Donald O'Connor

My father served in the same unit as Donald O'Connor in WWII and didn't like him. He never elaborated as to why, though.

I always thought he looked like Woody Woodpecker.

He and Gene Kelly were two of the most athletic dancers of that era. His "Make 'Em Laugh" number from "Singin' in the Rain" is still amazing to watch. And both he and Gene's asses were very nice to look at in the "Good Mornin'" number!

they quit making musicals and he drowned what was left of his career in drink.

He was my lovah!

I agree, OP, there is a Lot of be said about being affable and willing to make someone laugh.

He should have garnered a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for "Make Em Laugh" alone

R7 Agreed! I watched the scene last night and was really blown away. I think he won a Golden Globe for the film. Anyone know why Singin' in the Rain was pretty much ignored by the Academy? It only got two nominations.

Absolutely loved him. He had a hard childhood. He was a vaudeville kid.

Seriously, Betty, R5! Spill! You're both dead, who cares now but us old (Actually, I'm young...ish) queens?

Universal first used him as one of the "Jivin' Jacks 'n Jills", a WWII pre-teen swing dance group which peppered several of the studio's "B"-musicals. O'Connor was usually paired with gangly Peggy Ryan. The two had great chemistry together and soon Universal spun them off in their own version of "Mickey-and-Judy" musicals with titles like CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK, TOP MAN, MR. BIG, THIS IS THE LIFE and PATRICK THE GREAT with an emphasis on jitterbugging and wisecracks (every so often Gloria Jean would show up to trill an aria or two). Cranked out quickly with hack scores and minuscule budgets, these films are peppy unpretentious fun. O'Connor has tremendous charm, and is far more appealing than the obnoxious, mechanical Rooney.

Talented man but I sadly saw him on Broadway in the god-awful Bring Back Birdie with Chita Rivera. He could barely remember his lines or song lyrics and had to repeatedly ask the conductor for prompts with his hand to his ear because he couldn't hear. But in retrospect that was the least of the problems this disastrous sequel had.

Always thought he had a nasty streak that wasn't readily apparent on screen, much like Danny Kaye and Jerry Lewis. In some of his interviews he came off like he was a major star who sank into bitterness about the "golden age" and how they weren't making good musicals anymore.

He was some kind of man.

Wasn't he a GAY BOY?

He punched a DLer in the nose who was working backstage and knocked on O'Connor's dressing room to let him know that it was X minutes until the curtain would rise for the next performance.

When O'Connor returned from the service, Universal cast him in leading roles in a number of successful musicals, including "Something in the Wind" with Deanna Durbin. Despite this and the success of "Singin' in the Rain," Universal kept putting him in their popular "Francis the Talking Mule" film series, which they cranked out year after year. O'Connor grew tired of it and quit what would be the final one, "Francis in the Haunted House," which, ironically, was recast with Mickey Rooney.

In the sci-fi series Fringe, the future-humanoid (played by the great Michael Cerveris) assumes the name "Donald O'Connor" when he's stripped of his powers and goes into hiding. When finally found by protagonist Walter Bishop (played by the great John Noble), he explains he took the name in homage to "Singing in the Rain", the first movie Walter showed him to explain humanity. /geeking out