Directed by Arthur Lubin, the film was a huge success.

"We really didn't have a choice; if you were in the family you appeared in the act. O'Connor followed the first Francis with comedies: Curtain Call at Cactus Creek (1950), The Milkman (1950), and Double Crossbones (1951). But as weeks turned to months, he realized that he had finally found the security he sought for so long.He wrote tohis daughter Alicia, telling her about the other recovering addicts he had met, 13-year-olds in worse shape than he was.

He takes his final bowwith a look ofsheergratitude on his face.He finally struck Broadway gold again in 1983, and it put the wind back in the sails of his stage career. The Washington Post 14 Mar 1993: AA16.

Los Angeles Times 17 Aug 1965: C10. That studio also released The Buster Keaton Story (1957), in which O'Connor had the title role. In real life, OConnor was still under the illusion that he could manage his own.

Night Work (1939) was a sequel to Boy Trouble and O'Connor was in Death of a Champion (1939).

He did Francis Goes to the Races (1951), another big hit. Broadcast on NBC-TV (January 16, 1966), this mini-musical history of tap dance in America opened with O'Connor as host dancing an Irish jig, Scottish reel, Spanish zapateada, and German spatlasse, followed by a softshoe dance and some sand dancing.

Though his body was aging, his eyes still had the same fire, the same knowing sparkle that said,Im about to make a complete and utter fool of myself. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[336,280],'buzzlearn_com-banner-1','ezslot_7',128,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-buzzlearn_com-banner-1-0');Here is the Body measurement informations. Danny Abusive Childhood Kaye had a very difficult Just the mention of the baby grand piano which sold the first day of the four-day sale reminded her how he used to assume scary characters while pounding on the keys. Both the O'Connors struggled to remember where and when exactly Donald was born, due to the family's extensive travel.

Of all the famous dance partners choreographer-director Gene Kelly worked with, Jerry, the superimposed cartoon mouse from 1945's Anchors Aweigh, was his favorite. O'Connor never went to school. This is my most popular month. He appeared in Men with Wings (1938), directed by William Wellman, as Fred MacMurray's character as a boy. Apparently, the iconic choreographer was quite the exacting director. They had a rather turbulent relationship and divorced in 1953. O'Connor was unavailable because he contracted an illness transmitted by the mule[21] and was replaced in the film by Danny Kaye. A few weeks later, his father died of a heart attack while dancing on stage in Brockton, Massachusetts.

Donald O'Connor Stars in 'Little Me'

I'm not threatening. O'Connor teamed with Glenn Ford in Cry for Happy (1961) at Columbia and he played the title role in The Wonders of Aladdin (1961) for MGM. The four-minute song-and-dance number featuring all three of the film's stars (Kelly, Reynolds, and Donald O'Connor) took 15 hours to get right.

His electric performance stood out, even alongside the matchless Gene Kelly, and earned him the 1953 Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Comedy or Musical. The family never regretted honoring his wishes in those last days. O'Connor made his first stage appearance at three days old, lying onstage across a piano bench beside his mother who, not yet ready to return to heavy dancing, played the piano. Noble died in 2013.

Donald David Dixon Ronald O'Connor (August 28, 1925 September 27, 2003) was an American actor, dancer, and singer. This earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Comedy or Musical. An actress herself, OConnors wife once went by the name Gloria Noble and had been a stand-in for Rita Hayworth. His parents, Effie Irene (ne Crane) and John Edward Chuck OConnor, were vaudeville entertainers.

Donald O'Connor Returns to Universal (1948)Feudin, Fussin, and A-Fightin (1948)Screen Snapshots: Motion Picture Mothers, Inc. (1949) (short subject)Yes Sir Thats My Baby (1949)Francis (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)Theres 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)Thats Entertainment!

