Encyclopedia, Difference between revisions of "Donald O'Connor" - New World
| Line 19: | Line 19: | ||
| spouse = | | spouse = | ||
}} | }} | ||
| − | '''Donald David Dixon Ronald O’Connor''' (August 28, 1925 – September 27, 2003) was a talented | + | '''Donald David Dixon Ronald O’Connor''' (August 28, 1925 – September 27, 2003) was a on eof the most famous and talented stars in Hollywood. He was known in his films for his dancing and singing, including his most famous number of all ''Make 'Em Laugh'' from ''[[Singin' in the Rain (film)|Singin’ in the Rain]]'' (1952). He began performing at only eighteen months and he didn't stop until his death. |
| + | ''"I'm an illusionist - a trickster who quick-changes before your eyes. I capture your attention without giving you time to think about it. I move fast, I keep changing my hats. And the more pleased an audience is, the more energy I get from it and give back to the audience." ''- Donald O'Connor 1992 | ||
| − | + | ||
==Early Life== | ==Early Life== | ||
| − | O’Connor was born in [[Chicago, Illinois]], into an [[Ireland|Irish]] immigrant family of [[vaudeville]] entertainers. Tragedy struck his family when, as a toddler, he and his sister were involved in a road accident, which resulted in her death. His father died of a heart attack only a few weeks later. Yet it was as a comedy actor and a song-and-dance man that he became famous. His boyish looks did not allow him to take a romantic lead, except when appearing with a bigger star such as [[Ethel Merman]] (in ''[[Call Me Madam]]'') or [[Bing Crosby]] (with whom he appeared in his first film at the age of 11). | + | Donald O’Connor was born on August 28, 1925 in [[Chicago, Illinois]]. He was the seventh child born to John Edward "Chuck" O'Connor and Effie Irene Crane O'Connor. Three of the children born to the O'Connor's died in infancy and Donald was the last child the couple had. Both Chuch and Effie began their careers in the circus, where they met and fell in love. Effie was a trapeze perfomer and only 15 years old when she married the 28 year old Chuck. In describing his father, Donald said, "My father started out as a circus 'leaper'. He'd run down a ramp, jump over an elephant and land on a mat. He was a singer, a dancer, an acrobat, a trapeze artist, a clown, a comedian, and also a strong man. He did a little bit of everything, because the more you did the more you made. He was 5'5" and weighed 220 pounds. He was very light on his feet, though: he was known as the Njinsky of acrobats. The height he could get was incredible." [http://www.eviltwinltd.com/muppetlabs/oconnor/donald.htm#bio] Together, the couple decided to leave the circus and use their original talents to start their own traveling act for vaudeville. |
| + | |||
| + | |||
| + | |||
| + | , circus performers who had graduated into vaudeville, into an [[Ireland|Irish]] immigrant family of [[vaudeville]] entertainers. Tragedy struck his family when, as a toddler, he and his sister were involved in a road accident, which resulted in her death. His father died of a heart attack only a few weeks later. Yet it was as a comedy actor and a song-and-dance man that he became famous. His boyish looks did not allow him to take a romantic lead, except when appearing with a bigger star such as [[Ethel Merman]] (in ''[[Call Me Madam]]'') or [[Bing Crosby]] (with whom he appeared in his first film at the age of 11). | ||
==Acting and Dancing Career== | ==Acting and Dancing Career== | ||
| Line 46: | Line 51: | ||
==Filmography== | ==Filmography== | ||
| − | *''It Can't Last Forever | + | *''It Can't Last Forever'' (1937) |
| − | *''Men with Wings | + | *''Men with Wings'' (1938) |
*''Sing You Sinners (film)|Sing You Sinners]]'' (1938) | *''Sing You Sinners (film)|Sing You Sinners]]'' (1938) | ||
| − | *''Sons of the Legion | + | *''Sons of the Legion'' (1938) |
| − | *''Tom Sawyer, Detective | + | *''Tom Sawyer, Detective'' (1938) |
| − | *''Boy Trouble | + | *''Boy Trouble'' (1939) |
| − | *''Unmarried | + | *''Unmarried'' (1939) |
| − | *''Million Dollar Legs | + | *''Million Dollar Legs'' (1939) |
| − | *''Beau Geste | + | *''Beau Geste'' (1939) |
| − | *''Night Work | + | *''Night Work'' (1939) |
| − | *''Death of a Champion | + | *''Death of a Champion'' (1939) |
| − | *''On Your Toes | + | *''On Your Toes'' (1939) |
| − | *''What's Cookin'? | + | *''What's Cookin'?'' (1942) |
| − | *''Private Buckaroo | + | *''Private Buckaroo'' (1942) |
| − | *''Give Out, Sisters | + | *''Give Out, Sisters'' (1942) |
