel The world's at your feet Make 'em laugh Make 'em laugh Make 'em laugh Make 'em... Make 'em laugh Don't you know everyone wants to laugh My grandpa said go out and tell 'em a joke But give it plenty of hoke Make 'em roar Make 'em scream Take a fall ...
http://wn.com/1080p_HD_Make_'Em_Laugh_~_Singin'_in_the_Rain_1952
"Make 'Em Laugh" - Donald O'Connor (from 1952's SINGIN' IN THE RAIN): An Analysis by Joseph Gomez
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:40
- Updated: 24 Oct 2012
This musical sequence from the 1952 film SINGIN' IN THE RAIN features Donald O'Connor in perhaps the most iconic and gleefully performed dance scene ever filmed for the movies (next to the title number as performed by co-director and choreographer Gene Kelly). In the online essay series "Observations on a Shot," TheMoviePool.com contributor Joseph Gomez explains the use of framing, staging and choreography, and O'Connor's effervescent performance to further deepen the appreciation of this classic cinematic masterpiece. A select few notes and annotations have been added from his analysis and implemented into the video here.
http://wn.com/Make_'Em_Laugh_Donald_O'Connor_from_1952's_SINGIN'_IN_THE_RAIN_An_Analysis_by_Joseph_Gomez
Debbie Reynolds, Gene Kelly & Donald O'Connor - Good morning (with hun sub)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:10
- Updated: 17 Nov 2012
Title: Singin' in the rain Year: 1952 Cast: Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell Music: Nacio Herb Brown Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer All Right Reserved by the Warner Bros. Entertainment. (I don't own this video.)
http://wn.com/Debbie_Reynolds,_Gene_Kelly_Donald_O'Connor_Good_morning_with_hun_sub
Donald O'Connor and Peggy Ryan in Follow the Boys (1944)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:43
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
Donald O'Connor and Peggy Ryan singing and dancing to 'Kittens With Their Mittens Laced' from a 1944 'star-spangled wartime tribute' movie Follow The Boys
http://wn.com/Donald_O'Connor_and_Peggy_Ryan_in_Follow_the_Boys_1944
Donald O'Connor hosts Hollywood Palace 1/21/67 (1 of 5)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:51
- Updated: 25 Oct 2012
Donald O'Connor hosts Hollywood Palace 1/21/67 (1 of 5) -- Donald O'Connor - "Walking Happy" -- Rudy Cardenas (juggler) -- Marilyn Maye (singer) - "Cabaret" & "You're Gonna Hear from Me"
http://wn.com/Donald_O'Connor_hosts_Hollywood_Palace_1_21_67_1_of_5
Make ´Em Laugh - Donald O'Connor from Singin´ in the Rain - High Quality
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:35
- Updated: 21 Nov 2012
All credits and © goes to Warner Bros and the movie Singin´ in the Rain. Donald O'Connor performing the worlds greatest dance act!
http://wn.com/Make_´Em_Laugh_Donald_O'Connor_from_Singin´_in_the_Rain_High_Quality
Donald O'Connor Irene Ryan Hollywood Backstage
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:57
- Updated: 11 Nov 2012
Hollywood Backstage - Donald O'Connor and Irene Ryan Beverly Hillbillies granny speaks with Donald O'Connor about the old days of vaudeville.
http://wn.com/Donald_O'Connor_Irene_Ryan_Hollywood_Backstage
Donald O'Connor Singing in The Rain' "Make 'Em Laugh"
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:28
- Updated: 21 Nov 2012
Donald O' Connor performing "Make 'Em Laugh" in the 1952 movie "Singin' in the Rain." This video is priceless!
http://wn.com/Donald_O'Connor_Singing_in_The_Rain'_Make_'Em_Laugh
Singin' in the Rain (4/8) Movie CLIP - Good Morning (1952) HD
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:22
- Updated: 22 Nov 2012
Singin' in the Rain Movie Clip - watch all clips j.mp Buy Movie: j.mp click to subscribe j.mp Kathey Selden (Debbie Reynolds), Cosmo Brown (Donald O'Connor) and Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) sing and dance after staying up all night. TM & © Warner Bros. Ent. (2012) Cast: Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds Director: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly MOVIECLIPS YouTube Channel: j.mp Join our Facebook page: j.mp Follow us on Twitter: j.mp Producer: Arthur Freed, Roger Edens Screenwriter: Adolph Green, Betty Comden Film Description: Hollywood, 1927: the silent-film romantic team of Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen) is the toast of Tinseltown. While Lockwood and Lamont personify smoldering passions onscreen, in real life the down-to-earth Lockwood can't stand the egotistical, brainless Lina. He prefers the company of aspiring actress Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds), whom he met while escaping his screaming fans. Watching these intrigues from the sidelines is Cosmo Brown (Donald O'Connor), Don's best pal and on-set pianist. Cosmo is promoted to musical director of Monumental Pictures by studio head RF Simpson (Millard Mitchell) when the talking-picture revolution commences. That's all right for Cosmo, but how will talkies affect the upcoming Lockwood-Lamont vehicle "The Dueling Cavalier"? Don, an accomplished song-and-dance man, should have no trouble adapting to the microphone. Lina, however, is another matter; put as charitably as possible, she has a voice ...
http://wn.com/Singin'_in_the_Rain_4_8_Movie_CLIP_Good_Morning_1952_HD
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Make them laugh
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:41
- Updated: 22 Nov 2012
from "Singin' in the rain"
http://wn.com/Make_them_laugh
Singing in the Rain
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:49
- Updated: 21 Nov 2012
-
http://wn.com/Singing_in_the_Rain
Donald O'Connor Anything Goes (1956)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 105:56
- Updated: 21 Nov 2012
http://wn.com/Donald_O'Connor_Anything_Goes_1956
"Make 'Em Laugh" - Donald O'Connor (from 1952's SINGIN' IN THE RAIN): An Analysis by Joseph Gomez
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:40
- Updated: 24 Oct 2012
This musical sequence from the 1952 film SINGIN' IN THE RAIN features Donald O'Connor in perhaps the most iconic and gleefully performed dance scene ever filmed for the movies (next to the title number as performed by co-director and choreographer Gene Kelly). In the online essay series "Observations on a Shot," TheMoviePool.com contributor Joseph Gomez explains the use of framing, staging and choreography, and O'Connor's effervescent performance to further deepen the appreciation of this classic cinematic masterpiece. A select few notes and annotations have been added from his analysis and implemented into the video here.
http://wn.com/Make_'Em_Laugh_Donald_O'Connor_from_1952's_SINGIN'_IN_THE_RAIN_An_Analysis_by_Joseph_Gomez
1080p HD "Make 'Em Laugh" ~ Singin' in the Rain (1952)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:08
- Updated: 22 Nov 2012
From a recently surfaced 1080p High-Definition digital transfer of Singin' in the Rain (1952). Let's hope Warner decides to release a restored version of this transfer on Blu-Ray (& DVD) for the film's upcoming 60th anniversary! "Make 'Em Laugh" (1948) Note: The melody of Cole Porter's "Be a Clown" (1948), first heard in Kelly's film, The Pirate, was "borrowed"/sampled without permission for this song. ~~~~~ Music by Nacio Herb Brown Lyrics by Arthur Freed Sung and Danced by Donald O'Connor ~~~~~~~~~~Lyrics~~~~~~~~~~ Though the world is so full of a number things, I know we should all be as happy as But are we? No, definitely no, positively no. Decidedly no. Mm mm. Short people have long faces and Long people have short faces. Big people have little humor And little people have no humor at all! And in the words of that immortal buddy Samuel J. Snodgrass, as he was about to be lead To the guillotine: Make 'em laugh Make 'em laugh Don't you know everyone wants to laugh? (Ha ha!) My dad said "Be an actor, my son But be a comical one They'll be standing in lines For those old honky tonk monkeyshines" Now you could study Shakespeare and be quite elite And you can charm the critics and have nothin' to eat Just slip on a banana peel The world's at your feet Make 'em laugh Make 'em laugh Make 'em laugh Make 'em... Make 'em laugh Don't you know everyone wants to laugh My grandpa said go out and tell 'em a joke But give it plenty of hoke Make 'em roar Make 'em scream Take a fall ...
http://wn.com/1080p_HD_Make_'Em_Laugh_~_Singin'_in_the_Rain_1952
Donald O'Connor Irene Ryan Hollywood Backstage
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:57
- Updated: 11 Nov 2012
Hollywood Backstage - Donald O'Connor and Irene Ryan Beverly Hillbillies granny speaks with Donald O'Connor about the old days of vaudeville.
http://wn.com/Donald_O'Connor_Irene_Ryan_Hollywood_Backstage
Audrey Hepburn winning an Oscar® for "Roman Holiday"
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:57
- Updated: 22 Nov 2012
Audrey Hepburn winning the Best Actress Oscar® for her performance in "Roman Holiday" - 26th Annual Academy Awards® in 1954. Presentation by Donald O'Connor and Gary Cooper.
http://wn.com/Audrey_Hepburn_winning_an_Oscar®_for_Roman_Holiday
Marilyn Maye Performs "You're Gonna Hear From Me" & "Cabaret"
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:33
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
Donald O'Connor introduces Marilyn Maye on "The Hollywood Palace" Miss Maye performs "Cabaret" & "You're Gonna Hear from Me". The year? 1967. If you are interested in learning more about the amazing Marilyn Maye go to her website at www.marilynmaye.com.
http://wn.com/Marilyn_Maye_Performs_You're_Gonna_Hear_From_Me_Cabaret
Aintjos Donald O'Connor "Me and My "QI" (Shadow)"... B12 O'Clock Energy it's time to dance & live
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:30
- Updated: 27 Sep 2012
http://wn.com/Aintjos_Donald_O'Connor_Me_and_My_QI_Shadow_B12_O'Clock_Energy_it's_time_to_dance_live
Remember Sergio Franchi ?
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:00
- Updated: 10 Nov 2012
- with Donald O'Connor & Dorothy Provine
http://wn.com/Remember_Sergio_Franchi_?
Wayne Scott Kermond - Make - em Laugh Live
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:23
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
Wayne Scott Kermond performs Make-em Laugh at the Tech Run of the Australian Production of "Singin' in the Rain" at the Performing Arts Theatre in Hong Kong 2002.
http://wn.com/Wayne_Scott_Kermond_Make_em_Laugh_Live
Tribute to British Music Hall — Anthony Newley & Shani Wallis
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:25
- Updated: 12 Nov 2012
Taped live, as you can tell from the intro by an out-of-breath Donald O'Connor, who had just finished a grueling dance number. From the Bell Telephone Hour, "The Song and Dance Man" 1966.
http://wn.com/Tribute_to_British_Music_Hall_—_Anthony_Newley_Shani_Wallis
This Is Your Life, Buster Keaton - Part One - Ralph Edwards, Presenter
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:40
- Updated: 07 Nov 2012
This Is Your Life, Buster Keaton - Part One This was a live show, which is why you see funny things like someone walking on their hands and knees behind Ralph Edwards or Donald O'Connor falling off his stool, all captured by the live cameras. I noticed this wasn't on YouTube so I added it. I'm sorry for the "bloop" noise in the background, there was no way to effectively remove it without compromising regular audio quality, or what is left of it.
http://wn.com/This_Is_Your_Life,_Buster_Keaton_Part_One_Ralph_Edwards,_Presenter
This Is Your Life, Buster Keaton - Part Two - Ralph Edwards, Presenter
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:49
- Updated: 27 Oct 2012
This Is Your Life, Buster Keaton - Part Two. This was a live show, which is why you see funny things like someone walking on their hands and knees behind Ralph Edwards or Donald O'Connor falling off his stool, all captured by the live cameras. I noticed this wasn't on YouTube so I added it. I'm sorry for the "bloop" noise in the background, there was no way to effectively remove it without compromising regular audio quality, or what is left of it.
http://wn.com/This_Is_Your_Life,_Buster_Keaton_Part_Two_Ralph_Edwards,_Presenter
This Is Your Life, Buster Keaton - Part Three (End) - Ralph Edwards, Presenter
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:54
- Updated: 07 Oct 2012
This Is Your Life, Buster Keaton - Part Three (End). This was a live show, which is why you see funny things like someone walking on their hands and knees behind Ralph Edwards or Donald O'Connor falling off his stool, all captured by the live cameras. I noticed this wasn't on YouTube so I added it. I'm sorry for the "bloop" noise in the background, there was no way to effectively remove it without compromising regular audio quality, or what is left of it.
http://wn.com/This_Is_Your_Life,_Buster_Keaton_Part_Three_End_Ralph_Edwards,_Presenter
1988 "Tribute to Vaudeville" Donald O'Conner, Tony Randall, Milton Berle, Danny Thomas
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:58
- Updated: 15 Nov 2012
Donald O'Conner, Betty White, Tony Randall, Milton Berle, Danny Thomas, Bernadette Peters, Jack Jones, and Jimmy Durante pay a "Tribute to Vaudeville" before a stellar audience gathered at NBC in Burbank, CA. Bob Hope turned 85 years old in May 1988 and NBC marked his fiftieth year with them -- radio and TV combined. So, despite the Writers Guild strike which was ongoing at the time, a gigantic 3-hour party was staged at the NBC studios in Burbank. The guest list read like a Who's Who of show business and the entertainment combined live performances with clips of scenes from Hope's films, his hosting the Academy Awards and past TV specials. Live guests Included Lucille Ball, George Burns, Milton Berle, Steve Allen, Sammy Davis, Jr., Leslie Uggams, James Stewart Marie Osmond, Curt Cameron, Reba McEntire, Jay Leno, Jonathan Winters, Ann Jillian, Betty White, Danny Thomas, Tony Randall, Bernadette Peters, Shecket Green, Olivia Newton-John, Bea Arthur, Linda Gray, Barbara Eden, Florence Henderson, and a host of others.You can read all about the how Hope worked with his guests and his writers and what happened behind-the-scenes of these classic Bob Hope video clips by reading my book "THE LAUGH MAKERS: A Behind-the-Scenes Tribute to Bob Hope's Incredible Gag Writers," chosen a "Top 20" 2009 Year End Pick by Leonard Maltin who says... "Having spent twenty years writing for the indefatigable Bob Hope, and traveling all over the world, Bob Mills is well qualified to salute the ...
http://wn.com/1988_Tribute_to_Vaudeville_Donald_O'Conner,_Tony_Randall,_Milton_Berle,_Danny_Thomas
Make Em Laugh- Brandon Baker RHS
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:50
- Updated: 09 Dec 2010
Donald O' Connor's remake from the musical Singin' in the Rain by Brandon Baker.
http://wn.com/Make_Em_Laugh_Brandon_Baker_RHS
Dee Dee Sharp - live 2006
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:57
- Updated: 01 Jun 2012
Dee Dee caught live in Philly 2006. Dee Dee sang unannounced at a party hosted by David Gest the night before the R & B Foundation Award show. Though best known for the dance hits she made famous in the l960's, Sharp is also known for her interpretation of ballads and show tunes. She became the first rock and roller to perform in major supper clubs and show rooms - working with such legendary performers as Gizelle McKenzie, Frank Fountaine, Don Rickles, Donald O'Connor, Tom Jones and Lou Rawls. Her many television appearances have included "Ed Sullivan", "Tonight Show", "Mike Douglas", "American Bandstand" and "Entertainment Tonight". Her music has been featured in such films as "Sister Act", "Hairspray", "Desperately Seeking Susan" and "Troop Beverly Hills". Check out Dee Dee Sharp's Best of CD from ABKCO Records & Music at: www.abkco.com Dee Dee Sharp www.deedeesharp.com A George Manney film. Copyright 2006 George Manney. http
http://wn.com/Dee_Dee_Sharp_live_2006
***Take That interview with Des O`Connor***
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:07
- Updated: 29 Sep 2012
Des O`Connor interviews Take That on his show. I have many other early interviews with Take That which I will post shortly.
http://wn.com/***Take_That_interview_with_Des_O`Connor***
Frank Vignola Trio- April Showers (Live)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:30
- Updated: 04 Sep 2012
The amazing virtuoso guitarist Frank Vignola came to my school tonight with Vinny Raniolo and ... here's a taste. Song is April Showers, a 1921 composition by Louis Silvers. My school was his last stop in the US before a few nights in Sweden next week. Frank has played for years with the legendary Les Paul, and has done session work/toured with Donald Fagen, Ringo Starr, Wynton Marsalis, Mark O'Connor, Madonna, Tommy Emmanuel, and the Boston and New York Pops, among many others, over the past 30+ years. For upcoming shows, check here: frankvignola.com Come back to Boston soon, Frank, Vinny and Pete!
http://wn.com/Frank_Vignola_Trio_April_Showers_Live
Dax & Sarah - Moses Supposes US Open Cabaret 2010
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:58
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
Dax and Sarah dance a remake of Moses Supposes from Singing in the Rain originally danced by Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor. Learn to dance with Dax and Sarah at www.rhythmjuice.com. Find more videos of the US Open at http
http://wn.com/Dax_Sarah_Moses_Supposes_US_Open_Cabaret_2010
Bing Crosby Holiday Inn Medley: White Christmas (Kraft Music Hall Live Radio Broadcast) 1944
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:40
- Updated: 20 Nov 2012
The Original Radio Broadcast Holiday medley includes, "Let's Start the New Year Right", "Abraham", "Be Careful, It's My Heart", "Easter Parade" and "White Christmas" and was recorded on December 14, 1944 for the Kraft Music Hall program. Based on the movie "Holiday Inn". "White Christmas" was written in 1940 by a Irving Berlin for the 1942 movie "Holiday Inn" starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. Berlin's assignment was to write a song about each of the major holidays of the year. But Berlin, who was Jewish, found that writing a song about Christmas was the most challenging. He drew upon his experiences of the holiday in New York (including Christmas Trees erected by neighbors when he was a boy) and Los Angeles, but still felt that the end result was wanting. However, when Bing first heard Berlin audition "White Christmas" in 1941 he reassured Irving that he had created a winner. Bing's preliminary evaluation turned out to be a gross understatement. Bing Crosby introduced "White Christmas" to the public on his NBC radio show, the Kraft Music Hall, December 25, 1941. Apparently, no recording of this broadcast survived the War. He then recorded the song for Decca on May 29, 1942, with the John Scott Trotter Orchestra. "Holiday Inn" was released in August, 1942. By the end of the War it had become the biggest-selling single of all time. Bing's recording hit the charts on Oct. 3, 1942, and rose to #1 on Oct. 31, where it stayed for an amazing 11 weeks. In the following years ...
