Ha! I almost spit water on my computer at that. I do love Ned. He's so much fun to watch.jdb1 wrote:Hey, mongo, I just got a brilliant inspiration for a bit of fantasy casting:
Ned Sparks and Robert Dudley (a/k/a "The Wienie King" in Palm Beach Story.) Imagine listening to their verbal exchanges for 90 minutes or so!
In The Spotlight Redux
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In the Spotlight: CATHY O'DONNELL
Lovely Irish actress born Ann Steely on July 6, 1923 in Siluria, Alabama.
Her parents separated when she was a child, and
she eventually attended high school and college in Oklahoma City, after which she then worked as a stenographer to finance a trip to Hollywood.
After some stage work, luck soon favored her with a contract under Samuel Goldwyn. Recognizing her talent and appeal through a thick Southern accent, Goldwyn arranged rigorous voice and theatrical training at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
O'Donnell as Wilma with Harold Russell as Homer in
"The Best Years of Our Lives"
He then cast her in "The Best Years of Our Lives" as Wilma, a high school sweetheart of double amputee Homer Parrish (1946).
Cathy O'Donnell with Farley Granger in "They Live By Night."
This film's success boded well for Cathy's career, and was loaned out to RKO for one of her most memorable films, the Nicholas Ray movie "They Live by Night" (1947) with Farley Granger. Granger and O'Donnell reteamed for the Anthony Mann-directed 1950 movie, "Side Street".
In 1947, she accepted the Oscar for "Best Actor in a Leading Role" on behalf of Fredric March for "The Best Years of Our Lives", who was not present at the awards ceremony.
However, her rise in films was halted when, at age 23, she married 48-year-old Robert Wyler, older brother of director William Wyler, with whom Goldwyn was feuding. The irate Goldwyn abruptly canceled her contract; thereafter she had no lasting association with any studio or producer.
Her most memorable roles of the 1950s were in classic film-noir such as William Wyler's "Detective Story" (1951), which typifies her sincere, believable performances as a sweet girl-next-door whose radiant inner beauty shone through an exterior not quite fitting the Hollywood glamor mold.
Her close to 20 films included, "Bury Me Dead", "The Amazing Mr. X", "The Miniver Story", "A Woman's Angle", "Never Trust a Gambler" with Dane Clark, "Loves of Three Queens" with Hedy Lamarr, "The Man from Laramie" with James Stewart, "The Deerslayer" with Lex Barker, etc.
Cathy O'Donnell with Arthur Kennedy and James Stewart in "The Man From Laramie" (1955).
Her last film was in Wyler's "Ben-Hur" (1959) as Charlton Heston's younger sister Tirzah, and she worked on TV into the 1960s, ending her career with "Bonanza".
Her chief leisure pursuit was writing poetry.
Belying Goldwyn's opinion, her marriage to Robert Wyler proved happy though childless. Her death on their 22nd wedding anniversary in 1970 followed a long struggle with cancer. She was only 46.
Of Cathy's films (all in starring or featured roles), 7 are film-noir or quasi-film-noir, making her a major contributor to the genre.
Lovely Irish actress born Ann Steely on July 6, 1923 in Siluria, Alabama.
Her parents separated when she was a child, and
she eventually attended high school and college in Oklahoma City, after which she then worked as a stenographer to finance a trip to Hollywood.
After some stage work, luck soon favored her with a contract under Samuel Goldwyn. Recognizing her talent and appeal through a thick Southern accent, Goldwyn arranged rigorous voice and theatrical training at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
O'Donnell as Wilma with Harold Russell as Homer in
"The Best Years of Our Lives"
He then cast her in "The Best Years of Our Lives" as Wilma, a high school sweetheart of double amputee Homer Parrish (1946).
Cathy O'Donnell with Farley Granger in "They Live By Night."
This film's success boded well for Cathy's career, and was loaned out to RKO for one of her most memorable films, the Nicholas Ray movie "They Live by Night" (1947) with Farley Granger. Granger and O'Donnell reteamed for the Anthony Mann-directed 1950 movie, "Side Street".
In 1947, she accepted the Oscar for "Best Actor in a Leading Role" on behalf of Fredric March for "The Best Years of Our Lives", who was not present at the awards ceremony.
However, her rise in films was halted when, at age 23, she married 48-year-old Robert Wyler, older brother of director William Wyler, with whom Goldwyn was feuding. The irate Goldwyn abruptly canceled her contract; thereafter she had no lasting association with any studio or producer.
Her most memorable roles of the 1950s were in classic film-noir such as William Wyler's "Detective Story" (1951), which typifies her sincere, believable performances as a sweet girl-next-door whose radiant inner beauty shone through an exterior not quite fitting the Hollywood glamor mold.
Her close to 20 films included, "Bury Me Dead", "The Amazing Mr. X", "The Miniver Story", "A Woman's Angle", "Never Trust a Gambler" with Dane Clark, "Loves of Three Queens" with Hedy Lamarr, "The Man from Laramie" with James Stewart, "The Deerslayer" with Lex Barker, etc.
