Politics? Paul Draper says it with his feet. 1
Would that certain people would zip their lip — and tell it like the great tap dancer Paul Draper does in this footage from 1948. Draper, in that year, was on the cusp of being blacklisted in the reign of terror foisted on thinkers, artists and other creatives by the House Unamerican Activities Committee. In ...
A Jack Cole audition for KISMET (1944)
The choreographer Jack Cole is most known for his Oriental dance numbers in KISMET (MGM, 1955) directed by Vincente Minnelli. But a decade prior, also at MGM, Cole choreographed KISMET (1944) starring the non-dancer, Marlene Dietrich. Dancer/ballet instructor Joan Bayley, who went on to become choreographer’s assistant to Robert Alton, auditioned for Cole as a ...
When Sally gave Marilyn (Monroe) her jazz pants 5
We all remember when Harry met Sally. But what about when Sally gave Marilyn her pair of jazz pants? This happened! A jaw-dropping moment when Sally Goldin told me, “I gave Marilyn Monroe a pair of my jazz pants.” Uh, okay, Sally. That Marilyn? You gave Marilyn Monroe your JAZZ PANTS?? “Oh, yes,” shot Sally ...
A ‘red-sock’ Valentine from Grover Dale … and Debbie Reynolds 3
A perfect post for St. Valentine’s Day is the ‘sock-in-the-jaw’ dancing Grover Dale delivers in “He’s My Friend,” choreographed by Peter Gennaro for The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964). Dale is right on the money in this wonderful number. Gus Trikonis and Debbie Reynolds also excel, Debbie more than holding her own with the two dynamos ...
Google/YouTube Red streaming channel to launch with dance 2
Ed. note: arts·meme is pleased to publish an excerpt from a story written for the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences website, emmys.com. The story concerns the premier of “Step Up: High Water” on the new YouTube Red streaming-video channel on Jan 31. ♣ ♣ ♣ ...
Anna Pavlova, Hollywood movie star
Smart stuff! The Dumb Girl of Portici (1916) was Universal’s most expensive film to date and featured an enormous cast, large-scale sets, and an ambitious story. The film had a female director, Lois Weber. But it also had what way more movies need — Wendy Whelan, Misty Copeland, Darcey Bussell, listen up! — a prima ...
The wow factor: Paul Steffen Dancers in Italy, 1964 4
Jan
7
2018
After a European tour circa 1950, Jack Cole dancer Paul Steffen — a member of Cole’s resident dance company at Columbia Pictures who performed in Cole’s Rita Hayworth pictures and more — settled in Italy for the rest of his life. There he made this work — a great youtube ‘find’ for this researcher. The ...
Boom boom boom boom! New Year’s 2017 with Fred & Barrie 2
I like the way you walk … I like the way you talk … .. and I LOVE the way you dance. Hollywood dancer Barrie Chase (who was also a stunning clothes horse) wears an impeccable pink mini-dress as she traipses the stage of The Hollywood Palace with His Majesty, Fred Astaire. The date of ...
Danielle Darrieux fondly recalled 6
Two young American actor/dancers, George Chakiris and Grover Dale, had a life changing experience when cast in director Jacques Demy’s quirky French take on the movie musical, “Les Demoiselles de Rochefort” (1967, The Young Girls of Rochefort). Amidst a stellar ensemble cast (Michel Piccoli, Jacques Perrin, Gene Kelly) was a great treasure of French cinema, ...
Hollywood harassment nothing new, says Barrie Chase 8
The brouhaha over movie producer Harvey Weinstein’s decades of inappropriate sexual aggression with actresses brought back sixty-year-old memories from Barrie Chase, one of the most superb dancers to work in film and television. Her story concerns Arthur Freed, the renowned MGM producer of an A-list of movie-musical titles, a revered high-quality player — oddly similar ...