http://wn.com/Bing_Crosby_Holiday_Inn_Medley_White_Christmas_Kraft_Music_Hall_Live_Radio_Broadcast_1944
Davy Spillane feat Sinead O'Connor-Danny Boy (The Derry Air)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:47
- Updated: 17 Nov 2012
Este tema tradicional irlandés, de una rara belleza y melancolía, ha sido escrito y reescrito en muchas ocasiones. Esta versión "política", adaptada y cantada por Sinead O'Connor está incluida en el CD "The Sea of Dreams" (1998) de Davy Spillane. Las imágenes de Irlanda son de un video de TARTALALU (que espero no le importe su utilización en este). Danny Boy Lyrics Artist: Sinead O'Connor "Oh Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling. From glen to glen, and down the mountain side. The summer's gone, and all the flowers are falling. 'Tis you, 'tis you must go and I must bide. But come ye back when summer's in the meadow, Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow. And I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow. Oh Danny boy, oh Danny boy, I love you so. But if you come, and all the flowers are falling. And I am dead, as dead I might well be. You'll come and find the place where I am lying. And kneel and say an "Ave" there for me. And I will hear, though soft your tread above me. And all my grave will warmer sweeter be. And you will bend and tell me that you love me. And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me. But if I live, and should you die for Ireland, Let not your dying thoughts be just of me. But say a prayer to God for our dearest Ireland. I know He'll hear and help to set her free. And I will take your pike and place my dearest, And strike a blow, though weak the blow may be. T'will help the cause to which your heart was nearest Oh Danny Boy, Oh, Danny boy I ...
http://wn.com/Davy_Spillane_feat_Sinead_O'Connor-Danny_Boy_The_Derry_Air
3:41
Make them laugh
from "Singin' in the rain"...
published: 14 Aug 2007
author: atairiastos
Make them laugh
from "Singin' in the rain"
- published: 14 Aug 2007
- views: 1038498
- author: atairiastos
3:49
Singing in the Rain
-...
published: 07 Feb 2007
author: Flora Siami
Singing in the Rain
-
- published: 07 Feb 2007
- views: 2256623
- author: Flora Siami
105:56
Donald O'Connor Anything Goes (1956)
...
published: 09 Jan 2012
author: LoveTheOConnor
Donald O'Connor Anything Goes (1956)
- published: 09 Jan 2012
- views: 30638
- author: LoveTheOConnor
3:40
"Make 'Em Laugh" - Donald O'Connor (from 1952's SINGIN' IN THE RAIN): An Analysis by Joseph Gomez
This musical sequence from the 1952 film SINGIN' IN THE RAIN features Donald O'Connor in p...
published: 17 Apr 2010
author: josephagomez
"Make 'Em Laugh" - Donald O'Connor (from 1952's SINGIN' IN THE RAIN): An Analysis by Joseph Gomez
This musical sequence from the 1952 film SINGIN' IN THE RAIN features Donald O'Connor in perhaps the most iconic and gleefully performed dance scene ever filmed for the movies (next to the title number as performed by co-director and choreographer Gene Kelly). In the online essay series "Observations on a Shot," TheMoviePool.com contributor Joseph Gomez explains the use of framing, staging and choreography, and O'Connor's effervescent performance to further deepen the appreciation of this classic cinematic masterpiece. A select few notes and annotations have been added from his analysis and implemented into the video here.
- published: 17 Apr 2010
- views: 14419
- author: josephagomez
4:08
1080p HD "Make 'Em Laugh" ~ Singin' in the Rain (1952)
From a recently surfaced 1080p High-Definition digital transfer of Singin' in the Rain (19...
published: 21 Jul 2011
author: ozabbavo77
1080p HD "Make 'Em Laugh" ~ Singin' in the Rain (1952)
From a recently surfaced 1080p High-Definition digital transfer of Singin' in the Rain (1952). Let's hope Warner decides to release a restored version of this transfer on Blu-Ray (& DVD) for the film's upcoming 60th anniversary! "Make 'Em Laugh" (1948) Note: The melody of Cole Porter's "Be a Clown" (1948), first heard in Kelly's film, The Pirate, was "borrowed"/sampled without permission for this song. ~~~~~ Music by Nacio Herb Brown Lyrics by Arthur Freed Sung and Danced by Donald O'Connor ~~~~~~~~~~Lyrics~~~~~~~~~~ Though the world is so full of a number things, I know we should all be as happy as But are we? No, definitely no, positively no. Decidedly no. Mm mm. Short people have long faces and Long people have short faces. Big people have little humor And little people have no humor at all! And in the words of that immortal buddy Samuel J. Snodgrass, as he was about to be lead To the guillotine: Make 'em laugh Make 'em laugh Don't you know everyone wants to laugh? (Ha ha!) My dad said "Be an actor, my son But be a comical one They'll be standing in lines For those old honky tonk monkeyshines" Now you could study Shakespeare and be quite elite And you can charm the critics and have nothin' to eat Just slip on a banana peel The world's at your feet Make 'em laugh Make 'em laugh Make 'em laugh Make 'em... Make 'em laugh Don't you know everyone wants to laugh My grandpa said go out and tell 'em a joke But give it plenty of hoke Make 'em roar Make 'em scream Take a fall ...
- published: 21 Jul 2011
- views: 234542
- author: ozabbavo77
4:57
Donald O'Connor Irene Ryan Hollywood Backstage
Hollywood Backstage - Donald O'Connor and Irene Ryan Beverly Hillbillies granny speaks wit...
published: 02 Apr 2010
author: hollywoodstars
Donald O'Connor Irene Ryan Hollywood Backstage
Hollywood Backstage - Donald O'Connor and Irene Ryan Beverly Hillbillies granny speaks with Donald O'Connor about the old days of vaudeville.
- published: 02 Apr 2010
- views: 22085
- author: hollywoodstars
2:57
Audrey Hepburn winning an Oscar® for "Roman Holiday"
Audrey Hepburn winning the Best Actress Oscar® for her performance in "Roman Holiday" - 26...
published: 25 Apr 2008
author: Oscars
Audrey Hepburn winning an Oscar® for "Roman Holiday"
Audrey Hepburn winning the Best Actress Oscar® for her performance in "Roman Holiday" - 26th Annual Academy Awards® in 1954. Presentation by Donald O'Connor and Gary Cooper.
- published: 25 Apr 2008
- views: 1063589
- author: Oscars
3:33
Marilyn Maye Performs "You're Gonna Hear From Me" & "Cabaret"
Donald O'Connor introduces Marilyn Maye on "The Hollywood Palace" Miss Maye performs "Caba...
published: 14 May 2009
author: mpatter572
Marilyn Maye Performs "You're Gonna Hear From Me" & "Cabaret"
Donald O'Connor introduces Marilyn Maye on "The Hollywood Palace" Miss Maye performs "Cabaret" & "You're Gonna Hear from Me". The year? 1967. If you are interested in learning more about the amazing Marilyn Maye go to her website at www.marilynmaye.com.
- published: 14 May 2009
- views: 23405
- author: mpatter572
9:00
Remember Sergio Franchi ?
- with Donald O'Connor & Dorothy Provine...
published: 14 Mar 2012
author: Uncle Louie
Remember Sergio Franchi ?
- with Donald O'Connor & Dorothy Provine
- published: 14 Mar 2012
- views: 2599
- author: Uncle Louie
5:23
Wayne Scott Kermond - Make - em Laugh Live
Wayne Scott Kermond performs Make-em Laugh at the Tech Run of the Australian Production of...
published: 21 Sep 2009
author: candymanshow
Wayne Scott Kermond - Make - em Laugh Live
Wayne Scott Kermond performs Make-em Laugh at the Tech Run of the Australian Production of "Singin' in the Rain" at the Performing Arts Theatre in Hong Kong 2002.
- published: 21 Sep 2009
- views: 2040
- author: candymanshow
6:25
Tribute to British Music Hall — Anthony Newley & Shani Wallis
Taped live, as you can tell from the intro by an out-of-breath Donald O'Connor, who had ju...
published: 27 Jul 2011
author: baileymarkham
Tribute to British Music Hall — Anthony Newley & Shani Wallis
Taped live, as you can tell from the intro by an out-of-breath Donald O'Connor, who had just finished a grueling dance number. From the Bell Telephone Hour, "The Song and Dance Man" 1966.
- published: 27 Jul 2011
- views: 2411
- author: baileymarkham
9:40
This Is Your Life, Buster Keaton - Part One - Ralph Edwards, Presenter
This Is Your Life, Buster Keaton - Part One This was a live show, which is why you see fun...
published: 11 Mar 2010
author: GoldenSilents
This Is Your Life, Buster Keaton - Part One - Ralph Edwards, Presenter
This Is Your Life, Buster Keaton - Part One This was a live show, which is why you see funny things like someone walking on their hands and knees behind Ralph Edwards or Donald O'Connor falling off his stool, all captured by the live cameras. I noticed this wasn't on YouTube so I added it. I'm sorry for the "bloop" noise in the background, there was no way to effectively remove it without compromising regular audio quality, or what is left of it.
- published: 11 Mar 2010
- views: 11227
- author: GoldenSilents
9:49
This Is Your Life, Buster Keaton - Part Two - Ralph Edwards, Presenter
This Is Your Life, Buster Keaton - Part Two. This was a live show, which is why you see fu...
published: 11 Mar 2010
author: GoldenSilents
This Is Your Life, Buster Keaton - Part Two - Ralph Edwards, Presenter
This Is Your Life, Buster Keaton - Part Two. This was a live show, which is why you see funny things like someone walking on their hands and knees behind Ralph Edwards or Donald O'Connor falling off his stool, all captured by the live cameras. I noticed this wasn't on YouTube so I added it. I'm sorry for the "bloop" noise in the background, there was no way to effectively remove it without compromising regular audio quality, or what is left of it.
- published: 11 Mar 2010
- views: 7781
- author: GoldenSilents
Vimeo results:
67:23
53rd Journalism Awards Gala (part 1)
A. JOURNALISTS OF THE YEAR
A1. PRINT (Over 50,000 circulations)
Patrick Range McDonal...
published: 18 Jul 2011
author: EDP
53rd Journalism Awards Gala (part 1)
A. JOURNALISTS OF THE YEAR
A1. PRINT (Over 50,000 circulations)
Patrick Range McDonald, LA Weekly
Comments: "Range" is an appropriate middle name. What incredibly
detailed reporting on a variety of complicated topics. What an ability to
make us feel as if we know the players. What skill in explaining messy
situations. The very essence of solid journalism.
2nd place: David Evans, Bloomberg Markets, "Duping the Families of
Fallen Soldiers"
HM: Mariel Garza, Los Angeles Daily News Editorials
A2. PRINT (Under 50,000 circulation)
Radley Balko, Reason Magazine
Comment: ―Radley Balko is one of those throw-back journalists that
understands the power of groundbreaking reporting and how to make a
significant impact through his work. Time and time again, his stories cause
readers to stop, think, and most significantly, take action.
Congratulations!‖
2nd Place: Dan Evans, Glendale News-Press
HM: Ryan Vaillancourt, Los Angeles Downtown News
A3. TELEVISION JOURNALIST
Ana Garcia and Fred Mamoun, KNBC-TV
Garcia and Mamoun shoot, write and edit compelling stories. One of
their strengths as a team is the obvious respect for their subjects, and the
ability through contacts in the community to land exclusive interviews and
opportunities. They are strong storytellers and the pieces move!
2nd Place: Antonio Valverde, Univision
Valverde has a wide range as a journalist. He is able to work with various
segments of the community to tell compelling stories. He has political
acumen and can accurately and fairly tell stories, while also reaching out
to the disenfranchised to share their stories of life in L.A.
A4. RADIO JOURNALIST
Susan Valot, KPCC
Comments: Well-rounded reports with authoritative, informed tone. Great
use of sound. Valot‘s work is some of the best we‘ve heard.
2nd Place: Brian Watt: KPCC
HM: Kitty Felde: KPCC
A5. ONLINE JOURNALIST
Daniel Heimpel, FosteringMediaConnections.org
2nd Place: Chris Hedges, Truthdig.com
HM: Robert Scheer, Truthdig.com
A6. SPORTS JOURNALIST
N/A
A7. ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALIST
Kim Masters, KCRW-FM Radio
Comments: Nice voice in both senses of the word, along with substantive
content. Covering a story about outed CIA agent Valerie Plame, she
tracked down Plame to comment on her portrayal, rather than just talking
to the actress. She also gave a lot of information on entertainment agents
that broadened the picture the public was likely to have of that
occupation.
2nd Place: Tara Wallis-Finestone, NBC LA
HM: George Pennacchio, KABC-TV
A8. PHOTO JOURNALIST
Rick Loomis, Los Angeles Times
A9. DESIGNER
N/A
B. DAILY/WEEKLY NEWSPAPERS
Over 50,000 circulations – including news bureaus and correspondents
B1. HARD NEWS
Tracy Manzer and Sarah Peters, Long Beach Press-Telegram, "Heroes foil
bank heist"
Comments: The writing was appropriately-paced for the category and
the story content. I enjoyed the writers' use of sensory details and factual
information, presented with a slightly humorous/sarcastic tone that made
this piece fun to read.
B2. NEWS FEATURE
Patrick Range McDonald, LA Weekly, ―The Parent Trigger‖.
Comments: Documents a groundswell of democracy while explaining a
new law through a real-world prism. Powerful. Incredibly well-sourced and
informative, yet provides a human touch. The story of poor minorities trying
to make a change documented how the masses can move the
establishment. Inspiring to others, this story shows what newspaper do like
no other. Bravo.
2nd Place: Thomas Curven, Los Angeles Times, ―Walking Away from Grief‖
HM: Kristopher Hanson, Long Beach Press-Telegram, ―Dangers Close to
Home‖
B3. PERSONALITY PROFILE
Steve Friess, LA Weekly, ―A Tragic Love Story‖
2nd Place: Charlotte Hsu, LA Weekly, ―Forever Scared — The Story of
Herman Atkins‖
HM: Karen Robes Meeks, Long Beach Press-Telegram, ―Murchison: A
Portrait of a Long Beach Lobbyist‖
B4. INVESTIGATIVE/SERIES
David Evans, Bloomberg News, "Fallen Soldiers' Families Denied Cash
Payout as Insurers Profit"
Comments: These articles are the soul of great investigative journalism,
uncovering a shocking system whereby the families of slain soldiers are
tricked about benefits, and where shameless insurance companies reap
big profits at the expense of those families.
Best of all, it led to immediate Congressional investigations and action.
2nd place: Beth Barrett, LA Weekly, "The Dance of the Lemons"
HM: Monica Alonzo and Simone Wilson, LA Weekly, "Culture of Cruelty"
B5. BUSINESS
Alana Semuels, Los Angeles Times, "California unfriendly to business?
Figures say no"
Comments: This is an authoritative and well-documented piece that
refutes the common wisdom of California's tax structure being unfriendly
to business.
2nd place: Beth Barrett, LA Weekly, "Barry Minkow 2.0"
HM: Donna Howell, Investor's Business Daily,
3:58
[OST_mv] Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor _ Good Morning (Singin' in the Rain, 1952)
published: 14 Sep 2011
author: kia tigers
[OST_mv] Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor _ Good Morning (Singin' in the Rain, 1952)
4:07
[OST_mv] Donald O'Connor _ Make 'Em Laugh (Singin' in the Rain, 1952)
published: 14 Sep 2011
author: kia tigers
[OST_mv] Donald O'Connor _ Make 'Em Laugh (Singin' in the Rain, 1952)
Youtube results:
5:54
This Is Your Life, Buster Keaton - Part Three (End) - Ralph Edwards, Presenter
This Is Your Life, Buster Keaton - Part Three (End). This was a live show, which is why yo...
published: 11 Mar 2010
author: GoldenSilents
This Is Your Life, Buster Keaton - Part Three (End) - Ralph Edwards, Presenter
This Is Your Life, Buster Keaton - Part Three (End). This was a live show, which is why you see funny things like someone walking on their hands and knees behind Ralph Edwards or Donald O'Connor falling off his stool, all captured by the live cameras. I noticed this wasn't on YouTube so I added it. I'm sorry for the "bloop" noise in the background, there was no way to effectively remove it without compromising regular audio quality, or what is left of it.
- published: 11 Mar 2010
- views: 5477
- author: GoldenSilents
8:58
1988 "Tribute to Vaudeville" Donald O'Conner, Tony Randall, Milton Berle, Danny Thomas
Donald O'Conner, Betty White, Tony Randall, Milton Berle, Danny Thomas, Bernadette Peters,...
published: 01 Jan 2012
author: Bob Mills
1988 "Tribute to Vaudeville" Donald O'Conner, Tony Randall, Milton Berle, Danny Thomas
Donald O'Conner, Betty White, Tony Randall, Milton Berle, Danny Thomas, Bernadette Peters, Jack Jones, and Jimmy Durante pay a "Tribute to Vaudeville" before a stellar audience gathered at NBC in Burbank, CA. Bob Hope turned 85 years old in May 1988 and NBC marked his fiftieth year with them -- radio and TV combined. So, despite the Writers Guild strike which was ongoing at the time, a gigantic 3-hour party was staged at the NBC studios in Burbank. The guest list read like a Who's Who of show business and the entertainment combined live performances with clips of scenes from Hope's films, his hosting the Academy Awards and past TV specials. Live guests Included Lucille Ball, George Burns, Milton Berle, Steve Allen, Sammy Davis, Jr., Leslie Uggams, James Stewart Marie Osmond, Curt Cameron, Reba McEntire, Jay Leno, Jonathan Winters, Ann Jillian, Betty White, Danny Thomas, Tony Randall, Bernadette Peters, Shecket Green, Olivia Newton-John, Bea Arthur, Linda Gray, Barbara Eden, Florence Henderson, and a host of others.You can read all about the how Hope worked with his guests and his writers and what happened behind-the-scenes of these classic Bob Hope video clips by reading my book "THE LAUGH MAKERS: A Behind-the-Scenes Tribute to Bob Hope's Incredible Gag Writers," chosen a "Top 20" 2009 Year End Pick by Leonard Maltin who says... "Having spent twenty years writing for the indefatigable Bob Hope, and traveling all over the world, Bob Mills is well qualified to salute the ...