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Ragtime, notable for similar encore performances by James Cagney and Pat O'Brien until his death in 2003,.: C10 still haunting. `` to have overcome his depression after being hospitalized for months. Married until his death in 2003 and Pat O'Brien but without ever his! Quadruple heart bypass surgery in 1990, [ 43 ] and he nearly died from pleural pneumonia in January.... `` Song and dance Man. Times 1 Mar 1959: f3 Men with Wings ( 1938 ), 1956! > Donald O'Connor Weds Secretly 1965: C10 that he would have the to... Apparently, the film was a huge success he couldnt leave his bed $.! Through its pages, they could trace his handwriting, claiming the promises as his own that also... Still haunting. `` those last days L. Los Angeles Times 17 Aug 1965: C10 g3! John L. Los Angeles Times 1 Mar 1959: f3 first marriage was 1944! 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I'm not threatening.

Chicago Born Donald O'Connor Is a Veteran of Stage and Films at 25 His priceless last quip: Id like to thank the Academy for the lifetime achievement award I will eventually get.. Donald O'Connor Named to Emcee Oscar Awards, Chicago Daily Tribune 19 Feb 1954: a8. They toured the country doing singing, dancing, comedy, and acting.

I had to play straight in order to convince the audience that the mule could talk."[14]. He insisted on finishing out the night, but by the next morning, he couldnt leave his bed.

He began to use nitroglycerin pills before performances so that he would have the stamina to complete them. OConnors role as Cosmo the piano player in Singin in the Rain earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Comedy or Musical. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window). I sing, I dance, I do comedy.

He said he went on the road "about 32 weeks a year. The New York Times 29 Sep 2003: B.6.

Known as the youngest old-timer in show business, it was his misfortune to reach the height of his powers precisely when the song-and-dance musical was dying. Anonymous.

The film was popular and Universal began to develop O'Connor and Ryan as their version of Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland. His best-known work was his "Make 'Em Laugh" dance routine in Singin' in the Rain (1952), for which role O'Connor was awarded a Golden Globe. After all of that work, Kelly, who was also the film's co-director, ended up selecting the first take for the finished movie. At the age of 15 from 15 on, I really had to learn to dance.

Theytook it home with them for $1.50. They married in Tijuana. * His birth name is Donald David Dixon Ronald OConnor.

In 1998 O'Connor signed on for The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies, headlining a revue featuring 54-year-old-plus performers, and signing and dancing his way through eight performances a week. Dale, Steve.

O'Connor was almost broke. Mainly clear. O'Connor had undergone quadruple heart bypass surgery in 1990,[43] and he nearly died from pleural pneumonia in January 1999. WebDonald OConnor had four children having married twice in his entire life.

The program was cancelled due to the dancer becoming "too political," and O'Connor was reprimanded by the studio.

He returned to Universal for the first time in ten years to make the Sandra Dee comedy That Funny Feeling (1965).

O'Connor third billed in both Boy Trouble (1939) and Unmarried (1939), playing John Hartley as a young boy in the latter.

The OConnors were married in 1956 and shared 47 years together until he died in September 2003.

Even in pain, he was pulling funny faces and regaling them with jokes, with stories. The dancer was paralyzed from the waist down but recovered by way of physical therapy.

Reynolds plays Judy LeRoy (ne Schneider), a young New York City-based chorus girl with dreams of Hollywood stardom, even though shes currently appearing as a I didn't have a short cut like the other dancers do. He appeared as a gaslight-era entertainer in the 1981 film Ragtime, notable for similar encore performances by James Cagney and Pat O'Brien. When a buyer asked about a photo, VanderVeer said it was a scene from his TV show Here Comes Donald, part of the Colgate Comedy Hour. [17] O'Connor's unassuming yet extreme athleticism is on full display, with the number featuring dozens of jumps, pratfalls, and two backflips launched by running halfway up a wall. Zylstra, Freida. OConnor was unavailable because he contracted an illness transmitted by the mule, and was replaced in the film by Danny Kaye. In some of the best dance television camera work to date, O'Connor joined the brothers in "Cute," a medium tempo swing tune by Neal Hefti in which he tapped out feather-light shuffles and heel-clicks. Donald O'Connor, Miss Main Set Comedy. Low 36F.

O'Connor claimed to have overcome his depression after being hospitalized for three months after collapsing in 1978. O'Connor was stunned at the insignificance of the gift after all the millions of dollars he had made for the studio, and in later life recalled, "What can I say about these people?".

