Before he reported for induction on February 6, 1944, Universal already had four O'Connor films completed. For 90 minutes, the full measure of his comic genius is on display, combining inspired innovation with an uncannily accurate reproduction of Keatons technique and mannerisms. Donald O'Connor, 78, Who Danced His Way Through Many Hollywood Musicals, Is Dead: [Obituary (Obit)] Never mind that other partners, like 19-year-old Debbie Reynolds, nearly worked their feet off. One fan had a front-row seat and later recalled, There were so many curtain calls, it was unbelievable. Pace, G K. Los Angeles Times, 9 Aug 1948: 12. That year marked the beginning of his accelerated descent into full-blown alcoholism. US Movies From 1981 I Like. He arrived on set to discover that the rushed-draft scriptfreely sacrificed factfor cliched fiction, andnobody seemed to care. Theflickerof danger behind those kindly blue eyessays it all. However, the art of song and dance had its pioneers long before Kaufman ever stepped up before a crowd. Ittook an extra specialty dancer to helpcover all the numbers. (May 25, 1997). O'Connor is the guy who ran straight up three walls, flipping backward to earth each time, in Singin' in the Rain, and no matter how often you see the movie, the stunt still appears fresh, magical and completely surprising. He continued to perform live.[38]. His entire first episode from 1952 is happily available on Youtube. He was Cap'n Andy in a short-lived Broadway revival of Show Boat (1983) and continued to tour in various shows and acts. He was billed fifth in Sing You Sinners (1938) playing Bing Crosby's and MacMurray's younger brother.[10]. ", "AFI List of Top 100 Songs From U.S. The fact that Reynolds could keep pace with her co-stars at all is remarkable. He became one of the rotating hosts of The Colgate Comedy Hour and starred in three different incarnations of The Donald O'Connor Show for NBC in 1951 and 1954-55, for which he was nominated for an Emmy (1952) and received the Emmy Award for Outstanding Personality (1953). Movie bred, he has the versatility of a Jimmy Durante and the effervescence of youth. But OConnor recalled that Williams was very sweet and sent him a small leather-bound copy of the script, with a note sayinghow much he enjoyed having Donald play his father. When MGM released its compilationThats Entertainment, this was the one that could still makelistless audiences break into spontaneous applause in the theaters. And when I learned that Fred Astaire had once danced up the walls and across the ceiling it dazzled me once again. "[5], In 1949, O'Connor played the lead role in Francis, the story of a soldier befriended by a talking mule. He also briefly crossed paths with Robin Williams in 1992, when Williams invited Donald to play his father in the off-beat experiment Toys. So I loved musicals. It is dead the way we used to make em. He spoke without resentment. Born into a vaudeville family, O'Connor was the youthful figure cutting a rug in several Universal musicals of the 1940s. a rug in several Universal musicals of the 1940s. [7] She was a typical stage mother, often striking him. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. OConnor still recalled these stunts with pride decades later, even calling up a good friend late one night to offer running phone commentary for a TV showing. Country Living editors select each product featured. [37], O'Connor continued to make film and television appearances into the 1990s, including the Robin Williams film Toys (1992) as the president of a toy-making company. Noble died in 2013. By the end, Reynolds' feet were bleeding and she could barely move. A real entertainer would rather give than receive. Everybody loved the clown, but nobody knew who the real Donald OConnor wasnot even himself. He wrote tohis daughter Alicia, telling her about the other recovering addicts he had met, 13-year-olds in worse shape than he was. His best-known musical work is probably Singin in the Rain 1952 in which he did an impressive dance that culminated in a series of backflips off the wall. The sequencefeaturesO'Connor as the prime subject with very few auxiliary performers contributing to the spectacle. O'Connor's performance for "Make 'Em Laugh" is noted for its extreme physical difficulty, featuring dozens of jumps, pratfalls, and two backflips. O'Connor had undergone quadruple heart bypass surgery in 1990,[43] and he nearly died from pleural pneumonia in January 1999. Night Work (1939) Approved | 60 min | Comedy, Drama 6.8 Rate And culminated with a challenge dance with O'Connor and the Nicholas Brothers (Fayard and Harold) trading and one-upping on tap steps. [18] He maintained he was forced to go to the hospital during the film's production due to injuries and exhaustion. [13], "I wasn't really a dancer, a good dancer, until I got older," he said later. The Washington Post 14 Mar 1993: AA16. According to IMDb, O'Connor was bedridden for three days after one particular sequence in "Singin' in the Rain" (1952) knocked him off his dancing shoes. ", In a 2012 interview with Newsday, Kelly's widow, Patricia Ward Kelly, said her husband designed