- published: 01 Jan 2012
- views: 1168
- author: Bob Mills
2:50
Make Em Laugh- Brandon Baker RHS
Donald O' Connor's remake from the musical Singin' in the Rain by Brandon Baker....
published: 09 Dec 2010
author: Brandon Baker
Make Em Laugh- Brandon Baker RHS
Donald O' Connor's remake from the musical Singin' in the Rain by Brandon Baker.
- published: 09 Dec 2010
- views: 407
- author: Brandon Baker
1:57
Dee Dee Sharp - live 2006
Dee Dee caught live in Philly 2006. Dee Dee sang unannounced at a party hosted by David Ge...
published: 16 Sep 2006
author: George Manney
Dee Dee Sharp - live 2006
Dee Dee caught live in Philly 2006. Dee Dee sang unannounced at a party hosted by David Gest the night before the R & B Foundation Award show. Though best known for the dance hits she made famous in the l960's, Sharp is also known for her interpretation of ballads and show tunes. She became the first rock and roller to perform in major supper clubs and show rooms - working with such legendary performers as Gizelle McKenzie, Frank Fountaine, Don Rickles, Donald O'Connor, Tom Jones and Lou Rawls. Her many television appearances have included "Ed Sullivan", "Tonight Show", "Mike Douglas", "American Bandstand" and "Entertainment Tonight". Her music has been featured in such films as "Sister Act", "Hairspray", "Desperately Seeking Susan" and "Troop Beverly Hills". Check out Dee Dee Sharp's Best of CD from ABKCO Records & Music at: www.abkco.com Dee Dee Sharp www.deedeesharp.com A George Manney film. Copyright 2006 George Manney. http
- published: 16 Sep 2006
- views: 38709
- author: George Manney
photo: AP / Pablo Martinez Monsivais
20 Nov 2012
Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling President Barack Obama's whirlwind tour of southeast Asia and meetings with dignitaries will have to walk a tightrope between either appearing to endorse military juntas or truly being committed to ongoing pro-democracy movements. Specifically at issue is Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi, a democratic advocate...(size: 5.0Kb)
photo: AP / Hatem Moussa
19 Nov 2012
Gaza/Jerusalem - Israel bombed dozens of targets in the Gaza Strip on Monday and said that while it was prepared to step up its offensive by sending in troops, it preferred a diplomatic solution that would end Palestinian rocket fire. Mediator Egypt said a deal for a truce to end the fighting could be close. The leader of Hamas said it was up to...(size: 4.1Kb)
photo: AP / Melanie Gouby
21 Nov 2012
Hundreds of government soldiers and police in the Democratic Republic of Congo have surrendered to rebels at a stadium in Goma, Al Jazeera's Nazanine Moshiri has reported from the scene. The M23 rebel group, believed to be backed by Rwanda seized the strategic, provincial capital of Goma in eastern Congo on Tuesday, home to more than 1 million...(size: 18.7Kb)
photo: AP / Sebastian D'souza
21 Nov 2012
MUMBAI, India - India executed the lone surviving gunman from the 2008 terror attack on Mumbai early Wednesday, India's home ministry said. Ajmal Kasab, a Pakistani citizen, was one of 10 gunmen who rampaged through the streets of India's financial capital in November 2008, killing 166 people. Kasab was hung at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday at a jail in...(size: 4.5Kb)
photo: AP / Emilio Morenatti
22 Nov 2012
A new battle is underway in Pakistan with its powerful military front-and-centre, but the fight is not against armed insurgents or ideological extremists - this opponent is a muscle-flexing Supreme Court. For the first time in decades, the military's iron grip over the South Asian country has been challenged, and it remains to be seen if it will...(size: 23.7Kb)
Tampa Bay Online
21 Nov 2012
"Elf: The Musical" is an example of an adaptation done right. Based on the popular film of the same name, this staged version is fun for kids, edgy enough for adults and endearing for all. The show opens with Santa (Gordon Gray) at home in front of the TV, preparing to share the story of Buddy the elf. (This is one of the more noticeable...(size: 3.0Kb)
Tampa Bay Online
21 Nov 2012
"Elf: The Musical" is an example of an adaptation done right. Based on the popular film of the same name, this staged version is fun for kids, edgy enough for adults and endearing for all. The show opens with Santa (Gordon Gray) at home in front of the TV, preparing to share the story of Buddy the elf. (This is one of the more noticeable...(size: 3.0Kb)
Chicago Sun-Times
01 Nov 2012
Updated: October 31, 2012 8:14PM For anyone who has seen Gene Kelly blithely puddle-jumping through a thunderstorm in the role of Don Lockwood, or Debbie Reynolds as Kathy Selden, pluckily making her way through “Good Morning,” or Donald O’Connor as Cosmo Brown overseeing that matchless elocution lesson, “Moses Supposes,” there is no need to be...(size: 5.5Kb)
Orange News
26 Oct 2012
Tweet Former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell took to the London stage on Thursday night for a cameo appearance in Singin' In The Rain to raise money for charity. The...(size: 1.0Kb)
IMDb
10 Oct 2012
Choreographer Longinus Fernandes tell us he is thrilled about the selection of Barfi! to represent India in the Foreign Language category at the...(size: 1.0Kb)
Lexington Herald-Leader
30 Sep 2012
The Kentucky Theatre holds a special place in the hearts of Lexingtonians, past and present. It's the destination of first dates and of first movies, a theater of childhood wonder, a hub of downtown life and a little bit of Hollywood in our fair city. We asked readers to tell us their stories about The Kentucky and why they love it so much. We were...(size: 30.6Kb)
Fresno Bee
28 Sep 2012
There's something about good tap dancing that feeds on itself. You can feel the energy start to build, almost sense the heat from the dancers. It doesn't take much to imagine you can actually see sparks generating from those furiously tapping toes. Such a moment occurs not once but several times in the thoroughly happy "Singin' in the Rain"...(size: 2.2Kb)
Houston Chronicle
23 Sep 2012
Friday, September 21, 2012 Comments (0) E-mail Print Tweet...(size: 15.1Kb)
Huffington Post
17 Sep 2012
Talk about a movie aging gracefully. For my birthday last Saturday night, we invited over a group of our closest friends to screen the newly released blu-ray edition of 1952's Singin' In The Rain. Though I expected a delightful experience, truly timeless movies have a way of surprising you with each new viewing, however many times you've seen them....(size: 5.8Kb)
Huffington Post
17 Sep 2012
Talk about a movie aging gracefully. For my birthday last Saturday night, we invited over a group of our closest friends to screen the newly released blu-ray edition of 1952's Singin' In The Rain. Though I expected a delightful experience, truly timeless movies have a way of surprising you with each new viewing, however many times you've seen them....(size: 5.6Kb)
The Examiner
17 Sep 2012
Related topics Mary Poppinstheater in HartfordMatthew Bourne Rating for "Mary Poppins" at Bushnell Center for the Arts in Hartford 3 Advertisement For those who affectionately recall the Disney motion picture "Mary Poppins," the theatrical adaptation currently playing at Hartford's Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts through September...(size: 14.4Kb)
Tampabay.com
11 Sep 2012
US News
07 Sep 2012
By MARK KENNEDY, Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — There was no Labor Day holiday for the cast and crew of the national touring company of "Anything Goes." While most of Broadway was snoozing this past Monday morning, director and choreographer Kathleen Marshall stood up shortly after 10 a.m. in a lounge in the American Airlines Theatre to...(size: 4.5Kb)
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2011) |
| Donald O'Connor | |
|---|---|
 in I Love Melvin |
|
| Born | Donald David Dixon Ronald O’Connor (1925-08-28)August 28, 1925 Chicago, Illinois |
| Died | September 27, 2003(2003-09-27) (aged 78) Calabasas, California |
| Occupation | dancer, singer, actor |
| Years active | 1937-1997 |
| Spouse | Gwen Carter (m.1944-1954; divorced) Gloria Noble (m.1956-2003; his death) |
Donald David Dixon Ronald O’Connor (August 28, 1925 - September 27, 2003) was an American dancer, singer, and actor who came to fame in a series of movies in which he co-starred alternately with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talking Mule. He is best known today for his role as Gene Kelly's friend and colleague Cosmo Brown in Singin' in the Rain (1952).
Contents |
Early years[link]
Though he considered Danville, Illinois to be his home town, O’Connor was born in St. Elizabeth Hospital in Chicago. His parents, Effie Irene (née Crane) and John Edward "Chuck" O'Connor, were vaudeville entertainers.[1][2] His father's family was from County Cork, Ireland.[3] When O'Connor was only a few years old, he and his sister Arlene were in a car crash outside a theater in Hartford, Connecticut; O'Connor survived, but his sister was killed. Several weeks later, his father died of a heart attack while dancing on stage in Brockton, Massachusetts.[4] O'Connor at the time was being held in the arms of the theater manager Mr. Maurice Sims.
Career[link]
O'Connor began performing in movies in 1937. He appeared opposite Bing Crosby in Sing, You Sinners at age 12. Paramount Pictures used him in both A and B films, including Tom Sawyer, Detective and Beau Geste.[4] In 1940, when he had outgrown child roles, he returned to vaudeville.
In 1942 O'Connor joined Universal Pictures. He played roles in four of the Gloria Jean musicals, and achieved stardom with Mister Big (1943).
File:Donald.JPG
The handprints of Donald O'Connor in front of The Great Movie Ride at Walt Disney World's Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park.
In 1944, O'Connor was drafted into the Army. Before he reported for induction, Universal Pictures rushed him through three feature films, done simultaneously and released when he was overseas. After his discharge, Universal (now reorganized as Universal-International) cast him in lightweight musicals and comedies.
In 1949, he played the lead role in Francis, the story of a soldier befriended by a talking mule. The film was a huge success. However, his musical career was constantly interrupted by his making one Francis film a year until 1955. It was because of Francis that O'Connor missed out on playing Bing Crosby's companion in White Christmas. O'Connor was unavailable because he contracted an illness transmitted by the mule, and was replaced in the film by Danny Kaye. O'Connor's role as Cosmo the piano player in Singin' in the Rain earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Comedy or Musical.
Donald O'Connor was a regular host of NBC's Colgate Comedy Hour.[4] He hosted a color television special on NBC in 1957, one of the earliest color programs to be preserved on a color kinescope; an excerpt of the telecast was included in NBC's 50th anniversary special in 1976. He also had a television series in the late 1960s.
After overcoming alcoholism in the 1970s,[4] he had a career boost when he hosted the Academy Awards, which earned him two Primetime Emmy nominations. He appeared as a gaslight-era entertainer in the 1981 film Ragtime, notable for similar encore performances by James Cagney and Pat O'Brien. O'Connor appeared in the short-lived Bring Back Birdie on Broadway in 1981, and continued to make film and television appearances into the 1990s. Donald O'Connor's last feature film was the Jack Lemmon-Walter Matthau comedy Out to Sea, in which he played a dance host on a cruise ship. O’Connor was still making public appearances well into 2003.
Death[link]
O'Connor died from congestive heart failure in 2003 at age 78. His last words were reported to have been a tongue-in-cheek thanks to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for a Lifetime Achievement award that he expected to receive at a "future date". His remains were cremated and buried at the Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.
O'Connor was survived by his wife, Gloria, and four children.[4]
References in popular culture[link]
Donald O'Connor's computer-generated likeness appeared, alongside that of Gene Kelly, in a 2011 television commercial, for the Volkswagen Jetta, in which they performed a seated dance in the backseat of a Jetta to illustrate the large amount of leg room available.[5] O'Connor's signature "Make 'Em Laugh" number has often been repeated by other entertainers. In 1995, Tim Curry, Kathy Najimy, and Mara Wilson reprised it onstage at the Academy Awards.[citation needed] Versions of the routine have also been performed on other television programs, including Glee[6] and Saturday Night Live.[7]
Filmography[link]
Film[link]
Television[link]
- The Milton Berle Show (producer) – 1948
- Colgate Comedy Hour – 1951-54
- The Donald O'Connor Show – 19 episodes on NBC, 1954–55
- Petticoat Junction (director) – 1964
- Bell Telephone Hour – 1964-66
- The Donald O'Connor Show - 1968
- Ellery Queen – episode "The Comic Book Crusader" – October 2, 1975
- The Bionic Woman – episode "A Thing of the Past" (February 18, 1976)
- The Love Boat – 1981-84
- Alice – "Guinness on Tap", as himself, 1982
- The Littlest Hobo – episode "The Clown" as Freddie the Clown (1982)[8]
- Alice in Wonderland (1985 film) as The Lory Bird, 1985
- Tales from the Crypt - 1992
- Frasier – episode "Crane vs. Crane" as Harlow Safford, 1996
- The Nanny – episode "Freida Needa Man" as Fred (1996)
References[link]
- ^ http://www.encyclopedia.com/article-1G2-2875000221/oconnor-donald-david-dixon.html
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ a b c d e Richard Severo (September 29, 2003). "Donald O'Connor, 78, Who Danced His Way Through Many Hollywood Musicals, Is Dead". The New York Times. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20716FD3A590C7A8EDDA00894DB404482. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
- ^ Linda Holmes (January 24, 2011). "What's Wrong With Waking The Dead: Gene Kelly And Donald O'Connor, Cut Out". NPR. http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2011/01/24/133174094/whats-wrong-with-waking-the-dead-gene-kelly-and-donald-oconnor-for-jetta. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
- ^ Harry Shum, Jr. as Mike Chang and Matthew Morrison as Will Schuester (November 16, 2010 (2010-11-16)). "The Substitute". Glee. episode 7. season 2. FOX.
- ^ Graham, Mark (November 22, 2009). "Joseph Gordon-Levitt Makes ‘Em Laugh (And Then Some) on SNL". New York Magazine. http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2009/11/joseph_gordon-levitt_makes_em.html. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0633267/
External links[link]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Donald O'Connor |
- Donald O'Connor at Find a Grave
- Donald O'Connor at the Internet Broadway Database
- Donald O'Connor at the Internet Movie Database
- Essay on Donald O'Connor
- Mindy Alloff's 1979 interview with O'Connor
- Donald O'Connor on "The Colgate Comedy Hour" (1951-54) at Classic TV Info.
- Donald O'Connor on "Texaco Star Theater" (1954-55) at Classic TV Info.
- Film-shots
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | O'Connor, Donald |
| Alternative names | O’Connor, Donald David Dixon Ronald |
| Short description | dancer, singer, actor |
| Date of birth | August 28, 1925 |
| Place of birth | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Date of death | September 27, 2003 |
| Place of death | Calabasas, California, U.S. |
http://wn.com/Donald_O'Connor
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This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_O'Connor
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
For other people named Debbie Reynolds, see Deborah Reynolds (disambiguation).
 |
This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (August 2011) |
| Debbie Reynolds | |
|---|---|
 Reynolds in 1986 |
|
| Born | Mary Frances Reynolds (1932-04-01) April 1, 1932 (age 80) El Paso, Texas |
| Occupation | Actress, dancer, singer |
| Years active | 1948–present |
| Spouse | Eddie Fisher (m.1955–1959; divorced) Harry Karl (m.1960–1973; divorced) Richard Hamlett (m.1984–1996; divorced) |
| Children | Todd Fisher Carrie Fisher |
| Parents | Raymond Francis Reynolds Maxine N. Harmon |
| Website | |
| debbiereynolds.com | |
Debbie Reynolds (born April 1, 1932) is an American actress, singer, and dancer.
Initially signed at age sixteen by Warner Bros., Reynolds' career got off to a slow start. When her contract was not renewed, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) gave her a small but significant part in the film Three Little Words (1950), then signed her to a seven-year contract. In her next film, Two Weeks with Love (1950), she had a hit with the song "Aba Daba Honeymoon". However, it was her first leading role, in Singin' in the Rain (1952), that set her on the path to fame. By the mid 1950s, she was a major star.
Other notable successes include Tammy and the Bachelor (1957), in which her rendering of the song "Tammy" reached number one on the music charts; and The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964), for which she received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She continues to perform successfully on stage, television and film to the present day.
Reynolds' first marriage, to popular singer Eddie Fisher, produced a son and a daughter, actress/author Carrie Fisher, but ended in divorce in 1959 when Fisher and her former (and later) friend Elizabeth Taylor fell in love. Her second and third marriages also ended in divorce, each time ruining her financially.
She is a noted collector of film memorabilia, beginning with the landmark 1972 MGM auction. In June 2011, unable to find a suitable home for her large collection, she began auctioning it off.
Contents |
Early life[link]
Reynolds was born Mary Frances Reynolds in El Paso, Texas, the second child of Maxine N. (née Harmon; 1913–1999) and Raymond Francis Reynolds (1903–1986), who was a carpenter for the Southern Pacific Railroad.[1][2] She has Scotch-Irish and English ancestry.[3] Reynolds was a Girl Scout and a troop leader (a scholarship in her name is offered to high-school age Girl Scouts). Her family moved to Burbank, California, in 1939, and she was raised in a strict Nazarene faith. At age 16, while a student at Burbank's John Burroughs High School, Reynolds won the Miss Burbank Beauty Contest, a contract with Warner Bros., and acquired a new first name.