Cathy O'Donnell with Arthur Kennedy and James Stewart in "The Man From Laramie" (1955).
Her last film was in Wyler's "Ben-Hur" (1959) as Charlton Heston's younger sister Tirzah, and she worked on TV into the 1960s, ending her career with "Bonanza".
Her chief leisure pursuit was writing poetry.
Belying Goldwyn's opinion, her marriage to Robert Wyler proved happy though childless. Her death on their 22nd wedding anniversary in 1970 followed a long struggle with cancer. She was only 46.
Of Cathy's films (all in starring or featured roles), 7 are film-noir or quasi-film-noir, making her a major contributor to the genre.
Joseph Goodheart
Cathy O'Donnell came to my attention for the first time as Tirzah in Ben Hur. Odd that was her last movie, I wondered where she disappeared to after it's release. Her quiet demeanor, and non-Hollywood type looks were tricky in leading you to believe she was younger than she actually was. I would never take her for nearly 36 in Ben Hur, so when I saw her in The Best Years . . . Lives, at first I didn't believe it was her. Her role in The Man From Laramie was so undemanding, you barely realized she was there, and although I've seen The Miniver Story a couple of time, I can't recall her in it. This all sounds like I'm dismissing her, but I'm not really. When you see her and watch her on screen, she is the perfect example of the 'perfect lady'. She could never play anything but that.
She is definitely extremely non-Hollywood, and that is a big part of why I liked her. I like the brash Ann Sotherns, Joan Blondells, MM's, etc. but it's kind of relaxing to rest your eyes on a demure Cathy O'Donell occasionally. It's a shame she died so young though.
Anne
She is definitely extremely non-Hollywood, and that is a big part of why I liked her. I like the brash Ann Sotherns, Joan Blondells, MM's, etc. but it's kind of relaxing to rest your eyes on a demure Cathy O'Donell occasionally. It's a shame she died so young though.
Anne
Anne
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In the Spotlight: BRUCE CABOT
The virile actor was born Etienne Pelissier Jacques de Bujac on April 20, 1904 in Carlsbad, New Mexico to French Colonel Etienne de Bujac and Julia Armandine Graves, who died shortly after giving birth to him.
After leaving the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, the future thespian hit the road, working a wide variety of jobs, including sailor and insurance salesman, and doing a stint in a knacker's yard. In 1931, he wound up in Hollywood and appeared in several films in bit parts, and during the course of his career appeared in almost one hundred features, including many with pal John Wayne.
The young Monsieur de Bujac met David O. Selznick, then RKO's central producer at a Hollywood party, which led to an uncredited bit part as a dancer in "Lady with a Past" (1932) and a supporting role in "The Roadhouse Murder" (1932).
Although Cabot was prominently featured in the blockbuster "King Kong" as Jack Driscoll in 1933, he never did make the step to stardom, though he enjoyed a thriving career as a supporting player.
Bruce Cabot and Fay Wray on the way to Skull Island in "King Kong."
Robert Armstrong with Fay Wray and Cabot in "King Kong"
With Fay, looking appropriately lovestruck (above) and fearful (below).
He was a heavy in the '30s, playing a gangster boss in "Let 'em Have It" (1936) and the revenge-minded Native American brave Magua after 'Randolph Scott''s scalp in "The Last of the Mohicans" (1936); over at MGM, he ably supported Spencer Tracy as the instigator of a lynch mob in Fritz Lang's indictment of domestic fascism, "Fury" (1936).
Bruce Cabot as Magua in "The Last of the Mohicans" (1936).
One of Cabot's most effective performances was in Fritz Lang's "Fury" (1936) with Spencer Tracy and Sylvia Sidney.
Cabot as Blackjack in "The Bad Man of Brimstone" (1937).
Cabot was a co-star with Flynn and De Havilland in "Dodge City" (1939).
Bruce Cabot (in background) in "Susan and God" (1941) with Joan Crawford.
Romancing Marlene Dietrich in "The Flame of New Orleans" (1941).
Mr. Cabot in "Abbot and Costello in Alaska" (1952)
He met John Wayne on the set of "Angel and the Badman" (1947) and the two hit it off and became drinking buddies and later in his career Cabot became first choice for supporting roles in John Wayne movies.
Films in which they appeared together include "The Comancheros" (1961), "Hatari!" (1962), "McLintock!" (1963), "In Harm's Way" (1965), "The War Wagon" (1967), "The Green Berets" (1968), "Hellfighters" (1968), "The Undefeated" (1969), "Chisum" (1970), and "Big Jake" (1971).
he appeared in movies at various studios before leaving Hollywood for military service. Cabot worked for Army intelligence overseas during World War II; after the war, he continued to work steadily, with and without his friend and frequent co-star, the Duke.
