Princess of Tap

The Joker Is Wild

Lav, I didn't think that was easy that was very very good! The movie that I always watch is Sun Valley serenade where she dances with the Nicholas Brothers in Chattanooga Choo Choo won't you Choo Choo me home. Since Miles isn't here to give us one of his interesting tidbits-- I'll just remind everyone that she was married to one of the Nicholas Brothers, Harold Nicholas. Hopefully Miss Dandridge is not a forgotten Musical performer. Lav, it's all yours--

Ray-- I don't know if you had a chance to read the Tab Hunter autobiography. But I read it a few years back and I thought about it recently during your discussion of Tony Perkins. Tab Hunter described the period in his life when he was making a film with a French actress and seriously dating her, while he was also seriously involved with Tony Perkins. I enjoyed his Book for a lot of different reasons: it was fun to reminisce about the last Studio scene in Hollywood with a major star; it was also interesting to see his take on his life and the life of other gay actors in Hollywood at the time, but most of it was simply about his own life and his family. I can remember as a child seeing him figure skating on live TV - - I had no idea he really was a professional figure skater.

This performer started as a singer and a tap dancer. In the 19 thirties and forties she tap danced with the best in "A" movies. It wasn't until the 1950s that she finally hit her stride with starring roles in dramas and musicals--one musical earned her an Academy Award nomination. Can you name this all around versatile dramatic and musical performer? When you identify this performer and one of her dramatic and musical roles each - - can you also name the great tap dancers that she appeared with, as well as those corresponding films?

Hint-- --One actress appeared in a famous Sirk Soap -- And the other one was associated with a tremendously popular CBS sitcom of the late sixties.

5) Michael Wilding appeared as a dancing actor in several musicals.

Garson Kanin directed my favorite 1940s screwball, My Favorite Wife starring Cary Grant.

Guys and Dolls

One of my least favorite actors, Victor Mature

I think they said the very same thing about the Sergeant Bilko movie-- I think it was a big flop because it didn't have Phil Silvers or Nat Hiken.

Well, Lorna-- I just watched the new Ghostbusters trailer and I think the producers of this film were seriously trying to go for a mainstream hit. They were trying to touch all the bases for the mainstream audience - - racism, sexism, misogyny, racist stereotypes-- that would make Hattie McDaniel cringe-- and just a general lack of respect for intelligent and independent women. But I still think a mainstream American audience( Donald Trump supporters) and a bunch of 3rd graders might like this movie. Really when you look at it, it's not that much different from a Disney cartoon, like Shrek, I'm sorry an animated feature. I was a really a big fan of the original movie. That's all I can say.

Sepia - - I live in a small Midwestern City, not in the South obviously. And on Sunday the newspaper runs those historical articles about the past. Several years ago they wrote about a lynching that describes just what you're talking about that occurred around the turn of the century. This occurred even before my parents were born. It was about a Drifter who came into town and broke into a prominent man's home and murdered him in front of his family. They put the drifter in jail awaiting trial and a mob simply went in and got him out and lynched him and threw him in the river. It seems like the sheriff just stepped aside. But this was near Dodge City and we do have a reputation as being in the west, but it's not really the Wild West.LOL

I take my culture seriously. If I can't be emotional about my culture, then there's no point in my being emotional about anything. I apologize to you because I didn't realize that you were talking about something that was not your culture. If you think that was a diatribe, you should have seen what I wrote to Ted Turner when he said he was going to colorize Fred Astaire's Top Hat. LOL

Ray-- have you ever thought about starting a thread, where we can discuss gay directors like George Cukor, James Whale or Dorothy Arzner?

I think I'v set back long enough to listen to this **** about Yankee Doodle Dandy that you got on this on this website. I can hear it from foreigners, but I'm sorry to hear it from Americans. This film is not one about one isolated acting role like Camille, Sveengali or Hamlet, this is about the origination and the perpetuation of American culture and not just the musical comedy theater but in the theater. This film is an iconic legendary example of what we as Americans have accomplished in culture. If you're looking for some kind of a recognition that this is the best acting job that somebody ever did that's not what this is all about. And if you don't have that much love or respect or even a desire to perpetuate our own culture that's not my problem. Maybe you just don't understand what our culture is all about, you just don't care or you just not patriotic. This isn't about World War 1 or World War II or selling war Bonds in the lobby - - this is about where we started and where we're going. He got the Oscar because he showed exactly what it is we're made of. City of Conquest is a piece of ****. Strawberry blonde is a nostalgic sweet little movie and that's it. I am a song-and-dance person, but that's not why I love this movie so much. I love this movie because I love my country, I love my culture and I know what it's all about. You guys need a lesson in it. And that's for the record.

