Donald O'Connor Biography - life, family, childhood - AnyFormat.
Ronald O'Connor was an American dancer, singer and actor.He co-stars with Gloria Jean in a number of films.
O'Connor was awarded a Golden Globe for his work in Singin' in the Rain.He received two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and won a Primetime Emmy Award.
O'Connor was the 200th child to be born in St. Elizabeth Hospital in Chicago.O'Connor's parents struggled to remember where and when he was born due to their extensive travel as a Vaudeville team.His parents were entertainers, and he was a circus strongman and acrobat.His father's family was from Ireland.[5]
O'Connor said that when he first started dancing, he was held up by the back of his neck.You could do that with any child, but only I was paid for it.[5]
When O'Connor was two years old, he and his sister were hit by a car while crossing the street outside a theater in Connecticut, but Donald survived.His father died of a heart attack while dancing on stage.Billy and Jack died from alcoholism and scarlet fever, respectively, a decade and a half later.Three of his siblings died before he was born.The tragedies "marred my childhood and it's still haunting," said O'Connor.
O'Connor's mother was very possessive of her youngest son, not allowing him to cross the street on his own until he was 13.O'Connor was stopped from learning hazardous dance routines and made aware of where he was when he wasn't performing.She was a typical stage mother.
O'Connor said that she wanted him to be as great as possible.She did her best.
O'Connor was dancing with his mother and brother.The Royal Family of Vaudeville was called the O'Connor Family.They did singing, dancing, comedy, and acting.He says that the entire family made an act.If you were a member of the family, you appeared in the act.I liked to watch vaudeville.The live audience created something.[8]
They stayed with O'Connor's Uncle Bill when they didn't tour.O'Connor did not attend school.[9]
He said he learned two dance routines.I looked like the greatest dancer.I did everything.I didn't have any formal training.I had a bad time working with the great dancers in movies.I didn't have formal training to pick up routines.I had to learn to dance at the age of 15.It's quite old for someone to start dancing heavy.[5]
O'Connor made his movie debut at the age of 11 with his family act.He was in Columbia's It Can't Last forever.[9]
O'Connor was at Paramount.He played a boy in Men with Wings, directed by William Wellman.He played Bing Crosby's younger brother in Sing You Sinners.10
He played Finn in Tom Sawyer, Detective Huckleberry, opposite Billy Cook'sTom Sawyer.John Hartley was played by O'Connor in both Boy Trouble and Unmarried.
O'Connor was fourth in Million Dollar Legs with Betty Grable.He played Gary Cooper in Beau Geste.
He played a young boy in On Your Toes.He returned to his family act after two years.[9]
O'Connor began with What's Cookin'? after signing with Universal Pictures for $200 a week.There was a low-budget musical with The Andrews Sisters and Gloria Jean.The film was popular and Universal began to develop O'Connor and Ryan as their version of Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland.[13]
He co-stars with Gloria Jean in four films: Get Hep to Love, When Johnny Comes Marching Home, and Give Out, Sisters.The "B" movie was elevated to "A" status by Universal.10
O'Connor and Ryan were in the films Top Man and Chip Off the Old Block.O'Connor and Ryan were in the film Follow the Boys.
O'Connor was drafted into the United States Army on his 18th birthday.Four O'Connor films had already been completed by Universal.Ryan: This Is the Life, with Foster, was one of the four productions they rushed to complete by that date.
O'Connor's screen presence was not disrupted during the two years he was overseas with Special Services in the U.S. Army Air Force.
Universal didn't know what to do with a teen star who became a young adult.O'Connor was close to financial ruin.Universal-International was reorganized after a merger in 1946.Something in the Wind was the studio's biggest female star and O'Connor was chosen to play her.
He was in Are You with It?Yes Sir, That's My Baby and Feudin' and A-Fightin" were all written by Gloria De Haven.It was [13].
He said he wasn't a good dancer until he got older.I looked good, but it was hard for me to pick up the steps.It was so hard for me.The other dancers have short cuts.[5]
In 1949, O'Connor played the lead role in Francis, the story of a soldier befriended by a talking mule.The film was a huge success.His musical career was interrupted by the production of one Francis film per year until 1955.The films were fun to make.They were quite challenging.In order to convince the audience that the mule could talk, I had to play straight.[14]
The Milkman, Double Crossbones, and Curtain Call at Cactus Creek were comedies by O'Connor.