Cabot was also pals wih Errol Flynn until they had a fallen out over a movie deal ("The Story of William Tell") that fell through. Contributing to Flynn's dismay were the retaliatory legal actions taken by his long-time friend, Cabot, who seized his cars, clothes, and other personal possessions.
Cabot's final film appearance was in the James Bond film "Diamonds Are Forever" (1971).
He was married twice, to the actresses Adrienne Ames and Francesca De Scaffa. He died May 3, 1972 in Woodland Hills, California from lung and throat cancer (a double whammy for drinkers and smokers). He was 68.
Bruce Cabot's grave bears his family name of Bujac.
He is Interred at Carlsbad Cemetery, Carlsbad, New Mexico.
The 2005 remake of "King Kong" includes a dedication to Fay Wray and Robert Armstrong in the 1933 original, but not to Cabot.
The virile actor was born Etienne Pelissier Jacques de Bujac on April 20, 1904 in Carlsbad, New Mexico to French Colonel Etienne de Bujac and Julia Armandine Graves, who died shortly after giving birth to him.
After leaving the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, the future thespian hit the road, working a wide variety of jobs, including sailor and insurance salesman, and doing a stint in a knacker's yard. In 1931, he wound up in Hollywood and appeared in several films in bit parts, and during the course of his career appeared in almost one hundred features, including many with pal John Wayne.
The young Monsieur de Bujac met David O. Selznick, then RKO's central producer at a Hollywood party, which led to an uncredited bit part as a dancer in "Lady with a Past" (1932) and a supporting role in "The Roadhouse Murder" (1932).
Although Cabot was prominently featured in the blockbuster "King Kong" as Jack Driscoll in 1933, he never did make the step to stardom, though he enjoyed a thriving career as a supporting player.
Bruce Cabot and Fay Wray on the way to Skull Island in "King Kong."
Robert Armstrong with Fay Wray and Cabot in "King Kong"
With Fay, looking appropriately lovestruck (above) and fearful (below).
He was a heavy in the '30s, playing a gangster boss in "Let 'em Have It" (1936) and the revenge-minded Native American brave Magua after 'Randolph Scott''s scalp in "The Last of the Mohicans" (1936); over at MGM, he ably supported Spencer Tracy as the instigator of a lynch mob in Fritz Lang's indictment of domestic fascism, "Fury" (1936).
Bruce Cabot as Magua in "The Last of the Mohicans" (1936).
One of Cabot's most effective performances was in Fritz Lang's "Fury" (1936) with Spencer Tracy and Sylvia Sidney.
Cabot as Blackjack in "The Bad Man of Brimstone" (1937).
Cabot was a co-star with Flynn and De Havilland in "Dodge City" (1939).
Bruce Cabot (in background) in "Susan and God" (1941) with Joan Crawford.
Romancing Marlene Dietrich in "The Flame of New Orleans" (1941).
Mr. Cabot in "Abbot and Costello in Alaska" (1952)
He met John Wayne on the set of "Angel and the Badman" (1947) and the two hit it off and became drinking buddies and later in his career Cabot became first choice for supporting roles in John Wayne movies.
Films in which they appeared together include "The Comancheros" (1961), "Hatari!" (1962), "McLintock!" (1963), "In Harm's Way" (1965), "The War Wagon" (1967), "The Green Berets" (1968), "Hellfighters" (1968), "The Undefeated" (1969), "Chisum" (1970), and "Big Jake" (1971).
he appeared in movies at various studios before leaving Hollywood for military service. Cabot worked for Army intelligence overseas during World War II; after the war, he continued to work steadily, with and without his friend and frequent co-star, the Duke.
Cabot was also pals wih Errol Flynn until they had a fallen out over a movie deal ("The Story of William Tell") that fell through. Contributing to Flynn's dismay were the retaliatory legal actions taken by his long-time friend, Cabot, who seized his cars, clothes, and other personal possessions.
Cabot's final film appearance was in the James Bond film "Diamonds Are Forever" (1971).
He was married twice, to the actresses Adrienne Ames and Francesca De Scaffa. He died May 3, 1972 in Woodland Hills, California from lung and throat cancer (a double whammy for drinkers and smokers). He was 68.
Bruce Cabot's grave bears his family name of Bujac.
He is Interred at Carlsbad Cemetery, Carlsbad, New Mexico.
The 2005 remake of "King Kong" includes a dedication to Fay Wray and Robert Armstrong in the 1933 original, but not to Cabot.
Joseph Goodheart
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moira finnie
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Hi Mongo,
I enjoy your profiles enormously, and I'm glad to see Bruce Cabot featured here.
I find him interesting because he seems to have had a duality in his film roles during his most interesting period of work in the 1930s. In a string of films that reflected the economic rock and the hard place that most moviegoers, (and Cabot's characters), often found themselves trapped by, he created some portrayals of guys who were sympathetically depicted while involved in some suspect, and even immoral activities. Aside from his well-known parts in King Kong, Fury and The Last of the Mohicans during the '30s, I like his more obscure, darkly shaded roles in Ann Vickers (1933) and in programmers such as Shadows of Sing Sing (1933) and Bad Guy (1937) from this period.