Career[link]
Reynolds regularly appeared in movie musicals during the 1950s and had several hit records during the period. Her song "Aba Daba Honeymoon" (featured in the film Two Weeks with Love [1950] as a duet with Carleton Carpenter) was a top-three hit in 1951. Her most high-profile film role was in Singin' in the Rain (1952) as Kathy Selden. In Bundle of Joy (1956) she appeared with her then-husband, Eddie Fisher.
Her recording of the song "Tammy" (from her film Tammy and the Bachelor (1957)) earned her a gold record,[4] and was the best-selling single by a female vocalist in 1957. It was number one for five weeks on the Billboard pop charts. In the movie (the first of the Tammy film series), she co-starred with Leslie Nielsen.
In 1959, Reynolds recorded her first album for Dot Records, simply called Debbie, which included her own selection of twelve standards including "S'posin'", "Moonglow", "Mean To Me", and "Time After Time". Bing Crosby paid tribute to Reynolds in the sleeve notes accompanying the album thus:
Someone recently said, and with reasonable accuracy I would think, that good singers make good actors. Evidence in support of this belief is available in the recent performances of Sinatra and Martin, for instance, but I would like to put forth also the proposition that the reverse is quite true: good actors make good singers. Assuming they can carry a tune. We all know that Debbie is better than a good actress—she's VERY good, and we all know she can sing with a lilt and a listenable quality that's genuinely pleasant and agreeable. Witness "Tammy". It was small surprise to me then that when I listened to this beautiful album she has etched for Dot, I found myself captivated and enchanted. Quite obviously Debbie had spent a great deal of time selecting the songs to be included, because she's made them her own, and invested them with a sincerity that's inescapable—of contrasting moods to be sure, but the moods are there, and to me, mighty effective. And that, mes amis, is artistry.
Reynolds also scored two other top-25 Billboard hits with "A Very Special Love" (1958) and "Am I That Easy to Forget" (1960) — a pop-music version of a country-music hit made famous by both songwriters Carl Belew (in 1959), Skeeter Davis (in 1960), and several years later by singer Engelbert Humperdinck. She has released several albums of both her vintage performances and her later recordings.
File:6212-LasVegasStrip-RivieraHotelMarquee.jpg
Marquee listing Reynolds's world premiere at the Riviera Hotel, Las Vegas, December 1962
During these years, she also headlined in major Las Vegas showrooms.
Her starring role in The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964) led to a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She then portrayed Jeanine Deckers in The Singing Nun (1966).
In what Reynolds has called the "stupidest mistake of my entire career",[5] she made headlines in 1970 after instigating a fight with the NBC television network over cigarette advertising on her eponymous television series; NBC cancelled the show.[5]
Reynolds made her Broadway debut in 1973 in a revival of Irene, a musical first produced 60 years before. For that production, she received a Tony nomination. She toured with Harve Presnell in Annie Get Your Gun, then wrapped up the Broadway run of Woman of the Year in 1983. In the late 1980s, Reynolds repeated her role as Molly Brown in the stage version of The Unsinkable Molly Brown, first opposite Presnell (repeating his original Broadway and movie role) and later with Ron Raines.
Reynolds continues to make appearances in film and television. She played Helen Chappel Hackett's mother, Deedee Chappel, on an episode of Wings titled, "If It's Not One Thing, It's Your Mother", which originally aired on November 22, 1994.[6] From 1999 to its 2006 series finale, she played Grace Adler's ditzy mother, Bobbi Adler, on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace (1998–2006), which earned her an Emmy Award[7] nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series in 2000. She also plays a recurring role in the Disney Channel Original Movie Halloweentown film series as Aggie Cromwell. Reynolds made a guest appearance as a presenter at the 69th Academy Awards in 1997.
Reynolds appeared in her West End show Debbie Reynolds: Alive and Fabulous. In June 2010 she replaced Ivana Trump answering reader queries for the weekly paper Globe.[8]
Awards and nominations[link]
Reynolds won the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in The Catered Affair (1956).
She has received various nominations for awards including: an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964), a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy for The Debbie Reynolds Show (1970), a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Mother (1996) and an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, for her role of Bobbi Adler in the sitcom Will & Grace (2000). In 1996 and 1997, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award in Comedy, in the American Comedy Awards.
Her foot and hand prints are preserved at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California. She also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6654 Hollywood Boulevard.
In November 2006, Reynolds received the "Lifetime Achievement Award" from Chapman University (Orange, California). On May 17, 2007, she was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Nevada, Reno, (Reno, Nevada) where she had contributed for many years to the film-studies program.
Reynolds last Cd was a Christmas Record with the late Donald O'Connor entitled "Chrissy the Christmas Mouse". It received rave reviews and was arranged by Angelo DiPippo and produced by Dr. Fillardi.
Film memorabilia[link]
Reynolds has amassed a large collection of movie memorabilia, beginning with the landmark 1970 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer auction, and displayed them, first in a museum at her Las Vegas hotel and casino during the 1990s and later in a museum close to the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles. On several occasions, she has auctioned off items from the collection.
The museum was to relocate to be the centerpiece of the Belle Island Village tourist attraction in the resort city of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, but the developer went bankrupt.[9][10] The museum itself filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy[11] in June 2009.[9]
Todd Fisher, Reynolds' son, announced that his mother was "heartbroken" to have to auction off her collection.[9] It was valued at $10.79 million in the bankruptcy filing.[10] The Vancouver Sun reported that Profiles in History has been given the responsibility of conducting a series of auctions beginning in June and continuing into December 2011.[12] Among the "more than 3500 costumes, 20,000 photographs, and thousands of movie posters, costume sketches, and props" to be sold are Charlie Chaplin's bowler hat and Marilyn Monroe's white "subway dress", whose skirt is lifted up by the breeze from a passing subway train in the film The Seven Year Itch (1955).[12]
On June 18, 2011, the subway dress was sold for $4.6 million dollars, far in excess of pre-auction estimates of $1-2 million.[13] Another Monroe dress, which she wore in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, fetched $1.2 million, four times the upper pre-sale expectation.[13]
Personal life[link]
Marriages[link]
Reynolds has been married three times. Her first marriage was to singer Eddie Fisher in 1955. They are the parents of Carrie and Todd Fisher. A public scandal ensued when Fisher and Elizabeth Taylor fell in love following the death of Taylor's then-husband Mike Todd, and Reynolds and Fisher were divorced in 1959. In 2011, first on The Oprah Winfrey Show only weeks before Elizabeth Taylor's death from congestive heart failure, Reynolds explained that she and Taylor happened to be traveling on the ocean liner Queen Elizabeth at the same time when they made up. Reynolds sent a note to Taylor's room, and Taylor sent a note in reply asking to have dinner with Reynolds and end their feud. The two reconciled, and, as Reynolds put it, "...we had a wonderful evening with a lot of laughs".
Her second marriage, to millionaire businessman Harry Karl, lasted from 1960 to 1973. He was previously married to Marie McDonald. Reynolds later found herself in financial difficulty because of Karl's gambling and bad investments.
Reynolds was married to real estate developer Richard Hamlett from 1984 to 1996. They purchased Greek Isles Hotel & Casino, a small hotel and casino in Las Vegas, but it was not a success. In 1997, Reynolds was forced to declare bankruptcy.[14]
Charity work[link]
Since 1955, Reynolds has been active in the Thalians Club, a charitable organization, devoted to children and adults with mental health issues. In 2011 she stepped down after 55 years of involvement, and is now an emeritus member.
In keeping with the celebrity tradition of the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival of Winchester, Virginia, Reynolds was honored as the Grand Marshal of the 2011 ABF that took place from April 26 to May 1, 2011.[15]
Filmography[link]
Features:
- June Bride (1948)
- The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady (1950)
- Three Little Words (1950)
- Two Weeks with Love (1950)
- Mr. Imperium (1951)
- Singin' in the Rain (1952)
- Skirts Ahoy! (1952)
- I Love Melvin (1953)
- The Affairs of Dobie Gillis (1953)
- Give a Girl a Break (1954)
- Susan Slept Here (1954)
- Athena (1954)
- Hit the Deck (1955)
- The Tender Trap (1955)
- Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956)
- The Catered Affair (1956)
- Bundle of Joy (1956)
- Tammy and the Bachelor (1957)
- This Happy Feeling (1958)
- The Mating Game (1959)
- Say One for Me (1959)
- It Started with a Kiss (1959)
- The Gazebo (1959)
- The Rat Race (1960)
- Pepe (1960)
- The Pleasure of His Company (1961)
- The Second Time Around (1961)
- How the West Was Won (1962)
- Mary, Mary (1963)
- My Six Loves (1963)
- The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964)
- Goodbye Charlie (1964)
- The Singing Nun (1966)
- Divorce American Style (1967)
- How Sweet It Is! (1968)
- What's the Matter with Helen? (1971)
- Charlotte's Web (1973) (voice)
- Busby Berkeley (1974) (documentary)
- That's Entertainment! (1974)
- Kiki's Delivery Service (1989) (voice in 1998 English dub)
- The Bodyguard (1992) (cameo as herself)
- Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul (1993) (documentary)
- Heaven & Earth (1993)
- That's Entertainment! III (1994)
- Mother (1996)
- Wedding Bell Blues (1996)
- In & Out (1997)
- Halloweentown (1998)
- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
- Zack and Reba (1998)
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie (1998) (voice)
- Keepers of the Frame (1999) (documentary)
- Rugrats in Paris: The Movie (2000) (voice)
- Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge (2001)
- Cinerama Adventure (2002) (documentary)
- Connie and Carla (2004)
- Halloweentown High (2004)
- Return to Halloweentown (2006)
- Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (2007) (documentary)
- The Jill & Tony Curtis Story (2008) (documentary)
- Blaze of Glory (2008) (voice)
- The Brothers Warner (2008) (documentary)
- Fay Wray: A Life (2008) (documentary)
- Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age (2009) (documentary)
- One for the Money (2012)
Short subjects:
- A Visit with Debbie Reynolds (1959)
- The Story of a Dress (1964)
Television work[link]
- Jukebox Jury (1953)
- The Eddie Fisher Show (recurring guest star from 1957–1959)
- A Date with Debbie (1960)
- Go!!! (1967)
- ...And Debbie Makes Six (1968)
- The Debbie Reynolds Show (1969–1970)
- Debbie Reynolds and the Sound of Children (1969)
- Leapin' Lizards It's Liberace (1978)
- Aloha Paradise (1981) (canceled after seven episodes)
- Win, Lose or Draw (1987)
- Sadie and Son (1987)
- Perry Mason: The Case of the Musical Murder (1989)
- The Golden Girls (1990) (guest star, There Goes The Bride pt. 1 & 2 as Truby)
- Movie Memories with Debbie Reynolds (1991–1992)
- Battling for Baby (1992)
- Wings (1994)
- Roseanne (1997)..."Arsenic and Old Mom" as Audrey Conner
- Halloweentown (1998)
- The Christmas Wish (1998)
- Will & Grace (recurring cast member from 1999–2006)
- A Gift of Love: The Daniel Huffman Story (1999)
- Rugrats (2000-2004) (voice)
- Virtual Mom (2000)
- These Old Broads (2001)
- Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge (2001)
- Generation Gap (2002) (unsold pilot)
- Tracey Ullman in the Trailer Tales (2003)
- Kim Possible (recurring cast member from 2003–2007) (voice)
- Pryor Offenses (2004)
- Halloweentown High (2004)
- Lolo's Cafe (2006) (voice)
- Return to Halloweentown (2006)
- Secret Talents of the Stars (2008) (canceled after one episode)
- RuPaul's Drag Race (2010) Guest Judge
- The Penguins of Madagascar (2010) (Lost Treasure of the Golden Squirrel) (voice)
- So You Think You Can Dance (2011) Guest Judge
- Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil (2011) (season 2)
See also[link]
References[link]
- ^ Debbie Reynolds Biography (1932-)
- ^ Genealogy.com - Ancestry of Carrie Fisher
- ^ Byrne, James Patrick. Coleman, Philip. King, Jason Francis.'Ireland and the Americas: culture, politics, and history : a multidisciplinary encyclopedia, Volume 2'. P. 804. ABC-CLIO, 2008. ISBN 1-85109-614-0; ISBN 978185109614.
- ^ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie & Jenkins. p. 95. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- ^ a b Reynolds, Debbie (with Columbia, David Patrick) (1988). Debbie: My Life. William Morrow and Company, p. 309. ISBN 978-0-688-06633-8
- ^ [1]. Internet Movie Database.
- ^ Debbie Reynolds Emmy Award Nomination
- ^ "Who Would You Rather Take Advice From? Ivana Trump or Debbie Reynolds?". Janet Charlton's Hollywood. 2010-06-03. http://www.janetcharltonshollywood.com/who-would-you-rather-take-advice-from-ivana-trump-or-debbie-reynolds/. Retrieved 2012-04-23.
- ^ a b c "Auction Set for Debbie Reynolds' Hollywood Memorabilia". Los Angeles Daily News. September 10, 2010. http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_16042045.
- ^ a b Flory, Josh (September 9, 2010). "With No Buyer, Debbie Reynolds' Hollywood Memorabilia To Go To Auction". Knoxville News Sentinel. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2010/sep/09/091010reynolds/.
- ^ "Reynolds to Auction Hollywood Memorabilia". The Wall Street Journal blogs. September 10, 2010. http://blogs.wsj.com/bankruptcy/2010/09/10/reynolds-to-auction-hollywood-memorabilia/. Retrieved January 18, 2011.
- ^ a b Stone, Jay (February 27, 2011). "Marilyn Monroe's Skirt Going Up – On Auction Block". The Vancouver Sun. http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/movie-guide/Marilyn+Monroe+skirt+going+auction+block/4352729/story.html.
- ^ a b "Marilyn Monroe 'Subway' Dress Sells for $4.6 Million". Reuters. June 19, 2011. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/19/us-monroe-idUSTRE75I2NM20110619. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
- ^ Brozan, Nadine (July 9, 1997). "Chronicle". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/09/style/chronicle-040070.html?ref=debbie_reynolds. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
- ^ "Grand Marshal: Debbie Reynolds". thebloom.com. June 14, 2011. Retrieved June 14, 2011.
Further reading[link]
- Reynolds, Debbie (with Columbia, David Patrick) (1988). Debbie: My Life. William Morrow and Company. ISBN 978-0-688-06633-8.
External links[link]
|
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Debbie Reynolds |
- debbiereynolds.com, Reynolds's official website
- Debbie Reynolds at the Internet Broadway Database
- Debbie Reynolds at the Internet Movie Database
- Debbie Reynolds' Hollywood Motion Picture Museum website
- Debbie Reynolds at TVGuide.com
- Radio appearance WSRQ "Big Band Files w/Doug Miles
- Photographs and literature
- Debbie Reynolds at Emmys.com
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Reynolds, Debbie |
| Alternative names | Reynolds, Mary Frances |
| Short description | Actor, dancer and singer |
| Date of birth | 1932-4-1 |
| Place of birth | El Paso, Texas, United States |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
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http://pl.wn.com/Debbie Reynolds
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http://de.wn.com/Debbie Reynolds
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debbie_Reynolds
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
- For people named Jean Kelly, see Jean Kelly (disambiguation).
| Gene Kelly | |
|---|---|
 Gene Kelly in 1943 |
|
| Born | Eugene Curran Kelly (1912-08-23)August 23, 1912 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Died | February 2, 1996(1996-02-02) (aged 83) Beverly Hills, California |
| Occupation | Actor, dancer, singer, director, producer, choreographer |
| Years active | 1938–1994 |
| Spouse | Betsy Blair (m.1941-1957; divorced) Jeanne Coyne (m.1960-1973; her death) Patricia Ward (m.1990-1996; his death) |
Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly (August 23, 1912 - February 2, 1996) was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer. Kelly was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style, his good looks and the likeable characters that he played on screen.
Although he is known today for his performances in Singin' in the Rain and An American in Paris, he was a dominant force in Hollywood musical films from the mid 1940s until this art form fell out of fashion in the late 1950s. His many innovations transformed the Hollywood musical film, and he is credited with almost single-handedly making the ballet form commercially acceptable to film audiences.[1]
Kelly was the recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 1952 for his career achievements. He later received lifetime achievement awards in the Kennedy Center Honors, and from the Screen Actors Guild and American Film Institute; in 1999, the American Film Institute also numbered him 15th in their Greatest Male Stars of All Time list.
Contents |
Early life[link]
Kelly was born in the Highland Park neighborhood of Pittsburgh. He was the third son of Harriet Catherine (née Curran) and James Patrick Joseph Kelly, a phonograph salesman.[2] His father was born in Peterborough, Canada, to a family of Irish descent. His maternal grandfather was an immigrant from Derry in northern Ireland and his maternal grandmother was of German ancestry.[3] At the age of eight, Kelly was enrolled by his mother in dance classes, along with his elder brother James. They both rebelled, and, according to Kelly: "We didn't like it much and were continually involved in fistfights with the neighborhood boys who called us sissies...I didn't dance again until I was fifteen." He thought it would be a good way to get girls.[4] Kelly returned to dance on his own initiative and by then was an accomplished sportsman and well able to take care of himself. He attended St. Raphael Elementary School [5] in the Morningside neighborhood of Pittsburgh, PA. He graduated from Peabody High School in 1929 at the age of sixteen. He enrolled in Pennsylvania State College to study journalism but the economic crash obliged him to seek employment to help with the family's finances. At this time, he worked up dance routines with his younger brother Fred in order to earn prize money in local talent contests, and they also performed in local nightclubs.[4]
In 1931, Kelly enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh to study economics where he joined the Phi Kappa Theta fraternity.[6] While at Pitt, Kelly became involved in the university's Cap and Gown Club, which staged original, comedic musical productions.[7] Earning a Bachelor of Arts in Economics with his graduation from Pitt in 1933, he remained active with the Cap and Gown Club, serving as its director from 1934 to 1938, while at the same time enrolling in the University of Pittsburgh Law School.[8] Also during this period, Kelly's family started a dance studio on Munhall Road in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh. In 1932, the dance studio was renamed The Gene Kelly Studio of the Dance. A second location was opened in Johnstown, Pennsylvania in 1933. Kelly served as a teacher at the studio during both his undergraduate and law student years at Pitt. In 1931, he was approached by the Rodef Shalom synagogue in Pittsburgh to teach dance, and to stage the annual Kermess. This venture was successful enough that his services were retained for seven years until his departure for New York.[9] Eventually, though, he decided to pursue his career as a dance teacher and full-time entertainer, so Kelly dropped out of law school after two months. He began to increasingly focus on performing and later claimed: "With time I became disenchanted with teaching because the ratio of girls to boys was more than ten to one, and once the girls reached sixteen the dropout rate was very high."[4] In 1937, having successfully managed and developed the family's dance school business, he finally did move to New York City in search of work as a choreographer.[4]
Stage career[link]
After a fruitless search, Kelly returned to Pittsburgh, to his first position as a choreographer with the Charles Gaynor musical revue Hold Your Hats at the Pittsburgh Playhouse in April, 1938. Kelly appeared in six of the sketches, one of which, "La Cumparsita", became the basis of an extended Spanish number in Anchors Aweigh" eight years later.
