arts•meme arts•meme
14 September 2011

Headlining at the Rainbow Room: Jack Cole and his Dancers

ad rainbow room

Recreates the atmosphere, and quotes from a review, from Jack Cole’s nightclub days at Rockefeller Center’s Rainbow Room, 1942. [...]

30 April 2011

My favorite brother of seven, Matt Mattox

seven brides

My first night at TCM Fest featured my first viewing of Stanley Donen’s “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,” especially fun since Jacques d’Amboise was just in Los Angeles on a book talk and he spoke a lot about making the film. [...]

14 April 2011

Jack Cole dancer George Martin dies

Gladiators-500

One of Jack Cole’s faithful film and nightclub male dancers, George Martin, died in Atlanta. Martin kept the flame burning for Cole over the past decades and we are grateful. [...]

7 April 2011

Jack Cole mosaic

cole miscellaneous photos

A nine-pack of vintage Jack Cole photos for your viewing pleasure. [...]

7 January 2011

A glimpse of Jack Cole coaching Monroe

chor jack cole's asst &mm 1954 hwood

A wonderful photo showing choreographer Jack Cole Marilyn Monroe on-set for the “My Heart Belongs to Daddy” number in “Let’s Make Love.”(1960) [...]

4 January 2011

Please do not discriminate against us.

brunettes protesting

Like “Gentlemen”? Read more:

Girl power

25 December 2010

Jack Cole’s top ten list

cole-monroe

Film zany Michael Schlesinger enjoyed teasing me with a Christmas contribution to arts•meme: a top-ten list of things choreographer Jack Cole liked about Christmas. [...]

12 December 2010

Judy Garland doesn’t care, and I don’t care either!

summertimepic_lg

I love the insouciant song written for vaudevillian Eva Tanguay in 1906, “I Don’t Care.” It’s my theme song. Here Judy Garland sings it. [...]

5 December 2010

Ow! Betty Grable sizzles in Jack Cole choreography

the superb jack cole

Dance on film is in the zeitgeist. There’s been praise — little from me — for Natalie Portman’s run at ballet in BLACK SWAN. Let’s look at what Jack Cole does for Betty Grable in THREE FOR THE SHOW. [...]

25 November 2010

Jack Cole’s modern-dance roots at the Pillow

jackcole

Jack Cole’s extraordinary dance career, which ended in Los Angeles as a beloved dance instructor at UCLA, had its start as a Denishawn dancer, and soon thereafter as one of Ted Shawn’s Male Dancers, visiting in 1931, Shawn’s nascent Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. [...]