Cabot looked so perfect, he was most interesting when he was cast in ambiguous parts which exploited that smooth surface while allowing a certain duplicity in his screen persona--found in that brusquely overeager, almost angry streak in his manner. While some of his '40s work was interesting, such as Dark Angel (1945), most of his later career never seemed to have quite the same zing as some of these earlier roles, but if longevity=success, I guess he was one.
I do have one question for you and hope that you might have an answer.
I've read that Cabot was rather conservative, which is not surprising, given his family background and the fact that he hung out with John Wayne and the more reactionary members of his entourage for forty years. As did many conservatives of that period in Hollywood, he participated in the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals (MPA), but allegedly felt so strongly about matters that he was also active in some capacity in other, more obscure groups. Cabot's ultra-conservatism is supposed to have led him down paths that were much too right wing for Mr. Wayne's taste, including active participation in the John Birch Society (which, of course, was his right as a citizen). There have been some tales of Mr. Cabot conducting rumored para-military activities on his remote property in the West. I don't mean to disparage the dead, but could you please clear this up: Was Bruce Cabot as right-wing as rumored?
Thanks in advance for any insight on this. Please excuse me if my query has offended any readers. I'd just like to know if these allusions that I've run across have any basis in fact. Personally, at this late date, I find the activities of John Birchers and Communists equally as quaint as the Luddites and Wat Tyler's activities in centuries' past, though I'm aware that "what's past is prologue." And, I admit it, I'm just intrigued by the thought that someone could be that politically committed while simultaneously pursuing a career as a second string actor.
I enjoy your profiles enormously, and I'm glad to see Bruce Cabot featured here.
I find him interesting because he seems to have had a duality in his film roles during his most interesting period of work in the 1930s. In a string of films that reflected the economic rock and the hard place that most moviegoers, (and Cabot's characters), often found themselves trapped by, he created some portrayals of guys who were sympathetically depicted while involved in some suspect, and even immoral activities. Aside from his well-known parts in King Kong, Fury and The Last of the Mohicans during the '30s, I like his more obscure, darkly shaded roles in Ann Vickers (1933) and in programmers such as Shadows of Sing Sing (1933) and Bad Guy (1937) from this period.
Cabot looked so perfect, he was most interesting when he was cast in ambiguous parts which exploited that smooth surface while allowing a certain duplicity in his screen persona--found in that brusquely overeager, almost angry streak in his manner. While some of his '40s work was interesting, such as Dark Angel (1945), most of his later career never seemed to have quite the same zing as some of these earlier roles, but if longevity=success, I guess he was one.
I do have one question for you and hope that you might have an answer.
I've read that Cabot was rather conservative, which is not surprising, given his family background and the fact that he hung out with John Wayne and the more reactionary members of his entourage for forty years. As did many conservatives of that period in Hollywood, he participated in the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals (MPA), but allegedly felt so strongly about matters that he was also active in some capacity in other, more obscure groups. Cabot's ultra-conservatism is supposed to have led him down paths that were much too right wing for Mr. Wayne's taste, including active participation in the John Birch Society (which, of course, was his right as a citizen). There have been some tales of Mr. Cabot conducting rumored para-military activities on his remote property in the West. I don't mean to disparage the dead, but could you please clear this up: Was Bruce Cabot as right-wing as rumored?
Thanks in advance for any insight on this. Please excuse me if my query has offended any readers. I'd just like to know if these allusions that I've run across have any basis in fact. Personally, at this late date, I find the activities of John Birchers and Communists equally as quaint as the Luddites and Wat Tyler's activities in centuries' past, though I'm aware that "what's past is prologue." And, I admit it, I'm just intrigued by the thought that someone could be that politically committed while simultaneously pursuing a career as a second string actor.
Moira, I'm glad to hear that you appreciate and enjoy the 'In the Spotlight' thread.
I've heard tid-bits about Bruce Cabot's politics throughout the years, and that he could go to extremes. He did appear to be to the extreme right.
Unfortunately, I couldn't locate any data or specifics to back up some of the facts, although there was plenty about his drinking and womanizing. There is no indication that he had any children.
I'll continue to do research on this interesting and fun character.
I've heard tid-bits about Bruce Cabot's politics throughout the years, and that he could go to extremes. He did appear to be to the extreme right.
Unfortunately, I couldn't locate any data or specifics to back up some of the facts, although there was plenty about his drinking and womanizing. There is no indication that he had any children.
I'll continue to do research on this interesting and fun character.