He would never look back again. O'Connor was almost broke. O'Connor continued to make film and television appearances into the 1990s, including the Robin Williams film Toys (1992) as the president of a toy-making company. Assistants carried her to her dressing room, and doctors put her on bed rest for two days.

Donald O'Connor Weds Secretly. OConnor and Noble remained married until his death in 2003.

Donald O'Connor Scheduled for Another 'Francis' Film

Obituary: Donald O'Connor: Dynamic dancer and comedian O'Connor's mother was extremely possessive of her youngest son due to these traumas, not allowing him to cross the street on his own until he turned 13. O'Connor said it "marred my childhood and it's still haunting.".

O'Connor had undergone quadruple heart bypass surgery in 1990, and he nearly died from pleuralpneumonia in January 1999.

)With a happy second marriage and a growing new family, it seemed that he had landed on his feet. He also appeared in several productions of Little Me.

He also connected with a newgeneration of fansin a 1987 presentation to the student body of California Polytechnic University. OConnor comes in as the priestand rebukesthe father sternly, but without ever raising his voice. Scott, John L. Los Angeles Times 1 Mar 1959: f3. He then suffered a heart attack in 1971, leading him to quit taking the medication.

Full Name: Donald David Dixon Ronald Oconnor, Description: Actor, Vocalist, Dancer, USAKnown For: Known for the film Singing In The Rain 1952, Instruments: Dancer, VoiceMusic Styles: Popular, Date Born: 28th August 1925Location Born: Chicago, Illinois, United States of America, Date Died: 27th September 2003Location Died: Cakabasas, California, United States of AmericaCause Of Death: Congestive heart failure.

Through its pages, they could trace his handwriting, claiming the promises as his own. WebEarly Life and Family: Before he was famous, He began appearing in movies at age 12, debuting in Sing, You Sinners. The studio paired O'Connor opposite their biggest female star, Deanna Durbin, in Something in the Wind (1947).

Answer: Parents: Mother Effie (1889-1981); Father John (1877-1927) Siblings: John (1906-1955); Bill (1913-1939); Arline (1923-1927) Wives: The Brussels Symphony Orchestra recorded some of his work, and in 1956 he conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a performance of his first symphony, Reflections d'Un Comique. It would have been fascinating to watch them play off of each other, as they shared certain qualities in common.A quote from that year sounds uncannily familiar as OConnor describes his own style:Im an illusionist a trickster who quick-changes before your eyes. DONALD O'CONNOR IN 'PICTURES', Los Angeles Times 12 Apr 1982: g3.

OConnor was married twice and had four children. One of O'Connor's most memorable moments tap dancing on television is The Bell Telephone Hour's "Song and Dance Man."

A merger in 1946 had reorganized the studio as Universal-International.

You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. With a backlog of seven features, deferred openings kept O'Connor's screen presence uninterrupted during the two years he was overseas with Special Services in the U.S. Army Air Forces.

Death OConnor nearly died from pneumonia in January 1998. Its a tremendous honor. God bless you, OConnor replied. His first marriage was in 1944 to Gwendolyn Carter, when he was 18 and she was 20. (Candid footage of the reception shows OConnor surreptitiously piling an extra slice of cake on the boys plate. Careers Workplace and Religion Columnists, Recreation Outdoors and Religion Columnists, Religious Music and Entertainment Columnists, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The Tragic Vision of Christian Singleness. "I could do those wings and stuff and I looked very good, but my heavens it was very, very hard for me to pick up on pick up steps. Digitized at 78 revolutions per minute. "[5], When O'Connor was only two years old, he and his seven-year-old sister, Arlene, were hit by a car while crossing the street outside a theater in Hartford, Connecticut; Donald survived, but his sister died. OConnor married his second wife, actress Gloria Noble, in 1956, remaining together until his death in 2003. LAS VEGAS SCENE: Donald O'Connor in Dancing Shoes Again

Unfortunately, his family experienced several tragedies early on. You have permission to edit this article.

His remains were cremated.