routines to suit his partners, whether they were professional dancers or not. O'Connor's postwar musicals include Are You With It? But co-star Mitzi Gaynor recalls that instead, The two Irishmen went off and had a beer. (Ironically, Gwen would later divorce Dailey as well, citing among other cruelties that he snubbed her friends.). They toured the country doing singing, dancing, comedy, and acting. He chose to keep much of his philanthropy work private. Maybe he spoke too soon, despite his apparent readiness and enthusiasm to pull off the bit (via IMDb). I did triple wings and everything. Video unavailable Watch on YouTube Watch on The "Broadway Melody Ballet" from Singin' in the Rain (1952). Dancing in the Rain: The Donald O'Connor Story (Part I of III), Dancing In the Rain: The Donald OConnor Story (Part II of III). He came to fame in a series of films in which he co-starred with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talking Mule . Gene Kelly Fred Astaire and Donald OConnor. This content is imported from youTube. You gotta SMILE! I didn't have a short cut like the other dancers do. He somehow managed to pull it off, though not without a degree of minor consequence (per IMDb). Adding insult to injury, Donald had to play the son of her new lover in the garish monstrosityTheres No Business Like Show Business. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Classic FM Requests The following year he was in I Ought to Be in Pictures in Los Angeles.[35]. Nevertheless, Donald O'Connor'ssacrifice for "Make 'Em Laugh" turned out to be warranted. Donald O'Connor Keeps Studio City Theater in the Family-Literally: [Valley Edition] Gene took me tightly in his arms . He created the Donald O'Connor Alcoholism Counseling Scholarship. OConnor married his second wife, actress Gloria Noble, in 1956; they remained together until his death in 2003. Mark Steyn has described it as the essence of entertainment, adding Its only purpose is to delight. Art Carney is about my age and he's making a career out of being old. Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world. A young boy who aspires to become asinger has followedhis father into a bar to try to talk to him. "The scene was building to such a crescendo, I thought I'd actually have to kill myself," said O'Connor. Hes disciplined. Kelly particularly liked the "gurning" (making faces) O'Connor could do. Donald David Dixon Ronald O'Connor (August 28, 1925 September 27, 2003) was an American dancer, singer and actor. Some of it includes work for the United States Army and Red Cross. Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital, Irving Berlin's There's No Business Like Show Business, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, "Donald O'Connor, 78, Who Danced His Way Through Many Hollywood Musicals, Is Dead", "Donald O'Connor interview - Mindy Aloff", "Donald O'Connor, 78; Entertainer Immortalized by 'Singin' in the Rain', Mindy Alloff's 1979 interview with O'Connor, Donald O'Connor on "The Colgate Comedy Hour" (1951-54), Donald O'Connor on "Texaco Star Theater" (1954-55), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Donald_O%27Connor&oldid=1138222779, Won - 1954 Primetime Emmy Award for Best Male Star of Regular Series (for, Earned - 1960, Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in television, Nominated - 1960 Primetime Emmy award for Best Specialty Act - Single or Group, Nominated - 1980 Primetime Emmy award for Outstanding Individual Achievement - Special Events (52nd Annual Academy Awards (1980)), This page was last edited on 8 February 2023, at 16:33. Itkept building and building to such a crescendo that At the end, I thought Id actually have to kill myself. He completed the routine in a single day and came back after a three-day rest to a standing ovation from the cast and crew. Donald O'Connor, whose "Make 'em Laugh" number in "Singin' in the Rain" (1952) was a show-stopper that delighted and astonished generations of audiences, died at 78 on Saturday. I didnt escape it. At age 47, he got his first warningin 1972, suffering a heart attack while entertaining troops in Vietnam. [citation needed], DONALD O'CONNOR During World War II, on his 18th birthday in August 1943, O'Connor was drafted into the United States Army. 12pm - 2pm, Symphony No.9 in E minor Opus 95 (2) In the Twentieth Century-Fox film, Call Me Madam (1953), O'Connor dances a lyrical duet (one of his all time favorites) with Vera Ellen; and in There's No Business Like Show Business (1954), there is the infamous scene in which he kisses costar Marilyn Monroe. In 1971, after suffering a heart attack, O'Connor devoted considerably energy to composing music for the concert hall. Characters were ordinary people expressing their feelings, not entertainers putting on a show. Why didnt you tell me?, Yet for all his abrasiveness, Gene recognizeda professional when he saw one: Nobody else in the business could have taken the beating I gave Donald OConnor in Singin In the Rain Donald comes from vaudeville. The item was OConnors personal Bible. When they brought him into the rehab hospital, Donald OConnor was paralyzed from the waist down. When