Joseph Goodheart
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moira finnie
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Thanks for the reply about Cabot's politics, Mongo. I think we came across the same rumors about this aspect of his life. Truthfully, the arch-conservatism, along with his womanizing and boozing, doesn't bother me much. The only tale of his life and times that really put me off was the one about his suing his friend Errol Flynn after Flynn's attempt to finance a film about William Tell fell through--not entirely through Flynn's own doing, from what you've said here and from what I've read in cinematographer-director Jack Cardiff's autobiography, "Magic Hour."
When he was putting "William Tell" together, it seems that Flynn had learned that his old buddy Bruce Cabot had fallen on hard times professionally and brought him over to Europe to be in this possibly fine adventure tale. Cabot wound up taking his old buddy Errol's cufflinks, cars and paintings 'cause the guy couldn't pay his salary. Cheez, sympathy, gratitude and loyalty don't pay the bar tab or the cost of plane tickets home, I guess!
When he was putting "William Tell" together, it seems that Flynn had learned that his old buddy Bruce Cabot had fallen on hard times professionally and brought him over to Europe to be in this possibly fine adventure tale. Cabot wound up taking his old buddy Errol's cufflinks, cars and paintings 'cause the guy couldn't pay his salary. Cheez, sympathy, gratitude and loyalty don't pay the bar tab or the cost of plane tickets home, I guess!
In the Spotlight: RUBY KEELER
Ruby Keeler was born on August 25, 1909 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada of Irish Catholic extraction. She was the sister of minor actresses, Helen and Gertrude Keeler.
Her father was a truck driver (iceman), and when she was three years old, her family packed up and moved to New York City where he knew he could get better pay. But it was not enough: there were six children, and although Keeler was interested in taking dance lessons, the family could not afford to send her.
Keeler attended St. Catherine of Siena parochial school on New York's East Side, and one period each week a dance teacher would come and teach all styles of dance. The teacher saw potential in Keeler and spoke to her mother about Ruby taking lessons at her studio. Although her mother declined, apologizing for the lack of money, the teacher wanted to work with her so badly that she asked her mother if she would bring her to a class lesson on Saturdays, and she agreed.
During the classes, a girl she danced with told her about auditions for chorus girls. The law said you had to be 16 years old, and although they were only 13, they decided to lie about their ages at the audition.
It was a tap audition, and there were a lot of other talented girls there. When it was Ruby's turn to dance, she asked the dance director, if she could dance on the wooden part of the stage so that her taps could be heard. She got a job in George M. Cohan's "The Rise of Rosie O'Reilly" (1923), in which her salary helped her family out.
She was only 14 when she started working at Texas Guinan's El Fay nightclub, a speakeasy frequented by gangsters.
She was noticed by Broadway producer Charles B. Dillingham, who gave her a role in "Bye Bye Bonnie", which ran for six months. She then appeared in "Lucky" and "The Sidewalks of New York", also produced by Dillingham.
In the latter show, she was seen by Flo Ziegfeld, who sent her a bunch of roses and a note, "May I make you a star?". She would appear in Ziegfield's "Whoopee!" in 1928.
She met Al Jolson in Los Angeles (not at Texas Guinan's as he would claim), where she had been sent by Loew's theaters to assist in the publicity campaign for "The Jazz Singer".
Ruby Keeler and Al Jolson on their honeymoon in 1928.
Their meeting was brief, but Jolson was smitten. Back in New York, he immediately proposed, but was rebuked. However, after a brief courtship Keeler relented and agreed to marry Jolson. The couple were married in Pittsburgh on September 21, 1928 while she toured with "Whoopee!"; she was 19 and he was 42. According to her mother, Al Jolson gave Ruby a dowry of $1 million when they were married
The marriage (during which they adopted a son) was a rocky one. They moved to California, which took her away from the limelight.
In 1933, producer Darryl F. Zanuck cast Keeler in the Warner Bros. musical "42nd Street" ("Sawyer you're going out a youngster, but you've got to come back a star"), appearing opposite Dick Powell and Bebe Daniels. The film was a huge success due to Busby Berkeley's lavish and innovative choreography.
Ruby in Warner Baxter's arms & Bebe Daniels in Dick Powell's arms in "42nd Street"(1933).
As a result of her performance in "42nd Street", Jack L. Warner gave Keeler a long-term contract and cast her in such hits as "Gold Diggers of 1933" and "Dames" (1934).
Ruby with Dick Powell in "Gold Diggers of 1933."
Ruby's other films included, "Footlight Parade", "Flirtation Walk", "Go Into Your Dance" with Al Jolson, "Shipmates Forever", "Colleen", "Ready, Willing and Able", "Calling All Girls" performing "Shanghai Lil", etc. She co-starred numerous times with crooner Dick Powell.
Ruby Keeler in her prime.
After a difficult marriage, Keeler and Jolson were divorced in 1940.
Keeler remarried in 1941 to John Homer Lowe. Not anxious to be a movie star, and happy in her second marriage, Keeler left show business in 1941. She went on to raise five children.
Lowe died of cancer in 1969.