| − | *''Get Hep to Love | + | *''Get Hep to Love'' (1942) |
| − | *''When Johnny Comes Marching Home | + | *''When Johnny Comes Marching Home'' (1942) |
| − | *''It Comes Up Love | + | *''It Comes Up Love'' (1943) |
| − | *''Mister Big | + | *''Mister Big'' (1943) |
| − | *''Top Man | + | *''Top Man'' (1943) |
| − | *''Chip Off the Old Block | + | *''Chip Off the Old Block'' (1944) |
| − | *''Follow the Boys | + | *''Follow the Boys'' (1944) |
| − | *''This Is the Life | + | *''This Is the Life'' (1944) |
| − | *''The Merry Monahans | + | *''The Merry Monahans'' (1944) |
| − | *''Bowery to Broadway | + | *''Bowery to Broadway'' (1944) |
| − | *''Patrick the Great | + | *''Patrick the Great'' (1945) |
| − | *''Something in the Wind | + | *''Something in the Wind'' (1947) |
| − | *''Are You with It? | + | *''Are You with It?'' (1948) |
| − | *''Feudin', Fussin', and A-Fightin' | + | *''Feudin', Fussin', and A-Fightin''' (1948) |
| − | *''Screen Snapshots: Motion Picture Mothers, Inc. | + | *''Screen Snapshots: Motion Picture Mothers, Inc.'' (1949) (short subject) |
| − | *''Yes Sir That's My Baby | + | *''Yes Sir That's My Baby'' (1949) |
| − | *''Francis the Talking Mule | + | *''Francis the Talking Mule'' (1950) |
| − | *''Curtain Call at Cactus Creek | + | *''Curtain Call at Cactus Creek'' (1950) |
*''The Milkman'' (1950) | *''The Milkman'' (1950) | ||
*''Double Crossbones'' (1951) | *''Double Crossbones'' (1951) | ||
Revision as of 18:56, 3 July 2007
| Donald O'Connor | |
| Birth name: | Donald David Dixon Ronald O’Connor |
|---|---|
| Date of birth: | August 28, 1925 |
| Birth location: | Chicago, Illinois  United States
|
| Date of death: | September 27, 2003 aged 78 |
| Death location: | Calabasas, California |
Donald David Dixon Ronald O’Connor (August 28, 1925 – September 27, 2003) was a on eof the most famous and talented stars in Hollywood. He was known in his films for his dancing and singing, including his most famous number of all Make 'Em Laugh from Singin’ in the Rain (1952). He began performing at only eighteen months and he didn't stop until his death.
"I'm an illusionist - a trickster who quick-changes before your eyes. I capture your attention without giving you time to think about it. I move fast, I keep changing my hats. And the more pleased an audience is, the more energy I get from it and give back to the audience." - Donald O'Connor 1992
Early Life
Donald O’Connor was born on August 28, 1925 in Chicago, Illinois. He was the seventh child born to John Edward "Chuck" O'Connor and Effie Irene Crane O'Connor. Three of the children born to the O'Connor's died in infancy and Donald was the last child the couple had. Both Chuch and Effie began their careers in the circus, where they met and fell in love. Effie was a trapeze perfomer and only 15 years old when she married the 28 year old Chuck. In describing his father, Donald said, "My father started out as a circus 'leaper'. He'd run down a ramp, jump over an elephant and land on a mat. He was a singer, a dancer, an acrobat, a trapeze artist, a clown, a comedian, and also a strong man. He did a little bit of everything, because the more you did the more you made. He was 5'5" and weighed 220 pounds. He was very light on his feet, though: he was known as the Njinsky of acrobats. The height he could get was incredible." [1] Together, the couple decided to leave the circus and use their original talents to start their own traveling act for vaudeville.
, circus performers who had graduated into vaudeville, into an Irish immigrant family of vaudeville entertainers. Tragedy struck his family when, as a toddler, he and his sister were involved in a road accident, which resulted in her death. His father died of a heart attack only a few weeks later. Yet it was as a comedy actor and a song-and-dance man that he became famous. His boyish looks did not allow him to take a romantic lead, except when appearing with a bigger star such as Ethel Merman (in Call Me Madam) or Bing Crosby (with whom he appeared in his first film at the age of 11).
Acting and Dancing Career
O'Connor broke into films in 1937, usually playing impetuous kids, as in Tom Sawyer, Detective and Beau Geste. In 1942 O'Connor joined Universal Pictures' troupe of talented teenagers. He received gradually larger roles in four of the studio's Gloria Jean musicals, and achieved stardom at 17 with Mister Big (1943), co-starring Gloria Jean and comic dancer Peggy Ryan. O'Connor and Ryan's energetic routines invited comparisons with M-G-M's pairing of Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland.