His first Broadway assignment, in November 1938, was as a dancer in Cole Porter's Leave It to Me! as the American ambassador's secretary who supports Mary Martin while she sings "My Heart Belongs to Daddy". He had been hired by Robert Alton who had staged a show at the Pittsburgh Playhouse and been impressed by Kelly's teaching skills. When Alton moved on to choreograph One for the Money he hired Kelly to act, sing and dance in a total of eight routines. In 1939, he was selected to be part of a musical revue "One for the Money" produced by the actress Katharine Cornell, who was known for finding and hiring talented young actors.
Kelly's first career breakthrough was in the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Time of Your Life, which opened on October 25, 1939, where for the first time on Broadway he danced to his own choreography. In the same year he received his first assignment as a Broadway choreographer, for Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe. His future wife, Betsy Blair, was a member of the cast. They began dating and married on October 16, 1941.
In 1940, he was given the leading role in Rodgers and Hart's Pal Joey, again choreographed by Robert Alton, and this role propelled him to stardom. During its run he told reporters: "I don't believe in conformity to any school of dancing. I create what the drama and the music demand. While I am a hundred percent for ballet technique, I use only what I can adapt to my own use. I never let technique get in the way of mood or continuity."[4] It was at this time also, that his phenomenal commitment to rehearsal and hard work was noticed by his colleagues. Van Johnson who also appeared in Pal Joey recalled: "I watched him rehearsing, and it seemed to me that there was no possible room for improvement. Yet he wasn't satisfied. It was midnight and we had been rehearsing since eight in the morning. I was making my way sleepily down the long flight of stairs when I heard staccato steps coming from the stage...I could see just a single lamp burning. Under it, a figure was dancing...Gene."[4]
Offers from Hollywood began to arrive but Kelly was in no particular hurry to leave New York. Eventually, he signed with David O. Selznick, agreeing to go to Hollywood at the end of his commitment to Pal Joey, in October 1941. Prior to his contract, he also managed to fit in choreographing the stage production of Best Foot Forward.
Film career[link]
1941–1944: Becoming established in Hollywood[link]
File:1kelly1.gif
Gene Kelly dancing with Jerry in Anchors Aweigh (1945)
Selznick sold half of Kelly's contract to MGM and loaned him out to MGM for his first motion picture: For Me and My Gal (1942) with Judy Garland. Kelly was "appalled at the sight of myself blown up twenty times. I had an awful feeling that I was a tremendous flop" but the picture did well and, in the face of much internal resistance, Arthur Freed of MGM picked up the other half of Kelly's contract.[4] After appearing in the B-movie drama Pilot #5 he took the male lead in Cole Porter's Du Barry Was a Lady opposite Lucille Ball. His first opportunity to dance to his own choreography came in his next picture Thousands Cheer, where he performed a mock-love dance with a mop.
He achieved his breakthrough as a dancer on film when MGM loaned him out to Columbia to work with Rita Hayworth in Cover Girl (1944), where he created a memorable routine dancing to his own reflection. In his next film Anchors Aweigh (1945), MGM virtually gave him a free hand to devise a range of dance routines, including the celebrated and much imitated animated dances with Jerry Mouse, and his duets with co-star Frank Sinatra.[10] Anchors Aweigh became one of the most successful films of 1945 and it garnered Kelly his first and only Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. In Ziegfeld Follies (1946) – which was produced in 1944 but not released until 1946 – Kelly collaborated with Fred Astaire – for whom he had the greatest admiration – in the famous "The Babbitt and the Bromide" challenge dance routine.
At the end of 1944, Kelly enlisted in the U.S. Naval Air Service and was commissioned as lieutenant junior grade. He was stationed in the Photographic Section, Washington D.C., where he was involved in writing and directing a range of documentaries, and this stimulated his interest in the production side of film-making.[6][11]
1946–1952: MGM[link]
On his return to Hollywood in the spring of 1946, MGM had nothing lined up and used him in yet another B-movie: Living in a Big Way. The film was considered so weak that Kelly was asked to design and insert a series of dance routines, and his ability to carry off such assignments was noticed. This led to his next picture with Judy Garland and director Vincente Minnelli, the film version of Cole Porter's The Pirate, in which Kelly plays the eponymous swashbuckler. Now regarded as a classic, the film was ahead of its time and was not well received. The Pirate gave full rein to Kelly's athleticism and is probably best remembered for Kelly's work with The Nicholas Brothers – the leading African-American dancers of their day – in a virtuoso dance routine.
Although MGM wanted Kelly to return to safer and more commercial vehicles, he ceaselessly fought for an opportunity to direct his own musical film. In the interim, he capitalised on his swashbuckling image as d'Artagnan in The Three Musketeers. and also appeared with Vera-Ellen in the Slaughter on Tenth Avenue ballet in Words and Music (1948). He was due to play the male lead opposite Garland in Easter Parade (1948), but broke his ankle playing volleyball. He withdrew from the film and encouraged Fred Astaire to come out of retirement to replace him.[12] There followed Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949), his second film with Sinatra, where Kelly paid tribute to his Irish heritage in The Hat My Father Wore on St. Patrick's Day routine. It was this musical film which persuaded Arthur Freed to allow Kelly to make On the Town, where he partnered with Frank Sinatra for the third and final time, creating a breakthrough in the musical film genre which has been described as "the most inventive and effervescent musical thus far produced in Hollywood."[4]
Stanley Donen, brought to Hollywood by Kelly to be his assistant choreographer, received co-director credit for On the Town. According to Kelly: "...when you are involved in doing choreography for film you must have expert assistants. I needed one to watch my performance, and one to work with the cameraman on the timing..without such people as Stanley, Carol Haney and Jeanne Coyne I could never have done these things. When we came to do On the Town, I knew it was time for Stanley to get screen credit because we weren't boss-assistant anymore but co-creators."[4][13] Together, they opened up the musical form, taking the film musical out of the studio and into real locations, with Donen taking responsibility for the staging and Kelly handling the choreography. Kelly went much further than before in introducing modern ballet into his dance sequences, going so far in the "Day in New York" routine as to substitute four leading ballet specialists for Sinatra, Munshin, Garrett and Miller.[6]
It was now Kelly's turn to ask the studio for a straight acting role and he took the lead role in the early mafia melodrama: The Black Hand (1949). This expose of organized crime is set in New York's "Little Italy" the late 19th century, and focuses on the Black Hand, a group which extorts money upon threat of death. In the real-life incidents upon which this film is based, it was the Mafia, not the Black Hand, who functioned as the villain. Even in 1950, however, Hollywood had to tread gingerly whenever dealing with big-time crime; it was easier (and safer) to go after a "dead" criminal organization than a "live" one.
There followed Summer Stock (1950) – Judy Garland's last musical film for MGM – in which Kelly performed the celebrated "You, You Wonderful You" solo routine with a newspaper and a squeaky floorboard. In his book "Easy the Hard Way", Joe Pasternak, head of one of the other musical units within MGM, singled out Kelly for his patience and willingness to spend as much time as necessary to enable the ailing Garland to complete her part.[4]
There followed in quick succession two musicals which have secured Kelly's reputation as a major figure in the American musical film, An American in Paris (1951) and – probably the most popular and admired of all film musicals – Singin' in the Rain (1952). As co-director, lead star and choreographer, Kelly was the central driving force. Johnny Green, head of music at MGM at the time, described him as follows:
"Gene is easygoing as long as you know exactly what you are doing when you're working with him. He's a hard taskmaster and he loves hard work. If you want to play on his team you'd better like hard work, too. He isn't cruel but he is tough, and if Gene believed in something he didn't care who he was talking to, whether it was Louis B. Mayer or the gatekeeper. He wasn't awed by anybody, and he had a good record of getting what he wanted".[4]
An American in Paris won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and, in the same year, Kelly was presented with an honorary Academy Award for his contribution to film musicals and the art of choreography. The film also marked the debut of Leslie Caron, whom Kelly had spotted in Paris and brought to Hollywood. Its dream ballet sequence, lasting an unprecedented seventeen minutes, was the most expensive production number ever filmed up to that point and was described by Bosley Crowther as, "whoop-de-doo ... one of the finest ever put on the screen."[6] Singin' in the Rain featured Kelly's celebrated and much imitated solo dance routine to the title song, along with the "Moses Supposes" routine with Donald O'Connor and the "Broadway Melody" finale with Cyd Charisse, and while it did not initially generate the same enthusiasm as An American in Paris, it subsequently overtook the earlier film to occupy its current pre-eminent place among critics and filmgoers alike.[14]
1953–57: The Decline of the Hollywood Musical[link]
Kelly, at the very peak of his creative powers, now made what in retrospect is seen as a serious mistake.[6] In December 1951 he signed a contract with MGM which sent him to Europe for nineteen months so that Kelly could use MGM funds frozen in Europe to make three pictures while personally benefiting from tax exemptions. Only one of these pictures was a musical, Invitation to the Dance, a pet project of Kelly's to bring modern ballet to mainstream film audiences. It was beset with delays and technical problems, and flopped when finally released in 1956. When Kelly returned to Hollywood in 1953, the film musical was already beginning to feel the pressures from television, and MGM cut the budget for his next picture Brigadoon (1954), with Cyd Charisse, forcing the film to be made on studio backlots instead of on location in Scotland. This year also saw him appear as guest star with his brother Fred in the celebrated "I Love to Go Swimmin' with Wimmen" routine in Deep in My Heart. MGM's refusal to loan him out for Guys and Dolls and Pal Joey put further strains on his relationship with the studio. He negotiated an exit to his contract which involved making three further pictures for MGM.
The first of these, It's Always Fair Weather (1956) co-directed with Donen, was a musical satire on television and advertising, and includes his famous roller skate dance routine to "I Like Myself", and a dance trio with Michael Kidd and Dan Dailey which allowed Kelly to experiment with the widescreen possibilities of Cinemascope. A modest success, it was followed by Kelly's last musical film for MGM, Les Girls (1957), in which he partnered a trio of leading ladies, Mitzi Gaynor, Kay Kendall and Taina Elg, fittingly ending, as he had begun, with a Cole Porter musical. The third picture he completed was a co-production between MGM and himself, the B-movie The Happy Road, set in his beloved France, his first foray in his new role as producer-director-actor.
1958–1996: Years of perseverance[link]
Leaving MGM in 1957, Kelly returned to stage work. When in 1958 he directed Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical play Flower Drum Song.[15] Early in 1960, Kelly, an ardent Francophile and fluent French speaker, was invited by A. M. Julien, the general administrator of the Paris Opéra and Opéra-Comique,[4] to select his own material and create a modern ballet for the company, the first time an American had received such an assignment. The result was Pas de Dieux, based on Greek mythology, combined with the music of George Gershwin's Concerto in F. It was a major success, and led to his being honoured with the Chevalier of the Legion d'Honneur by the French Government.
_Gene_Kelly.jpg)
Kelly continued to make some film appearances, such as Hornbeck in the 1960 Hollywood production of Inherit the Wind. However, most of his efforts were now concentrated on film production and directing. In 1962, he directed Jackie Gleason in Gigot in Paris, but the film was drastically re-cut by Seven Arts Productions and flopped.[6] Another French effort, Jacques Demy's homage to the MGM musical: Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (1967) in which Kelly appeared, was popular in France and nominated for Academy Awards for Best Music and Score of a Musical Picture (Original or Adaptation) but performed poorly, elsewhere. He appeared as himself in George Cukor's Let's Make Love (1960).
His first foray into television was a documentary for NBC's Omnibus, Dancing is a Man's Game (1958) where he assembled a group of America's greatest sportsmen – including Mickey Mantle, Sugar Ray Robinson and Bob Cousy – and re-interpreted their moves choreographically, as part of his lifelong quest to remove the effeminate stereotype of the art of dance, while articulating the philosophy behind his dance style.[6] It gained an Emmy nomination for choreography and now stands as the key document explaining Kelly's approach to modern dance.
Kelly also frequently appeared on television shows during the 1960s, but his one effort at television series, as Father Chuck O'Malley in Going My Way (1962–63), based on the Best Picture of 1944 starring Bing Crosby, was dropped after thirty episodes, although it enjoyed great popularity in Roman Catholic countries outside of the United States.[6] He also appeared in three major TV specials: New York, New York (1966), The Julie Andrews' Show (1965), and Jack and the Beanstalk (1967) a show he produced and directed which returned to a combination of cartoon animation with live dance, winning him an Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program.
In 1963, Kelly joined Universal Pictures for a two-year stint, which proved to be the most unproductive period of his career at that point. He joined 20th Century Fox in 1965, but had little to do – partly due to his decision to decline assignments away from Los Angeles for family reasons. His perseverance finally paid off, with the major box-office hit A Guide for the Married Man (1967) where he directed Walter Matthau. Then, a major opportunity arose when Fox – buoyed by the returns from The Sound of Music (1965) – commissioned Kelly to direct Hello, Dolly! (1969), again directing Matthau along with Barbra Streisand, but which unfortunately failed to recoup the enormous production expenses.
In 1970, he made another TV special: Gene Kelly and 50 Girls and was invited to bring the show to Las Vegas, Nevada, which he duly did for an eight-week stint – on condition he be paid more than any artist had hitherto been paid there.[6] He directed veteran actors James Stewart and Henry Fonda in the comedy western The Cheyenne Social Club (1970) which performed very well at the box-office. In 1973, he would work again with Frank Sinatra as part of Sinatra's Emmy nominated TV special Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back. Then, in 1974, he appeared as one of many special narrators in the surprise hit of the year That's Entertainment! and subsequently directed and co-starred with his friend Fred Astaire in the sequel That's Entertainment, Part II (1976). It was a measure of his powers of persuasion that he managed to coax the 77-year-old Astaire – who had insisted that his contract rule out any dancing, having long since retired – into performing a series of song and dance duets, evoking a powerful nostalgia for the glory days of the American musical film. Kelly continued to make frequent TV appearances and, in 1980, appeared in an acting and dancing role opposite Olivia Newton-John in Xanadu (1980), an expensive theatrical flop which has since attained a cult following.[6] In Kelly's opinion, "The concept was marvelous but it just didn't come off."[4] In the same year, he was invited by Francis Ford Coppola to recruit a production staff for American Zoetrope's One from the Heart (1982). Although Coppola's ambition was for him to establish a production unit to rival the Freed Unit at MGM, the film's failure put an end to this idea.[6] In 1985, Kelly served as executive producer and co-host of That's Dancing! – a celebration of the history of dance in the American musical. After his final on-screen appearance, introducing That's Entertainment! III, in 1994, his final film project was the animated movie Cats Don't Dance, released in 1997 and dedicated to him, on which Kelly acted as uncredited choreographic consultant.
