Let's talk Donald O'Connor

He was a good little dancer, but not a triple threat.

[quote] Did he get it on with Gene Kelly?

That fine ass and that cock waving in your face all the time?

Who could say no?

Back in the 1970s, I saw him performing on stage. And shit-faced drunk. He couldn't remember lyrics. He tried a bit with a hat, dropped it, then bent over to pick it up, splitting his pants in the process.

Then he looked at the audience and said, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry," as he staggered off the stage.

Curtain. Lights. No refunds.

r3 where was this?

In the midwest. He was touring with Mimi Hines. She did the first act. O'Connor had the second act.

That's why no refunds. Hines did fine work. No complaints there.

oh, wow. thanks.

Chita Rivera, who rarely speaks ill of anyone, said he was a very unhappy man when she worked with him on “Bring Back Birdie” (lousy show, to be sure, but still...the stars need to try to lead the company). The implication was that he was sour and unpleasant to everyone, including the audience.

I'm so sorry to hear that, R3. His "Make 'em Laugh" routine in Singing in the Rain is one of the most physical, gymnastic dance numbers I've ever seen.

My father was in the army with him in WWII. Said he was a whiny little shit.

Make ‘Em Puke is more like it. His hyper-manic performance in Singin’ in the Rain single handedly ruins that film.

Bullhockey! He was fabbo in SITR!

He gave up drinking and turned to eating. His ass was enormous on a Nanny guest shot.

My mom loved when he was on The Nanny. She said of the big dancers of those times, Donald O’Connor was her favorite.

He had a tough upbringing. He was a vaudeville kid and his parents were hard on him.

He did a series of B movies with Francis the Talking Mule in the 50s.

My personal opinion? He stinks up the screen in whatever he’s in. He and that pesky Margaret O’Brien. Terrible

R3 and R7, my favorite Donald O'Connor story comes from BRING BACK BIRDIE's short run. One night he went up on the lyrics of "Middle-Aged Blues," then barked, "You sing it! I hate this song anyway." (IIRC, Ken Mandelbaum's report of this incident in NOT SINCE CARRIE adds, ". . . to gasps from the audience." #mary)

He pulled off a charming scene with Elaine Stritch in 1997's OUT TO SEA, however. Nice to know that that was his last film appearance.

I was enthralled with him The first time I saw Singing in the Rain “ in college film class . He’s so dynamic and possesses great charisma.

He's terrific in Call Me Madam. But he had a character face not made for stardom. Anybody see him as Captain Andy in showboat?

[quote]Chita Rivera, who rarely speaks ill of anyone

OH REALLY? I seem to remember some not so nice words about Miss Minnelli after Chita had to work with the drunken coked out of her mind star in THE RINK on Broadway.

Donald O'Connor, not a favorite of mine. He was just too fugly and hammy.

My late mom was a tap dancer in her youth, and she and my uncle used to travel around the country and do shows together. She told me she thought the best dancers of the golden age of Hollywood musicals were:

1. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers

2. Gene Kelly

3. Donald O'Connor

4. Eleanor Powell

She couldn't stand Ann Miller, though. Whenever she'd see her on TV, she'd say, "All she does is twirl! Twirl, twirl, twirl!"

Twirled while doing 70 taps a minute!

R20. So she said some less than glowing things about two problematic co-stars didn’t Minnelli’s premature exit cause The Rink to close early?) and now she’s the town scold? I’d say her record as a pro and a decent person over six plus decades is better than the vast majority.

from the old **OFFICIAL** SUMMER STOCK THEATER MEMORIES thread...

-Slapped, Punched, Kicked-

When you’re a menial to a celebrity, you’re often abused. This abuse usually comes in the form of bullying or just taking advantage of their celebrity, but sometimes the abuse is physical. I’ve been punched, slapped and kicked by celebs (and their significant others) and lived to tell the tale. In every case, I was truly surprised that it even happened.