O'Connor joined the armed forces in 1944. Upon his return to films, Universal (now reorganized as Universal-International) cast him in lightweight musicals and comedies. In 1949 he was given the leading role in Francis, the whimsical story of a sad-sack soldier befriended by a talking mule. The film was a huge success, and a mixed blessing for O'Connor: the momentum of his musical career was constantly interrupted, because the studio insisted on his making one "Francis" picture a year until 1955. It was because of Francis that O'Connor missed out on a plum role: Bing Crosby's sidekick in White Christmas (film). O'Connor was forced to bow out when he contracted an illness transmitted by the mule. O'Connor was replaced in the film by Danny Kaye.
Donald O'Connor was a TV favorite in the 1950s, and was one of the regular hosts of NBC's popular Colgate Comedy Hour. He also had a short-lived television series during the late 1960s.
Later Life
After overcoming a drinking problem in the 1970s, he appeared as a gaslight-era entertainer in the 1981 film Ragtime, notable for similar encore performances by James Cagney and Pat O'Brien. O'Connor also appeared in the short-lived Bring Back Birdie on Broadway in 1981, and continued to make film and television appearances into the 1990s. Donald O'Connor's last feature film was the Jack Lemmon-Walter Matthau comedy Out to Sea, in which he played a dance host on a cruise ship.
O’Connor was still making public appearances well into 2003. One of the last known on-camera interviews with Donald O’Connor was arranged by friend David Ruprecht and conducted by Steven F. Zambo. A small portion of this interview can be seen in the 2005 PBS special Pioneers of Primetime.
Death
O'Connor died from congestive heart failure on September 27, 2003 at the age of 78. Among his last words, he is reported to have expressed tongue-in-cheek thanks for the Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement that he expected to win at some future date. He left behind his wife, Gloria, and four children.
Donald O’Connor was cremated at the Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.
Filmography
- It Can't Last Forever (1937)
- Men with Wings (1938)
- Sing You Sinners (film)|Sing You Sinners]] (1938)
- Sons of the Legion (1938)
- Tom Sawyer, Detective (1938)
- Boy Trouble (1939)
- Unmarried (1939)
- Million Dollar Legs (1939)
- Beau Geste (1939)
- Night Work (1939)
- Death of a Champion (1939)
- On Your Toes (1939)
- What's Cookin'? (1942)
- Private Buckaroo (1942)
- Give Out, Sisters (1942)
- Get Hep to Love (1942)
- When Johnny Comes Marching Home (1942)
- It Comes Up Love (1943)
- Mister Big (1943)
- Top Man (1943)
- Chip Off the Old Block (1944)
- Follow the Boys (1944)
- This Is the Life (1944)
- The Merry Monahans (1944)
- Bowery to Broadway (1944)
- Patrick the Great (1945)
- Something in the Wind (1947)
- Are You with It? (1948)
- Feudin', Fussin', and A-Fightin' (1948)
- Screen Snapshots: Motion Picture Mothers, Inc. (1949) (short subject)
- Yes Sir That's My Baby (1949)
- Francis the Talking Mule (1950)
- Curtain Call at Cactus Creek (1950)
- The Milkman (1950)
- Double Crossbones (1951)
- Francis Goes to the Races (1951)
- Singin' in the Rain (1952)
- Francis Goes to West Point (1952)
- I Love Melvin (1953)
- Call Me Madam (1953)
- Francis Covers the Big Town (1953)
- Walking My Baby Back Home (1953)
- Francis Joins the WACs (1954)
- There's No Business Like Show Business (1954)
- Francis in the Navy (1955)
- Anything Goes (1956)
- The Buster Keaton Story (1957)
- Cry for Happy (1961)
- The Wonders of Aladdin (1961)
- That Funny Feeling (1965)
- Just One More Time (1974) (short subject)
- That's Entertainment! (1974)
- Ragtime (1981)
- Pandemonium (1982)
- A Time to Remember (1987)
- Toys (1992)
- Father Frost (1996)
- Out to Sea (1997)
TV Work
- as a Producer - Milton Berle Show - 1948
- as a director - one episode of Petticoat Junction - 1964
- as an actor
- Colgate Comedy Hour - 1953-54
- Bell Telephone Hour - 1964-66
- Donald O'Connor Show - 1968
- Love Boat - 1981-84 :)
- Many single episodes from 1966 to 1996
External links
- "Home Page", Donald O'Connor, Retrieved May 31, 2007.
- "Donald O'Connor", IMDb, Retrieved May 31, 2007.
- "An Interview with Donald O'Connor", The DanceView Times, Retrieved May 31, 2007.
- "Donald O'Connor", Find a Grave, Retrieved May 31, 2007.
- "Film-shots", Reel Classics, Retrieved May 31, 2007.
| Preceded by: Bob Hope and Conrad Nagel 25th Academy Awards |
Oscars host 26th Academy Awards (with Fredric March) |
Succeeded by: Bob Hope and Thelma Ritter 27th Academy Awards |
Credits
New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:
The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:
Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.
