Although he did not achieve the laudable acclaim of Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor was amongst Hollywood's best dancers ever. He was in contract with Universal Studios and although they put him at the center of attention as their number one male musical star, the studio was not known for producing ther finest material in the musical genre.
Donald O' Connor (28th August 1925 - 27th September 2
003) was born to a large family in Chicago. His parents were circus performers (his father was an acrobat with the the Ringling Brothers-Barnum and Bailey Circus as a leaper and his mother was a circus bareback rider and dancer, calling themselves The Nelson Comiques). Donald joined his family in their later vaudeville act when he was a baby, working his way up to stealing the show with his singing a
nd tap dancing routines.
003) was born to a large family in Chicago. His parents were circus performers (his father was an acrobat with the the Ringling Brothers-Barnum and Bailey Circus as a leaper and his mother was a circus bareback rider and dancer, calling themselves The Nelson Comiques). Donald joined his family in their later vaudeville act when he was a baby, working his way up to stealing the show with his singing a
nd tap dancing routines.He and his brothers Jack and Billy were performing in California when they were asked to do a guest bit in a Warner Bros. musical pasthice, "Melody For Two" (1937) but find themselves sliced out of the final print. His actual official film debut was in "It Can't Last Forever" (1937), in an uncredited role as a kid dancer. They returned to the stage and were participating in a benefit show in the Ambassador Hotel when a talent scout from Paramount asked Don
ald to do a screen test for the role of the kid brother of Bing Crosby and Fred MacMurray in "Sing You Sinners" (1938). He got the part and was an instant hit, more than holding his own against his two older and famous co-stars.
ald to do a screen test for the role of the kid brother of Bing Crosby and Fred MacMurray in "Sing You Sinners" (1938). He got the part and was an instant hit, more than holding his own against his two older and famous co-stars. He was then being asked to play the younger versions of Fred MacMurray and Gary Cooper in "Men With Wings" (1938) and "Beau Geste" (1939) respectively. He was given a few important roles in "Sons Of The Legion" (1938); "Tom Sawyer - Detective" (1938) in the title role; "Boy Trouble" (1938); and Betty Grable's "Million Dollar Legs" (1939). Paramount felt they had done all they could with him and let him go.
He went back and 
toured with the family for a stint, when he signed up with Universal in 1941 and began a long stay with the studio for the next fourteen years. He was given secondary roles to the Andrew Sisters in his first three assignments partnering the gawky but charming Peggy Ryan in 1942 - "What's Cookin'?"; "Private Buckaroo" and "Give Out, Sisters". Donald and the energetic Peggy had an infectious enthusiasm when they hit the floor together, so the studio put them together again in 1942 - "Get Hep To Love" , where the warbling youngster Gloria Jean was the official lead and "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again", starring Allan Jones.
toured with the family for a stint, when he signed up with Universal in 1941 and began a long stay with the studio for the next fourteen years. He was given secondary roles to the Andrew Sisters in his first three assignments partnering the gawky but charming Peggy Ryan in 1942 - "What's Cookin'?"; "Private Buckaroo" and "Give Out, Sisters". Donald and the energetic Peggy had an infectious enthusiasm when they hit the floor together, so the studio put them together again in 1942 - "Get Hep To Love" , where the warbling youngster Gloria Jean was the official lead and "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again", starring Allan Jones. Donald was back again with Gloria Jean in "It Comes Up Love" (1943) and making a trio with Peggy Ryan in "Mr. Big" (1943) . "Top Man" in 1943 gives him Susanna Foster as a c
o-star and again they add in Peggy in "This Is Life" (1944). He and Peggy were back as a team in "Chip Off The Old Block"(1944 with Ann Blyth making her debut) ; "The Merry Monahans" (also with Ann Blyth) and were featured in a speciality number in "Bowery To Broadway". He was back one last time with Peggy after he returned from the U.S Army Air Force Special Services for "Patrick The Great" (1945). In "Something In The Wind"(1947) - a Deanna Durbin vehichle, he was given a secondary role (John Dall had the lead).