On opening night of CHARLEY’S AUNT at the Falmouth Playhouse, I was sent down to Donald O’Connor’s dressing room to inform him that we were holding the curtain a few minutes. Opening night was also critics’ night, and a key critic from a Boston paper hadn’t arrived. I knocked on the door and Mr. O’Connor opened it. He was dressed and ready to go onstage. I briefly introduced myself (we had met already, but I knew that he didn’t remember me) and politely told him what was happening and why. He simply looked me in the eye and then slapped me. Yes, it was an open palm, full throttle slap, and I fell back against the door, more surprised than hurt. I then did something really stupid – I apologized! I reacted as if I had done something wrong. I quickly exited the dressing room, and went back upstairs to report what had happened. After much discussion, the advance stage manager went down to talk him. That was it. Mr. O’Connor went on, and did a brilliant comic turn, to rave reviews. The next day, he summoned me to his dressing room and apologized. He said he wasn’t feeling well and that he overreacted. I didn’t believe him ( I thought he was drunk), but I accepted his apology and then kept out of his way for the rest of the week.

Billy Boy

He was a child actor in the '30s and '40s and all those little B films are such fun. I always liked him in those.

R24 If that had happened today, Billy Boy could've sued him and won.

I agree with you, R18. I don't care and don't want to know about his sordid emotional mess, though I'm sorry for the people he hurt. I also don't care if he's hammy! He's supposed to be, in SITR, anyway. He's the Jerry Lewis to Don's suave Dean Martin in their double act.

I've always thought he was an amazingly talented dancer, and "Make 'Em Laugh" makes me laugh every time I watch it. It's a mood lifter.

R24 that's astounding. He must have been a miserable drunk. My aunt was working in a hotel in Atlantic City when he was performing there. She went up to him in a hallway when she saw him there to say how much she always enjoyed him. He was unpleasant and dismissive. You can always put that down to somebody having a bad day and not being able to always be on but these stories make O'Conner sound like he was a pretty unhappy person. It seems that these guys pushed very hard from when they were very small children like Rooney, Keaton and O'Connor were miserable. Then of course there's Judy.

Were there ever any rumors about him and Francis?

Donald O'Connor was the original choice to play Bing Crosby's sidekick in "White Christmas". He was injured or something, so the role went to Danny Kaye. I could definitely see O'Connor in the role.

Bring Back Birdie

He's never appealed to me. I remember he had a syndicated talk show back in the mid-late '60's. Now, I'm an old movie fan who's seen a number of his movies (only because he was in movies I wanted to see, not because I wanted to see him), but back then I was a teenager who'd never heard of him. Since there wasn't much else on at the time his show aired in the early evening in my area except for the network news shows, I usually watched his show. Once in awhile he had a good guest. But I thought he was an awful host, just humorless and creepy, and I really couldn't understand why he had a talk show.

He partners Vera-Ellen well.

Marilyn Monroe deserved an Oscar for convincing us she was in love with him in THERE'S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS.

What were those Fox execs thinking?

Sad childhood.

[quote]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 did not. A few weeks later, his father died of a heart attack while dancing on stage in Brockton, Massachusetts. His brother Billy died a decade later from scarlet fever and his eldest sibling Jack died from alcoholism in 1959. His three other siblings died during childbirth. O'Connor said the tragedies "marred my childhood and it's still haunting."

[quote]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. Effie also stopped O'Connor from learning hazardous dance routines, and made sure she always knew where he was when he wasn't performing. She was a typical stage mother, often striking him.

He was a sidekick like Oscar Levant.

Someone who made the star looked good.

O'Connor, Jean Hagen and for a few seconds Kathleen Freeman give the best performances in "Singin' in the Rain." Debbie Reynolds gets by mostly on being young. And Gene Kelly, while wildly talented, is always calculated and cold. Every single film job he ever took on would have been more richly done by Gene Nelson.

O'Connor was a natural in front of the camera, but not a leading man. You can't fault him for that. What he did, no one did better. And his dancing was always tremendous.

R37 Tee Tay Taw Toe Too

An' I Caaan' Stan' 'Im

Round tones.

Donald O'Connor is responsible for giving DL icon her big break in showbiz as she was featured as a tap dancer on his Colgate Comedy hour while she was still a wee little Bonnster.

Of course, that DL icon is Bonnie Franklin

That little icon was me.

[quote]Effie also stopped O'Connor from learning hazardous dance routines,

I hope the choreography of "Make 'Em Laugh" was a big F-U to her.

r21, what am I, chopped liver?