Although she had been married to Al Jolson she forbade the use of her name in the film of Jolson's life, "The Jolson Story" (1946). Portrayed in that film by Evelyn Keyes, Keeler is referred to as "Julie Benson."
In 1971, she came out of retirement to star in the hugely successful Broadway revival of "No, No, Nanette", along with fellow Irish-Americans Helen Gallagher and Patsy Kelly. The production was directed by Keeler's "42nd Street" director, Busby Berkeley.
The astounding popularity of the play caused a renaissance of sorts of all things 20s and early 30s- art deco, tap dancing and Depression Era songs. Keeler, once again, was sought out for interviews; one pre-condition, however, was that she would not talk about Jolson.
Ruby Keeler was among the first tap dancing stars in motion pictures. Her style was an Irish Step. Both the shoes and the style are different from regular tap dance. In Keeler's time, instead of metal taps, the soles were wooden and hard. Buck dancers stayed in relatively the same place on stage, and their concern was the rhythm coming from their feet, rather than how they looked on stage. They stayed on the balls of their feet most of time, which meant that their torsos moved very little, and the movements were isolated to below the waist. Because of this style of movement, the early Buck dancers often appeared less graceful in comparison with later tap dancers.
Ruby Keeler died of cancer in Rancho Mirage, California, on February 28, 1993 at age 83. She was interred in the Holy Sepulcher Cemetery in Orange, California.
The Irish sweetheart of Depression-era musicals has a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Hollywood Blvd.
Ruby Keeler was born on August 25, 1909 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada of Irish Catholic extraction. She was the sister of minor actresses, Helen and Gertrude Keeler.
Her father was a truck driver (iceman), and when she was three years old, her family packed up and moved to New York City where he knew he could get better pay. But it was not enough: there were six children, and although Keeler was interested in taking dance lessons, the family could not afford to send her.
Keeler attended St. Catherine of Siena parochial school on New York's East Side, and one period each week a dance teacher would come and teach all styles of dance. The teacher saw potential in Keeler and spoke to her mother about Ruby taking lessons at her studio. Although her mother declined, apologizing for the lack of money, the teacher wanted to work with her so badly that she asked her mother if she would bring her to a class lesson on Saturdays, and she agreed.
During the classes, a girl she danced with told her about auditions for chorus girls. The law said you had to be 16 years old, and although they were only 13, they decided to lie about their ages at the audition.
It was a tap audition, and there were a lot of other talented girls there. When it was Ruby's turn to dance, she asked the dance director, if she could dance on the wooden part of the stage so that her taps could be heard. She got a job in George M. Cohan's "The Rise of Rosie O'Reilly" (1923), in which her salary helped her family out.
She was only 14 when she started working at Texas Guinan's El Fay nightclub, a speakeasy frequented by gangsters.
She was noticed by Broadway producer Charles B. Dillingham, who gave her a role in "Bye Bye Bonnie", which ran for six months. She then appeared in "Lucky" and "The Sidewalks of New York", also produced by Dillingham.
In the latter show, she was seen by Flo Ziegfeld, who sent her a bunch of roses and a note, "May I make you a star?". She would appear in Ziegfield's "Whoopee!" in 1928.
She met Al Jolson in Los Angeles (not at Texas Guinan's as he would claim), where she had been sent by Loew's theaters to assist in the publicity campaign for "The Jazz Singer".
Ruby Keeler and Al Jolson on their honeymoon in 1928.
Their meeting was brief, but Jolson was smitten. Back in New York, he immediately proposed, but was rebuked. However, after a brief courtship Keeler relented and agreed to marry Jolson. The couple were married in Pittsburgh on September 21, 1928 while she toured with "Whoopee!"; she was 19 and he was 42. According to her mother, Al Jolson gave Ruby a dowry of $1 million when they were married
The marriage (during which they adopted a son) was a rocky one. They moved to California, which took her away from the limelight.
In 1933, producer Darryl F. Zanuck cast Keeler in the Warner Bros. musical "42nd Street" ("Sawyer you're going out a youngster, but you've got to come back a star"), appearing opposite Dick Powell and Bebe Daniels. The film was a huge success due to Busby Berkeley's lavish and innovative choreography.
Ruby in Warner Baxter's arms & Bebe Daniels in Dick Powell's arms in "42nd Street"(1933).
As a result of her performance in "42nd Street", Jack L. Warner gave Keeler a long-term contract and cast her in such hits as "Gold Diggers of 1933" and "Dames" (1934).
Ruby with Dick Powell in "Gold Diggers of 1933."
Ruby's other films included, "Footlight Parade", "Flirtation Walk", "Go Into Your Dance" with Al Jolson, "Shipmates Forever", "Colleen", "Ready, Willing and Able", "Calling All Girls" performing "Shanghai Lil", etc. She co-starred numerous times with crooner Dick Powell.
Ruby Keeler in her prime.
After a difficult marriage, Keeler and Jolson were divorced in 1940.