you grow up in a circus family, the more things you learn, the more you get paid. O'Connor third billed in both Boy Trouble (1939) and Unmarried (1939), playing John Hartley as a young boy in the latter. Because of a camera flaw where the aperture wasn't properly prepared and the device's lens was covered in fog at one point, Donald O'Connor was made to perform "Make 'Em Laugh" again a day after his first flawless execution of it. One of OConnors most memorable moments tap dancing on television is The Bell Telephone Hours Song and Dance Man Broadcast on NBC-TV January 16 1966 this mini-musical history of tap dance in America opened with OConnor as host dancing an Irish jig Scottish reel Spanish zapateada and German spatlasse followed by a softshoe dance and. musical work is probably. Sept. 28, 2003 12 AM PT. (Candid footage of the reception shows OConnor surreptitiously piling an extra slice of cake on the boys plate.) [29], He did episodes of Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, Vacation Playhouse, ABC Stage 67 and The Jackie Gleason Show. Keaton himself chose not to complain out loud and bought a nice retirement spot with the studios $50,000 rights check. But Donald contracted a rare fever from Francis the mule just as production began, and he was still too weak to take the job even after they had postponed the shoot for months. Both the O'Connors struggled to remember where and when exactly Donald was born, due to the family's extensive travel. I hope so. Like Robin Williams leaving a standing audience to tellDick Cavett off-stage, I wish I could make myself feelthat good,OConnor longed for a fraction of the joy he gave away so freely. MOULIN ROUGE DATE: Donald O'Connor Joins Rush to L.A. Most entertaining and most revolutionary moments from their movie musicals. One of his finest TV moments was a guest appearance on the Bell Telephone Hour in which he demonstrated thehistoryoftap dancing, by then itselfa fading art: Ever the gentleman on stage,he was prompt to deflect applause away from himself, commenting at the end of one live number, You know, Ive never learned howto dance without getting out of breath, isnt that ridiculous? Everything about me is based on show business. He is remembered for his athletic dancing style and mischievous charm. "Make 'Em Laugh," O . If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. With a backlog of seven features, deferred openings kept O'Connor's screen presence uninterrupted during the two years he was overseas with Special Services in the U.S. Army Air Forces. Danny Kayesplum sidekick role wasoriginallyconceived for and pitched to him. Severo, Richard. O'Connor was still making public appearances well into 2003. His succinct answer:No. Hisown variety show was canceled, and two other attempts to launch a TV series died on the shelves. O'Connor was a regular host of NBC's Colgate Comedy Hour. I hope you can forgive me.Where did the power come from? The Life Story of DONALD O'CONNOR. Donald O'Connor, an American actor, dancer, and singer, was born on August 28, 1925 in Chicago, Illinois. And yeah, I think I wear well. Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world. I loved vaudeville. O'Connor went back to Universal for Francis Goes to West Point (1952) then returned to MGM for I Love Melvin (1953) a musical with Debbie Reynolds. Yeah, he was miserable. [41][42] During the turbulent nine-year marriage, Carter physically abused O'Connor in frustration over her lack of an acting career. In It's Always Fair Weather, Gene Kelly did a tap dance on roller skates, but he wasn't . He died in Los Angeles at the age . He spoke without resentment. He did Francis Joins the WACS (1954) then played Tim Donahue in the 20th Century Fox all-star musical There's No Business Like Show Business (1954), which featured Irving Berlin's music and also starred with Ethel Merman, Marilyn Monroe (O'Connor's on screen love interest), Dan Dailey, Mitzi Gaynor and Johnnie Ray. [2][3] His father's family was from Ireland. Hopper, Hedda. a list of 43 titles. Disillusionment came swiftly. Donald O'Connor Divorced. You could do that with any kid, only I got paid for it.. The New York Times 29 Sep 2003: B.6. O'Connor and Ryan were in Top Man (1943), with Susanna Foster, and Chip Off the Old Block (1944), with Ann Blyth. O'Connor appeared in the short-lived Bring Back Birdie on Broadway in 1981. Chicago Tribune 20 Dec 1985: n_a50. Az legismertebb szerepe Cosmo Brown az nek az esben zens filmben Gene Kellyvel s Debbie Reynoldsszal . Brady, James. He also turned in an impressive bit of serious acting on the cop showPolice Story. (1948) with Olga San Juan, Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin' (1949) with Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride, and Yes Sir, That's My Baby (1949) with Gloria DeHaven. Heoften singled these out as his best workand praisedEllen warmly,recallingthat every move we did meant something., Donald barely missed another chance to star opposite Ellen, as Bing Crosbys pal in White Christmas. Also asked in what movie does Fred Astaire dance on the ceiling. 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