By 1916, ballet dancer Theodore Kosloff was a vaudeville veteran 1
Nov
23
2013
From the Mariinski to the Bolshoi to the Ballets Russes … and then, across the pond, to Onion the Trick Pony … Theodore Kosloff was a trouper in American vaudeville. HIs first steps on the vaudeville stage occurred in 1910. A tour on the premier “circuit” — the ‘Keith-Orpheum’ circa 1916 — brought him to ...
George Chakiris, Sally Forrest perform “Night and Day” in 1956
Nov
20
2013
At Saturday’s “An Evening with George Chakiris,” at UCLA Film & Television Archive, we enjoyed footage of a vintage live television broadcast, “CBS ‘Ford Star Jubilee: You’re the Top, A Salute to Cole Porter'” which aired on October 6, 1956. Among other great entertainers on the 90-minute live broadcast (Louis Armstrong, Dolores Grey, Shirley Jones, ...
“An Evening with George Chakiris” passes beautifully @ UCLA Film & Television Archive
Prior to a screening of French director Jacques Demy’s auteur-masterpiece, “Les Demoiselles de Rochefort,” in which the dancer-actor-singer appears prominently, UCLA Film & Television Archive honored George Chakiris with clips from his many appearances on television variety shows and an interview that touched on both his singing and his dancing career. The full-evening event took ...
George Chakiris chats about career — in the Los Angeles Times 1
“Gracious Dance” Los Angeles Times, Nov 11, 2013 An excerpt from Susan King’s article here: “It was groundbreaking choreographer-director Jerome Robbins who gave Chakiris his first big break when he cast him as Riff, the leader of the Jets, in the London stage production of “West Side Story.” Years later, Robert Wise, who co-directed the ...
George Chakiris honored @ UCLA Film & Television Archive 1
UCLA Film & Television Archive salutes the extraordinary career of actor, singer and dancer in “An Evening with George Chakiris,” an exciting screening and discussion on Saturday, November 16, 2013. Trained in Los Angeles, Chakiris first distinguished himself as a dancer in Hollywood films, displaying an athleticism and grace that helped bring renown to West Coast ...
In last night’s “Emmys” dance number, gloved arms by Jack Cole 1
Sep
23
2013
In last night’s Emmy broadcast, dance maker Spencer Liff opened his “Number in the Middle of the Show,” with a filip right out of Jack Cole’s playbook: black opera-length gloved arms reaching through holes in a wall … a distinctive design element that Cole used repeatedly. Below, he uses it in “Tars & Spars” (1946) ...
Choreographers move “on camera” at Sunday’s Emmy award show
Sep
20
2013
In an historic first, the Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography (nominees here) has been moved to the Primetime Emmys, that is, the on-air show, widely broadcast this Sunday evening, giving the art of choreography yet another creative boost in Hollywood. In past years, the choreography Emmy has been presented during the “Creative Arts” Emmys the ...
George Chakiris, choreographer’s assistant for Judy Garland’s 1956 Vegas revue 2
An amazing zoom back in time with George Chakiris, who is not only Hollywood dance royalty but a gifted actor and recording artist. George, who celebrates his birthday today, worked with major talent over his long career in stage, film, television and nightclub. He shared memories of assisting choreographer and dance-director Robert Alton in staging ...
Rod Alexander’s “The Birth of the Blues” dance number rediscovered 3
Please, please God, don’t let the world blow up before Sunday night. Because Sunday night at 9 pm, I get to see choreographer Rod Alexander‘s brilliant dance number, “The Birth of the Blues” from THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE (20th Century-Fox 1956), at CINECON Classic Film Festival — in a new 35mm print, ...
Nicholas Brothers ballistic on silver screen 1
Joy to the world, the place to be at 4:30 this afternoon was the balcony of the Egyptian Theater, a spot that offered prime viewing, on opening day of CINECON Classic Film Festival, of DOWN ARGENTINE WAY (1940). The über-fun Betty Grable/Don Ameche technicolor south-of-the-border extravaganza from 20th Century-Fox was Grable’s first headlining role at ...