Keeler remarried in 1941 to John Homer Lowe. Not anxious to be a movie star, and happy in her second marriage, Keeler left show business in 1941. She went on to raise five children.
Lowe died of cancer in 1969.
Although she had been married to Al Jolson she forbade the use of her name in the film of Jolson's life, "The Jolson Story" (1946). Portrayed in that film by Evelyn Keyes, Keeler is referred to as "Julie Benson."
In 1971, she came out of retirement to star in the hugely successful Broadway revival of "No, No, Nanette", along with fellow Irish-Americans Helen Gallagher and Patsy Kelly. The production was directed by Keeler's "42nd Street" director, Busby Berkeley.
The astounding popularity of the play caused a renaissance of sorts of all things 20s and early 30s- art deco, tap dancing and Depression Era songs. Keeler, once again, was sought out for interviews; one pre-condition, however, was that she would not talk about Jolson.
Ruby Keeler was among the first tap dancing stars in motion pictures. Her style was an Irish Step. Both the shoes and the style are different from regular tap dance. In Keeler's time, instead of metal taps, the soles were wooden and hard. Buck dancers stayed in relatively the same place on stage, and their concern was the rhythm coming from their feet, rather than how they looked on stage. They stayed on the balls of their feet most of time, which meant that their torsos moved very little, and the movements were isolated to below the waist. Because of this style of movement, the early Buck dancers often appeared less graceful in comparison with later tap dancers.
Ruby Keeler died of cancer in Rancho Mirage, California, on February 28, 1993 at age 83. She was interred in the Holy Sepulcher Cemetery in Orange, California.
The Irish sweetheart of Depression-era musicals has a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Hollywood Blvd.
Joseph Goodheart
In the Spotlight: MONTY WOOLLEY
The grand curmudgeon Monty Woolley was born Edgar Montillion Woolley on August 17, 1888 in New York City, the son of a hotel proprietor who owned the Marie Antoinette Hotel on Broadway.
A part of Manhattan's elite social circle at a young age, he studied at both Yale (Master's degree) and Harvard and returned to Yale as an English instructor and coach of graduate dramatics. Among his students were Thornton Wilder and Stephen Vincent Benet.
Directly involved in the theater arts via his close association with intimate Yale friend and confidante Cole Porter, Monty directed several Broadway musicals and reviews, many in collaboration with Porter.
Typically playing cunning character leads and support roles, he was affectionately nicknamed "The Beard" by Porter for his distinguished, impeccably-trimmed white whiskers. It was Monty that introduced Porter into the famed New York theater circle. Known for his sartorial elegance, ribald sense of humor and snob appeal, he and Porter were highly prominent carousers in the New York gay social underground along with Clifton Webb.
He was typecast as the wasp-tongued, supercilious sophisticate. His most famous role is that of the cranky radio wag forced to stay immobile because of a seemingly-injured hip in 1942's "The Man Who Came to Dinner", which he had performed onstage before taking it to Hollywood. He was also a frequent radio presence as a guest performer on such shows as "The Fred Allen Show", "Duffy's Tavern", "The Big Show", and others.
Monty Woolley in "The Man Who Came to Dinner."
Woolley with Bette Davis and Ann Sheridan in "The Man Who Came to Dinner".
Hollywood soon took notice and he began receiving supporting credit as assorted judges and doctors for such MGM fare as "Live, Love and Learn" (1937), "Everybody Sing" (1938), the Margaret Sullavan drama "Three Comrades" (1938), "Lord Jeff" (1938), the Jeanette MacDonald/Nelson Eddy musical "The Girl of the Golden West" (1938) and "Young Dr. Kildare" (1938).
Monty Woolley's 1942 Oscar nominated performance in "The Pied Piper."
With Otto Preminger in "The Pied Piper.
Woolley in an advertisement of 1944.
Monty came into his own in 40s films, earning a best actor Oscar nomination for his role in the WWII drama "The Pied Piper" (1942), a supporting actor nod in another war classic, "Since You Went Away" (1944), and portrayed himself in the absurdly fictionalized (and sanitized) "biography" of Cole Porter entitled "Night and Day" (1946) starring Cary Grant.
From left to right: Hattie McDaniel, Joseph Cotten, Keenan Wynn, Jennifer Jones, Craig Stevens, Alla Nazimova, and Monty Woolley, in "Since You Went Away" (1944).
Song sheet from the movie "Since You Went Away" with an all star cast.
A flashy delight in other movie roles, Monty received top billing in "Irish Eyes Are Smiling" (1944) with June Haver and Dick Haymes, playing a twinkle-eyed con man; appeared opposite British comedienne Grace Fields in the English-humored "Molly and Me" (1945) and "Holy Matrimony" (1943); again with Cary Grant along with Loretta Young and David Niven as a professor in the perennial Christmas classic "The Bishop's Wife" (1947).
Woolley with Gracie Fields.