Working methods and influence on filmed dance[link]
When he began his collaborative film work, he was influenced by Robert Alton and John Murray Anderson, striving to create moods and character insight with his dances. He choreographed his own movement, along with that of the ensemble, with the assistance of Jeanne Coyne, Stanley Donen, Carol Haney, and Alex Romero.[1] He experimented with lighting, camera techniques and special effects in order to achieve true integration of dance with film, and was one of the first to use split screens, double images, live action with animation and is credited as the person who made the ballet form commercially acceptable to film audiences.[1]
There was a clear progression in his development, from an early concentration on tap and musical comedy style to greater complexity using ballet and modern dance forms.[16] Kelly himself refused to categorize his style: "I don't have a name for my style of dancing...It's certainly hybrid...I've borrowed from the modern dance, from the classical, and certainly from the American folk dance – tap-dancing, jitterbugging...But I have tried to develop a style which is indigenous to the environment in which I was reared."[16] He especially acknowledged the influence of George M. Cohan: "I have a lot of Cohan in me. It's an Irish quality, a jaw-jutting, up-on-the-toes cockiness – which is a good quality for a male dancer to have."[4] He was also heavily influenced by an African-American dancer Dancing Dotson, whom he saw at Loew's Penn. Theatre around 1929, and was briefly taught by Frank Harrington, an African-American tap specialist from New York.[17] However, his main interest was in ballet, which he studied under Kotchetovsky in the early Thirties. As biographer Clive Hirschhorn explains: "As a child he used to run for miles through parks and streets and woods – anywhere, just as long as he could feel the wind against his body and through his hair. Ballet gave him the same feeling of exhilaration, and in 1933 he was convinced it was the most satisfying form of self-expression."[6] He also studied Spanish dancing under Angel Cansino, Rita Hayworth's uncle.[6] Generally speaking, he tended to use tap and other popular dance idioms to express joy and exuberance – as in the title song from Singin' in the Rain or "I Got Rhythm" from An American in Paris, whereas pensive or romantic feelings were more often expressed via ballet or modern dance, as in "Heather on the Hill" from Brigadoon or "Our Love Is Here to Stay" from An American in Paris.[16]
File:Kelly in rehearsal.jpg
Kelly in rehearsal with Sugar Ray Robinson and assistant Jeanne Coyne in the NBC Omnibus television special Dancing is a Man's Game (1958)
According to Delamater, Kelly's work "seems to represent the fulfillment of dance-film integration in the 1940s and 1950s". While Fred Astaire had revolutionized the filming of dance in the 1930s by insisting on full-figure photography of dancers while allowing only a modest degree of camera movement, Kelly freed up the camera, making greater use of space, camera movement, camera angles and editing, creating a partnership between dance movement and camera movement without sacrificing full-figure framing. Kelly's reasoning behind this was that he felt the kinetic force of live dance often evaporated when brought to film, and he sought to partially overcome this by involving the camera in movement and giving the dancer a greater number of directions in which to move. Examples of this abound in Kelly's work and are well illustrated in the "Prehistoric Man" sequence from On the Town and "The Hat My Father Wore on St. Patrick's Day" from Take Me Out to the Ball Game.[16] In 1951, he summed up his vision as follows: "If the camera is to make a contribution at all to dance, this must be the focal point of its contribution; the fluid background, giving each spectator an undistorted and altogether similar view of dancer and background. To accomplish this, the camera is made fluid, moving with the dancer, so that the lens becomes the eye of the spectator, your eye".[1]
Kelly's athleticism gave his moves a distinctive broad, muscular quality,[16] and this was a very deliberate choice on his part, as he explained: "There's a strong link between sports and dancing, and my own dancing springs from my early days as an athlete...I think dancing is a man's game and if he does it well he does it better than a woman."[4] He railed against what he saw as the widespread effeminacy in male dancing which, in his opinion, "tragically" stigmatized the genre, alienating boys from entering the field: "Dancing does attract effeminate young men. I don't object to that as long as they don't dance effeminately. I just say that if a man dances effeminately he dances badly — just as if a woman comes out on stage and starts to sing bass. Unfortunately people confuse gracefulness with softness. John Wayne is a graceful man and so are some of the great ball players...but, of course, they don't run the risk of being called sissies."[4] In his view, "one of our problems is that so much dancing is taught by women. You can spot many male dancers who have this tuition by their arm movements — they are soft, limp and feminine."[4] He acknowledged that, in spite of his efforts — in TV programs such as Dancing: A Man's Game (1958) for example — the situation changed little over the years.[4]
He also sought to break from the class-conscious conventions of the 1930s and early 40s, when top hat and tails or tuxedos were the norm, by dancing in casual or everyday work clothes, so as to make his dancing more relevant to the cinema-going public. As his first wife, actress and dancer Betsy Blair explained: "A sailor suit or his white socks and loafers, or the T-shirts on his muscular torso, gave everyone the feeling that he was a regular guy, and perhaps they too could express love and joy by dancing in the street or stomping through puddles...he democratized the dance in movies."[18] In particular, he wanted to create a completely different image from that associated with Fred Astaire, not least because he believed his physique didn't suit such refined elegance: "I used to envy his cool aristocratic style, so intimate and contained. Fred wears top hat and tails to the manor born — I put them on and look like a truck driver."[4]
Personal life and death[link]
Kelly was married to Betsy Blair for 15 years (1941–1957) and they had one child, Kerry. Kelly divorced Blair in 1957. In 1960, Kelly married his choreographic assistant Jeanne Coyne, who had divorced Stanley Donen in 1949 after a brief marriage. He remained married to Coyne from 1960 until her death in 1973 and they had two children, Bridget and Tim. He was married to Patricia Ward from 1990 until his death in 1996.
Kelly was a lifelong supporter of the Democratic Party with strong progressive convictions,[19] which occasionally created difficulty for him as his period of greatest prominence coincided with the McCarthy era in the U.S. In 1947, he was part of the Committee for the First Amendment, the Hollywood delegation which flew to Washington to protest at the first official hearings by the House Committee on Un-American Activities. His first wife, Betsy Blair, was suspected of being a Communist sympathizer and when MGM, who had offered Blair a part in Marty (1955), were considering withdrawing her under pressure from the American Legion, Kelly successfully threatened MGM with a pullout from It's Always Fair Weather unless his wife was restored to the part.[6][20] He used his position on the board of directors of the Writers Guild of America, West on a number of occasions to mediate disputes between unions and the Hollywood studios, and although he was frequently accused by some on the right of championing the unions, he was valued by the studios as an effective mediator.[citation needed]
Kelly was raised as a Roman Catholic, but after becoming disenfchanted by the Roman Catholic Church's support for Francisco Franco against the Spanish Republic,[21]he officially severed his ties with the church in September 1939. This separation was prompted, in part, by a trip Kelly made to Mexico in which he became convinced of the Church’s failure in helping the poor.[21] After his departure from the Catholic Church, Kelly became an agnostic and remained so, for the rest of his life.[22] He retained a lifelong passion for sports and relished competition. He was known as a big fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Yankees. From the mid-40s through the early 50s, he and Blair organized weekly parties at their Beverly Hills home, and they often played an intensely competitive and physical version of charades, known as "The Game".[20]
Kelly's health declined steadily in the late 80s, for a stroke in July 1994 resulted in a seven week hospital stay. Another one in early 1995 left him mostly bedridden at his Beverly Hills, California home, and Kelly died in his sleep on February 2, 1996 before his body was cremated. His last will is without any funeral or memorial services.[23] Kelly's papers are currently housed at the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University.
Awards and honors[link]
- 1946 – Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in Anchors Aweigh (1945).
- 1952 – Honorary Academy Award "in appreciation of his versatility as an actor, singer, director and dancer, and specifically for his brilliant achievements in the art of choreography on film." This Oscar was lost in a fire in 1983 and replaced at the 1984 Academy Awards.
- 1956 – Golden Bear at the 6th Berlin International Film Festival for Invitation to the Dance.[24]
- 1958 – Nomination for Golden Laurel Award for Best Male Musical Performance in Les Girls.
- 1958 – Dance Magazine's annual TV Award for Dancing: A Man's Game from the Omnibus television series. It was also nominated for an Emmy for best choreography.
- 1960 – In France, Kelly was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor.
- 1962 – Gene Kelly Dance Film Festival staged by the Museum of Modern Art.
- 1964 – Silver Sail Best Actor for What a Way to Go! (1964) at the Locarno International Film Festival.
- 1967 – Emmy for Outstanding Children's Program for Jack and the Beanstalk.
- 1970 – Nomination for Golden Globe, Best Director for Hello, Dolly!, 1969.
- 1981 – Cecil B. DeMille Award at Golden Globes.
- 1981 – Gene Kelly was the subject of a two-week film festival in France.
- 1982 – Lifetime Achievement Award in the fifth annual Kennedy Center Honors.
- 1985 – Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute.
- 1989 – Life Achievement Award from Screen Actors Guild.
- 1991 – University of Pittsburgh inaugurates The Gene Kelly Awards, given annually to high school musicals in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
- 1992 – Induction into the Theater Hall of Fame.
- 1994 – National Medal of Arts awarded by United States President Bill Clinton.[25]
- 1994 – The Three Tenors performed Singin' in the Rain in his presence during a concert at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
- 1996 – Honorary César Award The César is the main national film award in France.
- 1996 – At the Academy Awards ceremony, director Quincy Jones organised a tribute to the just-deceased Kelly, in which Savion Glover performed the dance to "Singin' in the Rain".
- 1997 – Ranked #26 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list.
- 1999 – Ranked #15 in the American Film Institute's "Greatest Legends" list.
Work[link]
Filmography[link]
Main article: Gene Kelly filmography
Musical films[link]
Gene Kelly appeared as actor and dancer in the following musical films. He always choreographed his own dance routines, and often the dance routines of others, and often used assistants. As was the practice at the time, he was rarely formally credited in the film titles:[1]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1942 | For Me and My Gal | Harry Palmer | |
| 1943 | Du Barry Was a Lady | Alec Howe/Black Arrow | |
| Thousands Cheer | Private Eddie Marsh | ||
| 1944 | Cover Girl | Danny McGuire | |
| 1945 | Anchors Aweigh | Joseph Brady | Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor |
| Ziegfeld Follies | Gentleman in 'The Babbit and the Bromide' | ||
| 1947 | Living in a Big Way | Leo Gogarty | |
| 1948 | The Pirate | Serafin | |
| The Three Musketeers | D'Artagnan | ||
| Words and Music | Himself | ||
| 1949 | Take Me Out to the Ball Game | Eddie O'Brien | |
| On the Town | Gabey | ||
| 1950 | Summer Stock | Joe D. Ross | |
| 1951 | An American in Paris | Jerry Mulligan | Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |
| 1952 | Singin' in the Rain | Don Lockwood | |
| 1954 | Brigadoon | Tommy Albright | |
| Deep in My Heart | Specialty in 'Dancing Around' | ||
| 1955 | It's Always Fair Weather | Ted Riley | |
| 1956 | Invitation to the Dance | Host/Pierrot/The Marine/Sinbad | |
| 1957 | Les Girls | Barry Nichols | |
| 1958 | Marjorie Morningstar | Noel Airman | |
| 1960 | Inherit the Wind | E.K. Hornbeck | |
| 1960 | Let's Make Love | Himself | |
| 1964 | What a Way to Go! | Pinky Benson | |
| 1966 | Les Demoiselles de Rochefort | Andy Miller | |
| 1974 | That's Entertainment! | Himself | (also archive footage) |
| 1976 | That's Entertainment, Part II | Himself | (also archive footage) |
| 1980 | Xanadu | Danny McGuire | |
| 1994 | That's Entertainment, Part III | Himself | (also archive footage) |
Stage[link]
| Dates | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 9, 1938 – July 15, 1939 | Leave It to Me! | Secretary to Mr. Goodhue | Was also a chorus boy in this production, backing Mary Martin in her famous number "My Heart Belongs To Daddy" |
| February 4, 1939 – May 27, 1939 | One for the Money | various roles | |
| October 25, 1939 – April 6, 1940 | The Time of Your Life | Harry | |
| September 23, 1940 – October 19, 1940 | The Time of Your Life | Harry | |
| December 25, 1940 – November 29, 1941 | Pal Joey | Joey Evans | |
| October 1, 1941 – July 4, 1942 | Best Foot Forward | Choreography | |
| December 1, 1958 – May 7, 1960 | Flower Drum Song | Director | |
| February 22, 1979 – April 1, 1979 | Coquelico | Producer | |
| July 2, 1985 – May 18, 1986 | Singin' in the Rain | Original film choreography Nominated — Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography |
Television[link]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | The Three Musketeers | D'Artagnan | |
| 1958 | Dancing: A Man's Game | Himself | Omnibus |
| 1962–1963 | Going My Way | Father Chuck O'Malley | (30 episodes) |
| 1965 | Gene Kelly: New York, New York | Himself | |
| The Julie Andrews Show | Himself | ||
| 1967 | Jack and the Beanstalk | Jeremy Keen, Proprietor (Peddler) | Emmy Award for Best Children's Program |
| 1971 | The Funny Side | Himself | Series host |
| 1973 | Frank Sinatra: Ol' Blue Eyes is Back | Himself | |
| 1978 | Gene Kelly: An American in Pasadena | Himself | |
| 1980 | Muppet Show | Himself | |
| 1985 | North and South | Senator Charles Edwards | |
| 1986 | Sins | Eric Hovland |
Notes[link]
- ^ a b c d e Billman, Larry (1997). Film Choreographers and Dance Directors. North Carolina: McFarland and Company. pp. 374–376. ISBN 0-89950-868-5.
- ^ http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1saux/HeritageGazetteVol12/resources/8.htm
- ^ [1]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Thomas, Tony (1991). The Films of Gene Kelly – Song and Dance Man. New York, NY: Carol Publishing Group. ISBN 0-8065-0543-5.
- ^ http://www.straphaelelementaryschool.net/alumni.html
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Hirschhorn, Clive (1984). Gene Kelly – a Biography. London: W.H. Allen. ISBN 0-491-03182-3.
- ^ The Owl. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh. 1933. p. 158. http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=pittyearbooks;idno=1933e49702;view=image;seq=0163. Retrieved 2010-06-09.
- ^ The Owl. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh. 1938. p. 198. http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=pittyearbooks;idno=1938e49702;view=image;seq=203. Retrieved 2010-06-09.
- ^ cf. Hirschhorn, p.33.
- ^ Later examples of this human/animated character pas de deux include Paula Abdul opposite an animated cat in her "Opposites Attract" video, and Kelly dancing with Stewie Griffin in the episode "Road to Rupert" from the Family Guy series.
- ^ According to Blair, p.111, he directed Jocelyn Brando in a semi-documentary about war-wounded veterans.
- ^ Astaire, Fred (1959). Steps in Time. London: Heinemann. pp. 291. ISBN 0-241-11749-6.
- ^ Blair, p.104: "Gene was the central creative force in this initial collaboration, but he was always generous about Stanley's contribution...Unfortunately, and mysteriously for me, Stanley, over the years, had been less than gracious about Gene"
- ^ In 1994, Kurt Browning, offered an ice skating interpretation of "Singin' in the Rain" on his television special You Must Remember This. In 2005, Kelly's widow gave permission for Volkswagen to use his likeness to promote the Golf GTi car. The advertisement, shown only outside the US, used CGI to mix footage of Gene Kelly, from Singin' in the Rain, with footage of professional breakdancer David Elsewhere.
- ^ In an episode foreshadowing his later conflicts with the studio, Elia Kazan in the late 1940s offered Kelly the role of Biff in Death of a Salesman on Broadway, but MGM refused to release him. cf. Blair, p.112
- ^ a b c d e Delamater, Jerome (2004). "Gene Kelly". International Encyclopedia of Dance. vol. 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 38–40.
- ^ cf. Hirschhorn, p.25,26: "What impressed Gene was the originality of the man's [Dotson's] dancing, as it was quite unlike anything he'd seen before. The tricks Dotson was doing were absolutely fresh. He went back to see that act a couple of times, and admitted pinching several steps for his own use...Just as he had done with Dotson, Gene made up his mind to 'steal' as much as he could from numerous touring shows...both he and Fred were absolutely shameless when it came to pilfering, and very good at it."
- ^ Blair, p.176
- ^ http://www.genekellyscene.com/books.htm
- ^ a b Blair, Betsy (2004). The Memory of All That. London: Elliott & Thompson. ISBN 1-904027-30-X.
- ^ a b http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0MKY/is_10_29/ai_n13807354/
- ^ Yudkoff, Alvin Gene Kelly: A Life of Dance and Dreams, Watson-Guptill Publications: New York, NY (1999) pages 58–59
- ^ cf. Blair, p.8: "Kerry later told me that they all felt as if she [Patricia Ward, Kelly's wife at the time of his death] 'threw him away – as if he were garbage to be incinerated and thrown away. There aren't even any ashes'. His children, who loved him, never even got to say goodbye to their father. It would have saddened and, I imagine, enraged him because he loved his children deeply."
- ^ "6th Berlin International Film Festival: Prize Winners". berlinale.de. http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1956/03_preistr_ger_1956/03_Preistraeger_1956.html. Retrieved 2009-12-26.
- ^ "National Medal of Arts". www.nea.gov. National Endowment for the Arts. http://www.nea.gov/honors/medals/medalists_year.html. Retrieved 2011-05-23. "1994-Gene Kelly – dancer, singer, actor." One website, Movie Treasures, refers to this award as the "National Medal of Freedom" causing some people to mistake the award for the entirely unrelated "Presidential Medal of Freedom." The award Gene Kelly received was the National Medal of the Arts. Kelly's name does not appear on the list of Presidential Medal of Freedom Winners.
External links[link]
 |
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Gene Kelly |
- Gene Kelly at the Internet Movie Database
- Gene Kelly at the TCM Movie Database
- Gene Kelly at the Internet Broadway Database
- The Gene Kelly Awards – University of Pittsburgh
- Obituary, NY Times, February 3, 1996
- Naval Intelligence File on Gene Kelly
- Gene Kelly – An American Life – PBS
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Kelly, Gene |
| Alternative names | Kelly, Eugene Curran |
| Short description | dancer, actor, singer, director, producer, and choreographer |
| Date of birth | (1912-08-23)August 23, 1912 |
| Place of birth | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Date of death | February 2, 1996(1996-02-02) |
| Place of death | Beverly Hills, California, U.S. |
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
For television series, see Me and My Girl (TV series).
Not to be confused with Me and My Gal.
| Me and My Girl | |
|---|---|
| 215px 1986 Broadway Cast Recording |
|
| Music | Noel Gay |
| Lyrics | Douglas Furber L. Arthur Rose |
| Book | Douglas Furber L. Arthur Rose |
| Productions | 1937 West End 1939 U.K. Television 1952 West End revival 1984 West End revival 1986 Broadway 2006 U.K. tour |
| Awards | 1985 Olivier Award Musical of the Year |
Me and My Girl is a musical with book and lyrics by Douglas Furber and L. Arthur Rose and music by Noel Gay. It takes place in the late 1930s in Hampshire, Mayfair, and Lambeth.
The musical had a successful original run on the West End in 1937 and very successful revivals in both London and New York in the 1980s. The show stopper, “The Lambeth Walk”, was the subject of a news story in The Times of October 1938: “While dictators rage and statesmen talk, all Europe dances — to The Lambeth Walk.”
A film version was produced in 1939, titled The Lambeth Walk.
Contents |
Production history[link]
It originally opened at the West End Victoria Palace Theatre on December 16, 1937, and starred Lupino Lane. Lane had previously played Bill Snibson in a horseracing comedy play, Twenty to One, that opened in 1935. Me and My Girl was conceived as a fresh vehicle for the character.[citation needed]
At first attracting little notice, the production gained immediate success after a matinee performance was broadcast live on BBC radio, following the cancellation of a sporting event. On May 1, 1939, a performance was televised from the theatre, one of the first times such was done. The original West End production ran for 1,646 performances.