o-star and again they add in Peggy in "This Is Life" (1944). He and Peggy were back as a team in "Chip Off The Old Block"(1944 with Ann Blyth making her debut) ; "The Merry Monahans" (also with Ann Blyth) and were featured in a speciality number in "Bowery To Broadway". He was back one last time with Peggy after he returned from the U.S Army Air Force Special Services for "Patrick The Great" (1945). In "Something In The Wind"(1947) - a Deanna Durbin vehichle, he was given a secondary role (John Dall had the lead).The story by David Stern about a young army lieutenant who becomes the friend and confidant of a talking mule "Francis" was made into film in 1949. This comedy was smash h
it of the year and giving a great boost to O'Connor's standing with Universal and more five more in that series, ending in 1955 with "Francis In The Navy". In between a few more fluffy musicals comedies - teaming 
with Jimmy Durante in "The Milkman" (1950) and a tepid pirate spoof, "Double Crossbone" (1951).
it of the year and giving a great boost to O'Connor's standing with Universal and more five more in that series, ending in 1955 with "Francis In The Navy". In between a few more fluffy musicals comedies - teaming 
with Jimmy Durante in "The Milkman" (1950) and a tepid pirate spoof, "Double Crossbone" (1951). Then came the pinnacle of his career when MGM gave his a thankless role in the now classic "Singin' In The Rain" (1952), matching every step with Gene Kelly, stealing the show with "Make 'Em Laugh" (if you see this number, you will agree that Donald was the first "breakdancer" before it wa
s a fad in the 80s). He maintained with footings in that studio with a lesser "I Love Melvin" opposite Debbie Reynolds (who co-starred in the former). Fox give him another good role as Ethel Merman's secretary in "Call Me Madam" (1953), 
singing "You're Just In Love " with the diva and dancing "It's A Lovely Day Today" with the delightful dancer, Vera-Ellen and he handled the more dramatic role in the musical flop "There's No Business Like Show Business" in 1954 (with Dan Dailey and Ethel Merman as the parents; Johnny Ray and Mitzi Gaynor his siblings and Marilyn Monroe as his love interest) although his dancing solo or with Gaynor were wonderful to watch. 
He went over to Paramount to join Bing Crosby, Mitzi Gaynor and Zizi Jenamaire in the fairly poor "Anything Goes" (1956). He was Buster Keaton in "The Buster Keaton Story" (1957). By this point, O'C
onnor had already sequed easily into television, winning an Emmy Award for his work on "Colgate Comedy Hour" in 1953. That medium, as well as Las Vegas and other club venues, were instrumental in keeping his name before the general public from then on. Since the movie musicals were fading into history, he starred in "Aladin" (1961) and supported in Glen Ford's comedy "Cry For Happy" (1961) and Bobby Darin's "That Funny Feeling" (1965).
onnor had already sequed easily into television, winning an Emmy Award for his work on "Colgate Comedy Hour" in 1953. That medium, as well as Las Vegas and other club venues, were instrumental in keeping his name before the general public from then on. Since the movie musicals were fading into history, he starred in "Aladin" (1961) and supported in Glen Ford's comedy "Cry For Happy" (1961) and Bobby Darin's "That Funny Feeling" (1965).He was given a good role as an old time entertainer in "Ragtime" (1981). In "Toys" (1992) as Robin Williams's father, he character expired early in the story and in his last movie role "Out At Sea" (1997), he was see
n dancing as a cruise ship host.
n dancing as a cruise ship host.Donald O'Connor passed away of heart failure in 2003. He is a near legend in the musical movie industry. It's a great loss to all those musical fans. He was innducted into the International Tap Dance Hall of Fame in 2004 after his death. Sometimes such awards came too late.
(Scanned autographed photo - property of author)
No comments:
Post a Comment