According to Bennett Cerf, Woolley was at a dinner party and suddenly belched. A woman sitting nearby glared at him; he glared back and said, "What did you expect--chimes?" Cerf said that Woolley liked the line so much he insisted that it be added to the script of his next stage role.
Known for his famous whiskers Monty once valued them at $8,000. When Paramount Pictures asked to shave them off for a movie role, Monty asked for $2,000 down and $500 a week for the three months it would take to grow it back. Parmamount declined the offer.
Above all, however, Monty will be forever and indelibly cherished as the irascible (and definitive) radio personality Sheridan Whiteside in the film version of the screwball classic "The Man Who Came to Dinner" (1942) with Bette Davis and Ann Sheridan.
Mr. Woolley passed away on May 6, 1963 in Albany, New York (kidney and heart ailment) at age 74. He is resting at Greenridge Cemetery, Saratoga Springs, New York.
The delightful rascal has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The grand curmudgeon Monty Woolley was born Edgar Montillion Woolley on August 17, 1888 in New York City, the son of a hotel proprietor who owned the Marie Antoinette Hotel on Broadway.
A part of Manhattan's elite social circle at a young age, he studied at both Yale (Master's degree) and Harvard and returned to Yale as an English instructor and coach of graduate dramatics. Among his students were Thornton Wilder and Stephen Vincent Benet.
Directly involved in the theater arts via his close association with intimate Yale friend and confidante Cole Porter, Monty directed several Broadway musicals and reviews, many in collaboration with Porter.
Typically playing cunning character leads and support roles, he was affectionately nicknamed "The Beard" by Porter for his distinguished, impeccably-trimmed white whiskers. It was Monty that introduced Porter into the famed New York theater circle. Known for his sartorial elegance, ribald sense of humor and snob appeal, he and Porter were highly prominent carousers in the New York gay social underground along with Clifton Webb.
He was typecast as the wasp-tongued, supercilious sophisticate. His most famous role is that of the cranky radio wag forced to stay immobile because of a seemingly-injured hip in 1942's "The Man Who Came to Dinner", which he had performed onstage before taking it to Hollywood. He was also a frequent radio presence as a guest performer on such shows as "The Fred Allen Show", "Duffy's Tavern", "The Big Show", and others.
Monty Woolley in "The Man Who Came to Dinner."
Woolley with Bette Davis and Ann Sheridan in "The Man Who Came to Dinner".
Hollywood soon took notice and he began receiving supporting credit as assorted judges and doctors for such MGM fare as "Live, Love and Learn" (1937), "Everybody Sing" (1938), the Margaret Sullavan drama "Three Comrades" (1938), "Lord Jeff" (1938), the Jeanette MacDonald/Nelson Eddy musical "The Girl of the Golden West" (1938) and "Young Dr. Kildare" (1938).
Monty Woolley's 1942 Oscar nominated performance in "The Pied Piper."
With Otto Preminger in "The Pied Piper.
Woolley in an advertisement of 1944.
Monty came into his own in 40s films, earning a best actor Oscar nomination for his role in the WWII drama "The Pied Piper" (1942), a supporting actor nod in another war classic, "Since You Went Away" (1944), and portrayed himself in the absurdly fictionalized (and sanitized) "biography" of Cole Porter entitled "Night and Day" (1946) starring Cary Grant.
From left to right: Hattie McDaniel, Joseph Cotten, Keenan Wynn, Jennifer Jones, Craig Stevens, Alla Nazimova, and Monty Woolley, in "Since You Went Away" (1944).
Song sheet from the movie "Since You Went Away" with an all star cast.
A flashy delight in other movie roles, Monty received top billing in "Irish Eyes Are Smiling" (1944) with June Haver and Dick Haymes, playing a twinkle-eyed con man; appeared opposite British comedienne Grace Fields in the English-humored "Molly and Me" (1945) and "Holy Matrimony" (1943); again with Cary Grant along with Loretta Young and David Niven as a professor in the perennial Christmas classic "The Bishop's Wife" (1947).
Woolley with Gracie Fields.
According to Bennett Cerf, Woolley was at a dinner party and suddenly belched. A woman sitting nearby glared at him; he glared back and said, "What did you expect--chimes?" Cerf said that Woolley liked the line so much he insisted that it be added to the script of his next stage role.
Known for his famous whiskers Monty once valued them at $8,000. When Paramount Pictures asked to shave them off for a movie role, Monty asked for $2,000 down and $500 a week for the three months it would take to grow it back. Parmamount declined the offer.
Above all, however, Monty will be forever and indelibly cherished as the irascible (and definitive) radio personality Sheridan Whiteside in the film version of the screwball classic "The Man Who Came to Dinner" (1942) with Bette Davis and Ann Sheridan.
Mr. Woolley passed away on May 6, 1963 in Albany, New York (kidney and heart ailment) at age 74. He is resting at Greenridge Cemetery, Saratoga Springs, New York.
The delightful rascal has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
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