It was revived in 1952. In 1984, a revised production opened at the Leicester Haymarket Theatre with a revised script by Stephen Fry and contributions by Mike Ockrent. It transferred to the West End Adelphi Theatre on February 12, 1985 and closed on January 16, 1993 after an eight year run and 3,303 performances. It starred Robert Lindsay as Bill Snibson, Emma Thompson, and Frank Thornton. The production won two Olivier Awards: Musical of the Year and Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Musical (Robert Lindsay).[1][2] Cast changes included : Enn Reitel (as Bill Snibson) and Su Pollard (as Sally Smith) in 1986; Gary Wilmot (as Bill Snibson) and Jessica Martin (as Sally Smith) in 1989. Thornton was succeeded by Nicholas Smith. The production subsequently toured throughout Britain.
The revised London production opened on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre on August 10, 1986, and closed on December 31, 1989, after 1,420 performances. Directed by Mike Ockrent with choreography by Gillian Gregory, the cast starred Robert Lindsay and Maryann Plunkett, with George S. Irving and Jane Connell. The production was nominated for 13 Tony Awards and won for Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Choreographer. Jim Dale succeeded Lindsay in the lead role of Bill.[3] Tim Curry played Bill Snibson in the extensive US Tour that followed the Broadway run.
Numerous productions have been staged over the years all across the UK. In 1997 it even appeared at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre for a limited run with Adam Schumacher as Bill Snibson.
A 70th anniversary production of Me and My Girl had an eight-month British tour during 2006-07.[4] It was directed and choreographed by Warren Carlyle with a cast including Richard Frame (Bill Snibson), Faye Tozer (Sally Smith), Sylvester McCoy, Trevor Bannister and Dillie Keane.
The original star of Me And My Girl, Lupino Lane, was commemorated at The Actors Church, Covent Garden on Tuesday 10 November 2009 by The Music Hall Guild of Great Britain and America.
Sheffield Theatres, United Kingdom produced a revival of 'Me and My Girl' at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield with previews beginning 2 December 2010 until 29 January 2011. An expected transfer to London's West End was scrapped due to there not being a venue available.[5]
Plot[link]
- Act I
In the 1930s, the Harefords, a family of haughty aristocrats, are seeking the legitimate heir to the title of Earl of Hareford. Bill Snibson, a Cockney from Lambeth is found and named as the long-lost “Earl of Hareford”. It seems that the 13th Earl had secretly and briefly wed a girl from a bad neighborhood. But Bill's rough Cockney ways do not satisfy the Will of the last Earl: In order to gain his inheritance of the title and estate, Bill must satisfy the very proper executors (Maria, Duchess of Dene, and Sir John Tremayne) by learning gentlemanly manners. The Duchess thinks that she can make Bill “fit and proper”, but not his Cockney girlfriend, Sally Smith. The Duchess plans a party in Bill's honour, but Sally is not to be invited. Sir John tells Sally that she and Bill ought to return to Lambeth, but he is moved by Sally's heartfelt declaration of love for Bill.
At the party, Bill puts on airs and tries to please his new-found upper-class lawyers, family and servants, but his everyman roots quickly begin to show. Sally shows up in inappropriate garb, with her Lambeth friends, saying that she is going back to where she belongs. Bill seconds this at first but then teaches the nobility The Lambeth Walk.
- Act II
Bill must make a speech in the House of Lords in coronet and “vermin”-trimmed peer's robes. Sally leaves, telling him to marry someone with good blood, and, in a scene inspired by Gilbert and Sullivan's Ruddigore, the portraits of Bill's ancestors awaken to remind him of his noblesse oblige.[6] Bill and Sally have gained an ally in Sir John, who offers to help them by engaging a speech professor who will help Sally impress the Duchess.
Bill constantly bemoans his separation from Sally. Preparing another party for Bill, the Duchess realises how much Sally means to him. This puts her in a romantic mood, and she accepts an offer of marriage from Sir John. Bill, dressed in his old outrageous Cockney clothes, declares that he's going home and goes upstairs to pack. Just then, Sally astonishes everyone by arriving in an elegant gown and tiara and speaking with a perfect upper-crust accent. When Bill returns downstairs, Sally conceals her identity. When she reveals it, Bill is relieved and the couple gain the acceptance of the family.
Musical numbers[link]
Based on the 1986 Broadway production
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Characters[link]
- Bill Snibson - a cockney costermonger who inherits Lord Hareford's land and titles.
- Sally Smith - Bill's sweetheart.
- Sir John Tremayne - an older gentleman, who is kind to Sally and Bill. He is in love with the Duchess.
- The Duchess of Dene - an intimidating aristocrat. Bill's Aunt.
- Gerald Bolingbroke - an attractive young man. He is in love with Jackie.
- Lady Jacqueline (Jackie) Carstone - breaks off her engagement to Gerald to pursue Bill.
- Herbert Parchester - the family solicitor.
- Lord Jasper Tring - an elderly and hard-of-hearing nobleman.
- Charles - a manservantoddities.
- Lord and Lady Battersby, Lady Brighton, The Honourable Margaret Aikington, Charles Boulting-Smythe - other members of the family who are mostly interchangeable.
- Mrs Brown - Sally's landlady.
- Bob Barking - a friend of Bill and Sally.
Film adaptation[link]
Main article: The Lambeth Walk (film)
In 1939, the play was turned into a film directed by Albert de Courville. Lane reprised his stage role of Snibson. The film took its name from the well-known song and dance. The film was a largely faithful adaptation of the musical and was commercially successful and popular with critics.[7]
Awards and nominations[link]
London Revival 1984[link]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Laurence Olivier Award | Musical of the Year | Won | |
| Best Actor in a Musical | Robert Lindsay | Won | ||
Original Broadway production[link]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Tony Award | Best Musical | Nominated | |
| Best Book of a Musical | Douglas Furber and L. Arthur Rose | Nominated | ||
| Best Original Score | Noel Gay, Douglas Furber and L. Arthur Rose | Nominated | ||
| Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical | Robert Lindsay | Won | ||
| Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical | Maryann Plunkett | Won | ||
| Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical | George S. Irving | Nominated | ||
| Timothy Jerome | Nominated | |||
| Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical | Jane Connell | Nominated | ||
| Jane Summerhays | Nominated | |||
| Best Direction of a Musical | Mike Ockrent | Nominated | ||
| Best Choreography | Gillian Gregory | Won | ||
| Best Scenic Design | Martin Johns | Nominated | ||
| Best Costume Design | Ann Curtis | Nominated | ||
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Musical | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Book of a Musical | Douglas Furber and L. Arthur Rose | Won | ||
| Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Robert Lindsay | Won | ||
| Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Maryann Plunkett | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Timothy Jerome | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Jane Summerhays | Won | ||
| Outstanding Director of a Musical | Mike Ockrent | Won | ||
| Outstanding Orchestrations | Chris Walker | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Music | Noel Gay | Won | ||
| Outstanding Set Design | Martin Johns | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Costume Design | Ann Curtis | Nominated | ||
| Theatre World Award | Robert Lindsay | Won | ||
References[link]
- ^ Adelphi Theatre listing thisistheatre.com
- ^ Olivier Awards listing
- ^ Rich, Frank.“Stage: Jim Dale in 'Me and My Girl'”,New York Times, September 29, 1987
- ^ Tour listing
- ^ Listing sheffieldtheatres.co.uk, accessed July 25, 2010
- ^ Wren, Gayden (2006). A Most Ingenious Paradox: The Art of Gilbert and Sullivan. Oxford University Press. p. 203. http://books.google.com/books?id=y8dtxOyag2wC&pg=PA203.
- ^ Shafer pp. 69–70
External links[link]
- Me and My Girl at the Internet Broadway Database
- Synopsis and production information at guidetomusicaltheatre
- NY Times review, Aug.11, 1986
- Me and My Girl (1939 BBC broadcast) at the Internet Movie Database
- The Lambeth Walk (1940) at the Internet Movie Database
- [1]
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
| Ethel Merman | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ethel Agnes Zimmermann (1908-01-16)January 16, 1908 Astoria, Queens, New York, U.S. |
| Died | February 15, 1984(1984-02-15) (aged 76) New York, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress/Singer |
| Years active | 1930–1982 |
| Spouse | William Smith (1940–1941) Robert Levitt (1941–1952) Robert Six (1953–1960) Ernest Borgnine (1964; 32 days) |
Ethel Merman (January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American actress and singer.[1] Known primarily for her powerful voice and roles in musical theatre, she has been called "the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage."[2] Among the many standards introduced by Merman in Broadway musicals are "I Got Rhythm", "Everything's Coming Up Roses", "Some People", "Rose's Turn", "I Get a Kick Out of You", "It's De-Lovely", "Friendship", "You're the Top", "Anything Goes", and "There's No Business Like Show Business", which later became her theme song.
Contents |
Early life[link]
Merman was born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann in her maternal grandmother's house located at 265 4th Street in Astoria, Queens, in New York City in 1908, though she would later emphatically declare that it was actually 1912.[3] Her father, Edward Zimmermann (1879–1977), was an accountant with James H. Dunham & Company, a Manhattan wholesale dry-goods company, and her mother, Agnes (née Gardner; 1883–1974), was a school teacher. Zimmermann had been raised in the Dutch Reformed Church and his wife was Presbyterian, but shortly after they were wed they joined the Episcopalian congregation at Church of the Redeemer, where Merman was baptized. Her parents were strict about church attendance, and every Sunday she spent the day there, first at morning services, followed by Sunday school, an afternoon prayer meeting, and an evening study group for children.[4]
Merman attended P.S. 4 and William Cullen Bryant High School (which later named its auditorium in her honor), where she pursued a commercial course that offered secretarial training.[5] She was active in numerous extracurricular activities, including the school magazine, the speakers' club, and student council, and she frequented the local music store to peruse the weekly arrivals of new sheet music.[6] On Friday nights the Zimmermann family would take the subway into Manhattan to see the vaudeville show at the Palace Theatre, where Merman discovered Blossom Seeley, Fanny Brice, Sophie Tucker, and Nora Bayes. At home she would try to emulate their singing styles, but her own distinct voice was difficult to disguise.[7]
After graduating from Bryant in 1924, Merman was hired as a stenographer by the Boyce-Ite Company. One day during her lunch break, she met Vic Kliesrath, who offered her a job at the Bragg-Kliesrath Corporation for a $5 increase above the weekly $23 salary she was earning, and Merman accepted the offer. She was eventually made personal secretary to company president Caleb Smith Bragg, whose frequent lengthy absences from the office allowed her to catch up on the sleep she had lost the previous night when she was out late performing at private parties. During this period Merman also began appearing in nightclubs, first hired by Jimmy Durante's partner Lou Clayton. It was at this time she decided that the name Ethel Zimmermann was too long for a theater marquee. She considered combining Ethel with Gardner or Hunter, her grandmother's maiden name, but finally abbreviated Zimmermann to Merman to appease her father.[8]
Early career[link]
During a two-week engagement at Little Russia, a club in midtown Manhattan, Merman met agent Lou Irwin, who arranged for her to audition for Archie Mayo, a contract director at Warner Bros. He offered her an exclusive six-month contract, starting at $125 per week, and Merman quit her day job, only to find herself idle for weeks while waiting to be cast in a film. She finally urged Irwin to try to cancel her agreement with Mayo; instead, he negotiated her a better deal allowing her to perform in clubs while remaining on the Warners payroll. Merman was hired as a torch singer at Les Ambassadeurs, where the headliner was Jimmy Durante, and the two became lifelong friends. She caught the attention of columnists such as Walter Winchell and Mark Hellinger, who began giving her publicity. Soon after Merman underwent a tonsillectomy she feared might damage her voice, but after recovering she discovered it was more powerful than ever.[9]
While performing on the prestigious Keith Circuit, Merman was signed to replace Ruth Etting in the Paramount film Follow the Leader (1930), starring Ed Wynn and Ginger Rogers. Following a successful seven-week run at the Brooklyn Paramount, she was signed to perform at the Palace for $500 per week. During the run, theatre producer Vinton Freedley saw her perform and invited her to audition for the role of San Francisco café singer Kate Fothergill in the new George and Ira Gershwin musical Girl Crazy. Upon hearing her sing "I Got Rhythm", the Gershwins immediately cast her, and Merman began juggling daytime rehearsals with her matinee and evening performance schedule at the Palace.[10]
Girl Crazy opened on October 14, 1930 at the Alvin Theatre, where it ran for 272 performances.[11] The New York Times noted Merman sang "with dash, authority, good voice and just the right knowing style," while The New Yorker called her "imitative of no one."[12] Merman was fairly blasé about her notices, prompting George Gershwin to ask her mother, "Have you ever seen a person so unconcerned as Ethel?", and he made her promise never to work with a singing teacher.[13]
During the run of Girl Crazy, Paramount signed Merman to appear in a series of ten short musical films, most of which allowed her to sing a rousing number as well as a ballad. She also performed at the Central Park Casino, the Paramount Theatre, and a return engagement at the Palace. As soon as Girl Crazy closed, she and her parents departed for a much-needed vacation in Lake George in Upstate New York, but after their first day there Merman was summoned to Atlantic City to help salvage the troubled latest edition of George White's Scandals. Because she was still under contract to Freedley, White was forced to pay the producer $10,000 for her services, in addition to her weekly $1,500 salary. Following the Atlantic City run, the show played in Newark and then Brooklyn before opening on Broadway, where it ran for 202 performances.[14]
Merman's next show, Humpty Dumpty, began rehearsals in August 1932 and opened—and immediately closed—in Pittsburgh the following month. Producer Buddy DeSylva, who also had written the book and lyrics, was certain it could be reworked into a success and, with a revamped script and additional songs by Vincent Youmans,[15] it opened with the new title Take a Chance on November 26 at the Apollo, where it ran for 243 performances.[16] Brooks Atkinson of The New York Times called it "fast, loud, and funny" and added Merman "has never loosed herself with quite so much abandon." Following the Broadway run, she agreed to join the show on the road, but shortly after the Chicago opening she claimed the chlorine in the city's water supply was irritating her throat, and Merman returned to Manhattan.[12]
Merman returned to Hollywood to appear in We're Not Dressing, a 1934 screwball comedy based on the J. M. Barrie play The Admirable Crichton. Despite working with a cast that included Bing Crosby, Carole Lombard, and Burns and Allen, under the direction of Academy Award–winning director Norman Taurog, Merman was unhappy with the experience, and she was dismayed to discover one of her musical numbers had been cut when she attended the New York opening with her family and friends. That same year she also appeared on screen with Eddie Cantor in Kid Millions, but it was her return to Broadway that would establish her as a major star and cement her image as a tough girl with a soft heart.[17]
Anything Goes proved to be the first of five Cole Porter musicals in which Merman starred. In addition to the title song, the score included "I Get a Kick Out of You", "You're the Top", and "Blow Gabriel Blow". It opened on November 21, 1934 at the Alvin Theatre,[18] and the New York Post called Merman "vivacious and ingratiating in her comedy moments, and the embodiment of poise and technical adroitness" when singing "as only she knows how to do." Although Merman always had remained with a show until the end of its run, she left Anything Goes after eight months to appear with Eddie Cantor in the film Strike Me Pink. She was replaced by Benay Venuta, with whom she enjoyed a long but frequently tempestuous friendship.[19]
Merman initially was overlooked for the 1936 screen adaptation of Anything Goes when Bing Crosby insisted his wife Dixie Lee be cast as Reno Sweeney opposite his Billy Crocker, but when she unexpectedly dropped out of the project Merman was given the opportunity to reprise the role she had originated on stage. From the beginning, it was clear to Merman the film would not be the enjoyable experience she had hoped it would be. The focus was shifted to Crosby, leaving her very much in a supporting role. Many of Porter's ribald lyrics were altered to conform to the guidelines of the Motion Picture Production Code, and "Blow Gabriel Blow" was eliminated completely, replaced by a song Merman was forced to perform in a headdress made of peacock feathers while surrounded by dancers dressed as Chinese slave girls. The film was completed $201,000 over budget and seventeen days behind schedule, and Richard Watts, Jr. of the New York Herald Tribune described it as "dull and commonplace," with Merman doing "as well as possible" but unable to register "on the screen as magnificently as she does on the stage."[20]
Merman returned to Broadway for another Porter musical, but despite the presence of Jimmy Durante and Bob Hope in the cast, Red, Hot and Blue closed after less than six months.[21] Back in Hollywood, Merman was featured in Happy Landing, a minor comedy with Cesar Romero, Don Ameche, and Sonja Henie; the box office hit Alexander's Ragtime Band, a pastiche of Irving Berlin songs interpolated into a plot that vaguely paralleled the composer's life; and Straight, Place or Show, a critical and commercial flop starring the Ritz Brothers.[22] She returned to the stage in Stars in Your Eyes, which struggled to survive while the public flocked to the 1939 New York World's Fair instead and finally closed short of four months.[23] Merman followed this with two more Porter musicals. DuBarry Was a Lady, with Bert Lahr and Betty Grable, ran for a year,[24] and Panama Hattie, with Betty Hutton, June Allyson, and Arthur Treacher, fared even better, lasting slightly more than fourteen months.[25]
Shortly after the opening of the latter, Merman—still despondent about the end of her affair with Stork Club owner Sherman Billingsley—married her first husband, Treacher's agent William Smith. She later said she knew on their wedding night she had made "a dreadful mistake," and two months later she filed for divorce on grounds of desertion.[26] Shortly after she met and married Robert D. Levitt, promotion director for the New York Journal-American. The two eventually had two children and divorced in 1952 due to his excessive drinking and erratic behavior.[27]
In 1943, Merman was a featured performer in the film Stage Door Canteen and opened in another Porter musical, Something for the Boys, produced by Michael Todd. Her next project was Sadie Thompson, a Vernon Duke/Howard Dietz musical adaptation of a W. Somerset Maugham short story, but Merman found she was unable to retain the lyrics and resigned twelve days after rehearsals began.[28]
In August 1945, while in the hospital recovering from the Caesarean birth of her second child, Merman was visited by Dorothy Fields, who proposed she star as Annie Oakley in a musical she and her brother Herbert were writing with Jerome Kern. Merman accepted, but in November Kern suffered a stroke while in New York City visiting Rodgers and Hammerstein (the producers of the show) and died a few days later. Producers Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II invited Irving Berlin to replace him,[29] and the result was Annie Get Your Gun, which opened on May 16, 1946 at the Imperial Theatre, where it ran for nearly three years and 1,147 performances.[30] During that time, Merman took only two vacations and missed only two performances due to illness.[31] Merman lost the film version to Judy Garland, who eventually was replaced by Betty Hutton, but she did star in a Broadway revival two decades later.