Another big hit was Francis Goes to the Races.He was able to work outside the studio after signing a new contract with Universal in February 1951.[15]
O'Connor was offered to play the piano player in Singin' in the Rain.He won a Golden Globe Award for his performance in a comedy or musical.The film featured his widely known rendition of "Make 'Em Laugh," which he choreographed with help from the assistant dance directors and his brother.[16]
O'Connor said that hoofers dance from the waist down.I had to learn how to dance from the waist up.I became a total dancer.[5]
During the production of Singin' in the Rain, O'Connor was forced to go to the hospital due to injuries and exhaustion.
O'Connor said that he thought he'd have to kill himself.[17]
He went to Universal for Francis Goes to West Point in 1952 and then went back to MGM for I Love Melvin in1953.
He appeared frequently on television.He was called "1952' new star" in a 1952 review.He has the effervescence of youth and is a movie bred.He can act, sing, and dance, but not yet with the skill of a veteran.[19]
He was a fan of Call Me Madam and said the film contained his best dancing.[20]
O'Connor was in a musical with Janet Leigh called Walking My Baby Back Home.
He played Tim Donahue in the 20th Century Fox musical There's No Business Like Show Business and also starred with Marilyn Monroe.
He was supposed to play Bing Crosby's partner in White Christmas.Danny Kaye replaced O'Connor in the film because he contracted an illness from the mule.[22]
He starred in The Donald O'Connor Show.O'Connor hosted NBC's Colgate Comedy Hour.[6]
O'Connor agreed to Francis in the Navy because he was reluctant to keep making Francis films.Arthur Lubin said that O'Connor got very difficult to work with after a while.I think he had problems at home, because he would sit in his dressing room and stare into space.[25]
Donald O'Connor's last film for Universal was Francis in the Navy.The studio executives presented him with a camera and 14 rolls of film at a farewell luncheon.O'Connor was stunned at the insignificance of the gift after all the millions of dollars he had made for the studio.
Anything Goes was filmed at Paramount.O'Connor played the title role in The Buster Keaton Story.
His first symphony, Reflections d'Un Comique, was performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1956.[26]
One of the earliest color programs to be preserved on a color kinescope was hosted by him on NBC in 1957, and an excerpt of it was included in NBC's 50th anniversary special in 1976.
He guest starred on many shows in the late 50s and early 60s.He was more focused on touring live shows.[28]
O'Connor played the title role in The Wonders of Aladdin and Cry for Happy with Glenn Ford.
He performed his nightclub act in Las Vegas.He returned to Universal for the first time in ten years to make That funny feeling.[29]
He did episodes of Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre.He was in several productions of Little Me.30
O'Connor hosted a syndicated talk show in 1968.The dancer became too political and the program was canceled.The jokes were seen as offensive.The studio reprimanded O'Connor.[31]
He began to use pills in order to have the strength to perform.He stopped taking the medication after having a heart attack.[32]
He performed on stage in Las Vegas in a TV production of Li'l Abner.[33]
He appeared on several episodes of The Girl with Something Extra.[34]
After collapsing in 1978, O'Connor was hospitalized for three months and claimed to have overcome his depression.He wrote to his friends and family to explain how his life had changed.The dancer was paralyzed from the waist down, but recovered through physical therapy.The letters detail the life of a man who was completely immobile.
His career got a boost when he hosted the Academy Awards.
He appeared as a gaslight-era entertainer in the 1981 film Ragtime, which was notable for encore performances by James Cagney and Pat O'Brien.It was his first film role in 16 years.
In 1981 O'Connor appeared in the Broadway show Bring Back Birdie.I Ought to Be in Pictures was filmed in Los Angeles.[35]
He was Cap'n Andy in the Broadway revival of Show Boat and continued to tour in various shows and acts.
He said in 1985 that he would consider another movie or a TV series, but he wouldn't play an old man.Art Carney is making a career out of being old.I'm still dancing and singing.I don't think I'm ready to be old.[8]
O'Connor guest starred on The Littlest Hobo, Fantasy Island, Simon & Simon, Hotel, Alice in Wonderland, The Love Boat, and Highway to Heaven.
He used to perform in the Donald O'Connor Theatre with his children.He said in a 1989 interview that there is an element out there that wants to be entertained and they can't find that kind of thing.I think I wear well.I do a lot of things.I'm not threatening.The more you learn, the more money you get.I can do comedy without a song and dance.I can fit in.[36]
O'Connor appeared in many films and television shows into the 1990s, including the Robin Williams film Toys (1992) as the president of a toy-making company.He continued to perform.[38]
He had guest roles in Murder, She Wrote, Tales from the Crypt, The Building and Frasier.
He said in 1992 that he didn't want to be a star.I want to be a quasar because stars wear out.Quasars go on forever.They talk about me in the rest of the movie when I die.[37]