Merman and Berlin reunited for Call Me Madam in 1950, for which she won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical, and she went on to star in the 1953 screen adaptation as well, winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for her performance. The following year she appeared as the matriarch of the singing and dancing Donahue family in There's No Business Like Show Business, a film with a Berlin score.
Merman returned to Broadway at the behest of her third husband, Continental Airlines executive Robert Six, who was upset she had chosen to become a Colorado housewife following their wedding in 1953. He expected her public appearances to engender publicity for the airline, and her decision to forgo the limelight did not sit well with him. He urged her to accept the lead in Happy Hunting, with a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse (who had written Call Me Madam) and a score by the unknown team of Harold Karr and Matt Dubey. Merman acquiesced to her husband's demands, although she clashed with the composers from the start and soon was at odds with co-star Fernando Lamas and his wife Arlene Dahl, who frequently attended rehearsals. Based on the Merman name, the show opened in New York with an advance sale of $1.5 million and, despite the star's dissatisfaction with it, garnered respectable reviews. Although Brooks Atkinson thought the score was "hardly more than adequate", he called Merman "as brassy as ever, glowing like a neon light whenever she steps on the stage." Several months into the run, she insisted two of her least favorite numbers be replaced by songs written by her friend Roger Edens who, because of his exclusive contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, credited them to Kay Thompson. She lost the Tony Award to Judy Holliday in Bells Are Ringing, and the show closed after 412 performances, with Merman happy to see what she considered "a dreary obligation" finally come to an end.[32]
Later career[link]
Perhaps Merman's most legendary performance opened on May 21, 1959 at The Broadway Theatre. Gypsy was based on the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee and starred Merman as her domineering stage mother Rose Hovick. In the New York Post, Richard Watts called her "a brilliant actress," and Brooks Atkinson of the New York Times said "she gives an indomitable performance, both as actress and singer." Despite the acclaim, Merman lost the Tony Award to her close friend Mary Martin in The Sound of Music and jokingly quipped, "How are you going to buck a nun?" Shortly after she divorced Six when his affair with television actress Audrey Meadows became public, and she found solace in her work.[33]
Throughout the 702-performance run of Gypsy, Mervyn LeRoy saw it numerous times, and he repeatedly assured Merman that he planned to cast her in the film adaptation he was preparing. Shortly prior to the show's closing, however, it was announced that Rosalind Russell had been signed to star instead. Russell's husband, theatre producer Frederick Brisson (whom Merman later called "the lizard of Roz"[citation needed]), had sold the screen rights to the Leonard Spigelgass play A Majority of One to Warner Bros. with the stipulation that his wife star in both films. Because Russell was still a major box office draw, with the success of Auntie Mame a few years earlier, and Merman never having established herself as a popular screen presence, the studio agreed to Brisson's terms. Merman was devastated at this turn of events and called the loss of the role "the greatest professional disappointment of my life." [34]
Following the Broadway closing of Gypsy on March 25, 1961, Merman half-heartedly embarked on the national tour. In San Francisco, she severely injured her back but continued to play to packed houses. During the Los Angeles run, LeRoy visited her backstage and claimed Russell was so ill "I think you're going to end up getting this part." Believing that the film version of Gypsy was within her grasp, she generously gave him the many house seats he requested for friends and industry colleagues, only to discover she had been duped.[35]
Over the next several years, Merman was featured in two films, the wildly successful It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and the flop The Art of Love, and made dozens of television appearances, guesting on variety series hosted by Perry Como, Red Skelton, Judy Garland, Dean Martin, Ed Sullivan, and Carol Burnett, on talk shows with Mike Douglas, Dick Cavett, and Merv Griffin, and in episodes of That Girl, The Lucy Show, Batman, and Tarzan, among others.
Producer David Merrick encouraged Jerry Herman to compose Hello, Dolly! specifically for Merman's vocal range, but when he offered her the role she declined it. She finally joined the cast on March 28, 1970, six years after the production opened. On her opening night, her performance was continually brought to a halt by prolonged standing ovations, and the critics unanimously heralded her return to the New York stage. Walter Kerr described her voice "exactly as trumpet-clean, exactly as pennywhistle-piercing, exactly as Wurlitzer-wonderful as it always was." The seventh actress to portray the scheming matchmaker, she remained with the musical for 210 performances until it closed on December 27. She received the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Performance for what proved to be her last appearance on Broadway.
For the remainder of her career, Merman worked as frequently as offers were made. In 1979, she recorded The Ethel Merman Disco Album, with many of her signature show-stoppers set to a disco beat. Her last screen role was a self-parody in the 1980 comedy film Airplane!, in which she portrayed Lieutenant Hurwitz, a shell shocked soldier who thinks he is Ethel Merman. In the cameo appearance, Merman leaps out of bed singing Everything's Coming Up Roses as orderlies restrain her. She appeared in multiple episodes of The Love Boat (playing Gopher's mother), guested on a CBS Television tribute to George Gershwin, did a summer comedy/concert tour with Carroll O'Connor, played a two-week engagement at the London Palladium, performed with Mary Martin in a concert benefitting the theatre and museum collection of the Museum of the City of New York, and frequently appeared as a soloist with symphony orchestras. She also volunteered at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, working in the gift shop or visiting patients.
Later life and death[link]
With advancing age, Merman began to become forgetful, and on occasion had difficulty with her speech, and at times her behavior was erratic, causing concern among her friends.
On April 7, 1983, she was preparing to leave for Los Angeles to appear on the 55th Academy Awards telecast when she collapsed in her apartment. She was diagnosed with glioblastoma and underwent brain surgery to have the malignant tumor removed.
Early on the morning of February 15, 1984, she died in her sleep. Her private funeral service was held in a chapel at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, where she had frequently worshipped. On October 10, 1984, an auction of her personal effects, including furniture, artwork, and theatre memorabilia, earned in excess of $120,000 at Christie's East.[36]
Performance style[link]
Merman was known for her powerful, belting mezzo-soprano voice, precise enunciation and pitch.[37] Because stage singers performed without microphones when Merman began singing professionally, she had a great advantage, despite the fact that she never took any singing lessons. In fact, Broadway lore holds that George Gershwin advised her never to take a singing lesson after she opened in his Girl Crazy.[38]
Personal life[link]
Merman was married and divorced four times:
- William Smith, theatrical agent (1940–1941)
- Robert Levitt, a newspaper executive (1941–1952)
- Robert Six, President, Continental Airlines (1953–1960)
- Ernest Borgnine, the actor, in 1964. Merman filed for divorce 32 days later.
With Levitt, Merman had two children: Ethel (born July 20, 1942). and Robert Jr. (born August 11, 1945), they divorced in 1952. Ethel Levitt died in 1967 of a drug overdose that was ruled accidental. Her son, Robert, was married to actress Barbara Colby.
Merman co-wrote two memoirs, Who Could Ask for Anything More? (1955) and Merman (1978). In a radio interview, Merman commented on her many marriages, saying that "We all make mistakes, that's why they put rubbers on pencils, and that's what I did. I made a few loo-loos!"[39] In the latter book, the chapter entitled "My Marriage to Ernest Borgnine" consists of one blank page.
Merman was notorious for her love of vulgar jokes. She delighted in telling dirty jokes and vulgar stories at public parties. For instance, she once shouted a dirty joke across the room at José Ferrer during a formal reception. Merman also enjoyed sending out greeting cards with obscene jokes in them. Merman was known for swearing during rehearsals and meetings. While rehearsing a guest appearance on The Loretta Young Show, she was told she had to pay $1 each time she swore since Young could not abide foul language. As she was being shoehorned into an ill fitting gown for the next number Merman exclaimed, "Oh shit, this damn thing's too tight." Young advanced on her waving her curse box and said, "Come on Ethel, put a dollar in. You know my rules." Merman's retort reportedly was, "Ah, honey, how much will it cost me to tell you to go fuck yourself?"
Merman was a lifelong Republican, and during the Dwight D. Eisenhower Administration, she was a frequent guest at The White House[40]. She even appeared at the 1956 Republican National Convention with Jane Powell, Irene Dunne, Wendell Corey, and George Murphy[41].
In popular culture[link]
- The character "Helen Lawson" in Jacqueline Susann's novel Valley of the Dolls is based on Ethel Merman.
- Ethel Merman is mentioned in the 1982 movie Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid.
- The British Psychobilly band The Meteors recorded an instrumental called "Return Of The Ethel Merman" for their 1986 album Sewertime Blues.
- In the play "Red Herring" by Michael Hollinger, one of the lead characters comments on his marriage to a 'different' Ethel Merman than the one who sang "There's No Business Like Show Business."
- Merman is mentioned a lot in the musical series Forbidden Broadway making fun of the wireless microphones and soft singing used in The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical).
- In the film Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), USAF radio disc jockey Adrian Cronauer (played by Robin Williams) alluded to Merman's distinctive, brassy style and powerful voice during one of his improvised comic news bulletins. "Ethel Merman used to jam Russian radar. {belting in imitation of Merman} 'Oh, I've got a feeling that love is here to stay!' When asked for a reply, the Russians said 'Vat de hell vas dat?'"
- Robin Williams imitates Merman again in the song "Prince Ali" from the Disney animated feature Aladdin (1992).
- In the 1990 Seinfeld episode "The Robbery", Elaine complains about her actress roommate by telling Jerry she is "living with Ethel Merman without the talent."
- In the early 1990s, the television program Sesame Street created a parody character called "Miss Ethel Mermaid" (voiced and puppeteered by Louise Gold) she sang "I Get A Kick Out Of U" (a parody of Merman singing "I Get A Kick Out Of You").[citation needed] The character would reappear in an episode of Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures which is shown as a segment on the American version of Sesame Street.
- In the film The Producers (2005), the actor playing the part of Adolf Hitler, Roger de Bris, sings the lyric "I'm the German Ethel Merman, don'tcha know."
- In the song "Change the World" by Nellie McKay, off her debut album "Get Away from Me", she sings "Please Ethel Merman help me out this jam".[citation needed]
- Merman's final on-screen appearance was in the film Airplane! (1980), where she has a cameo as shell-shocked soldier "Lt. Hurwitz", who believes he is Ethel Merman. She briefly sings her classic "Everything's Coming Up Roses".
- Merman is mentioned in the film Terms of Endearment (1983), and even appears on the soundtrack.
- In the 2000 episode of Saturday Night Live, a segment called "The Ladies Man" featuring Dwayne Johnson and Tim Meadows where Meadows was Leon Phelps described Johnson's cross-dressing undercover police lady character that when he first saw him she was dressed up like a young Ethel Merman. "It was wall to wall: big sexy ladies" Meadows character Leon described. "Tell them who you were" said Leon and Johnson responded back "I was Ethel Merman". "A Young Ethel Merman, she was sexy!"[citation needed]
- Popular blogger Ree Drummond of award-winning blog, The Pioneer Woman, frequently mentions Merman in her posts, and says she "channels Lucille Ball, Vivien Leigh, and Ethel Merman".
Audio samples of Ethel Merman[link]
Courtesy of NPR Windows Media Player Required
- Ethel Merman with Jimmy Durante "You Say the Nicest Things"
- Ethel Merman Sings: "The World is Your Balloon"
- Ethel Merman Sings: "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend"
Theatre performances[link]
- Girl Crazy (1930)
- George White's Scandals of 1931 (1931)
- Take a Chance (1932)
- Anything Goes (1934)
- Red, Hot and Blue (1936)
- Stars in Your Eyes (1939)
- DuBarry Was a Lady (1939)
- Panama Hattie (1940)
- Something for the Boys (1943)
- Sadie Thompson (1944) (left during rehearsals; replaced by June Havoc)
- Annie Get Your Gun (1946)
- Call Me Madam (1950)
- Happy Hunting (1956)
- Gypsy (1959)
- Annie Get Your Gun (1966) (revival)
- Call Me Madam (1968) (revival) (summer stock)
- Hello, Dolly! (1970) (replacement)
- Mary Martin & Ethel Merman: Together On Broadway (1977) (benefit concert)
Filmography[link]
- Follow the Leader (1930)
- Let Me Call You Sweetheart (1932)
- We're Not Dressing (1934)
- Kid Millions (1934)
- The Big Broadcast of 1936 (1935)
- Strike Me Pink (1936)
- Anything Goes (1936)
- Happy Landing (1938)
- Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938)
- Straight, Place or Show (1938)
- Stage Door Canteen (1943)
- Call Me Madam (1953)
- There's No Business Like Show Business (1954)
- It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
- The Art of Love (1965)
- Journey Back to Oz (1974) (voice)
- Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976)
- Airplane! (1980)
Television[link]
- The Ford 50th Anniversary Show (1953)
- The Colgate Comedy Hour (1954) Episode Anything Goes
- Panama Hattie (1954)
- Merman On Broadway (1961)
- The Lucy Show, two-parter, as herself (1963)
- The Judy Garland Show, two episodes (1963)
- Maggie Brown (1963) (unsold pilot)
- An Evening with Ethel Merman (1965)
- Annie Get Your Gun (1967)
- Tarzan and the Mountains of the Moon (1967)
- Batman, "The Sport of Penguins", two-parter as Lola Lasagne (1967)
- That Girl, two episodes, as herself (1967–1968)
- 'S Wonderful, 'S Marvelous, 'S Gershwin (1972)
- Ed Sullivan's Broadway (1973)
- The Muppet Show (1976)
- Match Game PM (1976), (1978)
- You're Gonna Love It Here (1977) (unsold pilot)
- A Salute to American Imagination (1978)
- A Special Sesame Street Christmas (1978)
- Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July (1979) (voice)
- The Love Boat, five episodes, Roz Smith (1979–1982)
- Night of 100 Stars (1982)
References[link]
- ^ Obituary Variety, February 22, 1984.
- ^ Ethel Merman at Musicals101.com
- ^ Kellow, Brian, Ethel Merman: A Life. New York: Viking Press 2007. ISBN 0-670-01829-5, p. 2.
- ^ Kellow, pp. 2–4.
- ^ Kellow, pp. 4–7.
- ^ Kellow, p. 7.
- ^ Kellow, p. 6.
- ^ Kellow, pp. 8–13.
- ^ Kellow, pp. 13–19.
- ^ Kellow, pp. 21–26.
- ^ Girl Crazy at the Internet Broadway Database
- ^ a b Kellow, p. 30.
- ^ Kellow, p. 29.
- ^ Kellow, pp. 32–37.
- ^ Kellow, pp. 37–40.
- ^ Take a Chance at the Internet Broadway Database
- ^ Kellow, pp. 42–67.
- ^ Anything Goes at the Internet Broadway Database
- ^ Kellow, pp. 55–57.
- ^ Kellow, pp. 57–59.
- ^ Red, Hot and Blue at the Internet Broadway Database
- ^ Kellow, pp. 69–71.
- ^ Kellow, p. 75.
- ^ DuBarry Was a Lady at the Internet Broadway Database
- ^ Panama Hattie at the Internet Broadway Database
- ^ Kellow, pp. 87–89.
- ^ Kellow, pp. 136–137, 142–143.
- ^ Kellow, pp. 104–105.
- ^ Kellow, pp. 107.
- ^ Annie Get Your Gun at the Internet Broadway Database
- ^ Kellow, p. 116.
- ^ Kellow, pp. 160–169.
- ^ Kellow, pp. 174-188
- ^ Kellow, Brian, pp. 173-195
- ^ Kellow, pp. 191-192
- ^ Kellow, pp. 261-266
- ^ Michael Darvell. "Ethel Merman: A 100th-Anniversary Tribute". classicalsource.com. http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_features.php?id=5388. Retrieved 2009-04-23.
- ^ Flinn, Caryl. Brass Diva: The Life and Legends of Ethel Merman (2009), p. 33, University of California Press, ISBN 0-520-26022-8
- ^ Interview with Ray Wickens, April 1979, on CHRE-FM, St. Catharine's, Ontario.
- ^ http://www.musicals101.com/mermbio2.htm
- ^ http://www.irenedunnesite.com/photos/1956-59/1956-august-republican-national-convention/
- Thomas, Bob (November 1985) (Hardcover). I Got Rhythm!The Ethel Merman Story. New York: G.P.Putnam's Sons. pp. 239 pages. ISBN 0-399-13041-1.
External links[link]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ethel Merman |
- Ethel Merman at the Internet Broadway Database
- Ethel Merman | PlaybillVault.com
- Ethel Merman at the Internet Movie Database
- Ethel Merman at Allmusic
- They Say She Was Wonderful: Ethel Merman at 100, The House Next Door By N.P. Thompson
- Obituary, The New York Times, February 16, 1984, "Ethel Merman, Queen of Musicals, Dies at 76"
- NPR's Susan Stamberg's Report on the Memory of Ethel Merman
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|||||||||||||||||||||||
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Merman, Ethel |
| Alternative names | Zimmermann, Ethel Agnes |
| Short description | Actress, singer |
| Date of birth | January 16, 1908 |
| Place of birth | Astoria, Queens, New York, United States |
| Date of death | February 15, 1984 |
| Place of death | New York City, New York, United States |
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