SPAM & EGGS

These two actresses share the same last name, though they were not related. They both have very distinguished credits in the movies, but their claim to fame is television. Between the two of them they both appeared on many of the most popular classic television drama and comedy series of the 19 fifties and sixties. Though not a regular of the series, one of these actresses actually received an Emmy nomination for her appearances on this popular sitcom in the sixties. And this actress also appeared in movies with Gary Cooper, Sidney Poitier and Elvis Presley. The other actress has appeared in movies with Joel McCrea, Jane Wyman and Humphrey Bogart. When you identify these two actresses, can you list some of their credits that were favorites of yours.

Vincente Minnelli was a great director because he had such profound versatility. I would suggest you look at Home from the Hill starring Robert Mitchum, the Bad and the Beautiful starring Kirk Douglas and Some Came Running starring Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. These are all first-rate, Academy Award nominated movies. These films have nothing in common with those beautiful MGM musicals. Although I may prefer his Meet Me in St. Louis, An American in Paris or The Bandwagon - - You can't stereotype a great cinematic director. Vincente Minnelli was a genius concerning his knowledge and facility with 19th century and 20th century art. I think you can be a great artist, an art designer and or a connoisseur of art without being gay. But, Ray, I do agree with you that Minnelli's sexual proclivities enhanced his abilities in cinematic art.

Before the days of VHS, VCR, cable, DVD, internet, or even Revival theaters, anything'-I only got to see Yankee Doodle Dandy twice a year on the 3rd of July and on the 4th of July-- on The Late Show. That's how I watched it for about 10 years 20 times. And I gotta tell you every time I saw that last scene where the soldier asked him to sing out, that -- got me every time. Each time, was just like the first time seeing it. His delivery was so fresh. As well as a number of other scenes, like when his father died, when he met his wife to be and she thought he was an old man, when his wife had to talk to him about Reinventing himself and the Hix, Nix's, pix's scenes with the bobby-soxers among many others. I grew up watching that movie and it never bored me. His performance was always fresh. And I'm not talking about all the dancing and the songs - - I'm talking about how Jimmy Cagney carried that movie. When I put him at the top of the list, I put him in there because he carried this movie into film history - - despite all those people in the cast he did it just about by himself. If this movie is great, it's because Jimmy Cagney is great.

I followed Cary Grant's career for over 50 years. The fact that people get divorced and remarried many times has nothing to do with their sexuality. Necessarily. That's Hollywood. Elizabeth Taylor was married 7 times does that make her gay? There are many issues with Cary Grant. But the one that stands out in my mind is Sophia Loren, Betsy Drake and Houseboat. Whether or not a person is gay or bisexual, I guess you have to ask them. There were gay movie stars who married gay people for cover, there were gay movie stars who married straight people for cover and they were bisexual movie stars who married bisexual people because that's what they wanted to do. Vincente Minnelli is a good example of this. Married 4X with two daughters and a real gay sexual life. There's nothing else you can read into that except he's bisexual. And if you get married as a cover nobody's forcing you to have two daughters, by two different women. I never heard of your actor named Matt Bomer- - it sounds like he has the problems that a lot of black actors and a lot of older actresses have. Prejudice and bigotry is alive and well. Matt should be able to play any part that he's good enough and qualified to play. Jar-- I also doubt if Merle Oberon would have had a career if people had known that she was an Indian half-caste. It was cute for Ava Gardner to play a half caste in Bhowani Junction, directed by George Cukor, the real deal with Merle Oberon would have been boycotted, and then ended her career. Jar--Maybe things haven't changed as much as we wish that they would have.

Ray - - I've always thought of Cary Grant as a bisexual person. All the evidence I've seen about it points to that. I would say the same thing about Tyrone Power. Can you give me some kind of a definition or something that we can go with you. You can look at the societal demands that were placed upon them as factors. But why do people have failed marriages? And I just can't help but think that there are some people who are simply bisexual. Not everybody is one or the other. If I had my druthers, I think I'd go along more with Tyrone Power being a predominantly gay man. But people don't have to be one thing or the other--they can go through phases or they can simply have percentages of their sexuality on different levels. Have you ever thought of that? I really don't know for sure about any of these people because I didn't know them personally. I'm just throwing out theories. But Cary Grant acted like a real bisexual person to me, according to the life that he led. Ray, I'm not trying to tell you that you are wrong and I'm right,but I just want you to think about some of the things that I said because I know you've got an open mind.

Nip-- The guy who thinks he can buy anything because he's rich, He can get away with anything because he's rich he can force people to do anything he wants because he's rich and he can Propel his current floozy to stardom with all his money and power Gosh oh Gee that sounds more like DONALD TRUMP than anybody else Today.

Austrian ballerina Tilly Losch introduced the song Dancing in the Dark in the review, The Bandwagon on Broadway in 1931. I'm a fan of Downton Abbey. Downton Abbey is filmed in a place called Highclere Castle in Hampshire England. Since 1679 Highclere has been the home of the Earls of Carnarvon. Tilly Losch was married to the sixth Earl of Carnarvon. You can imagine my shock and thrill of seeing her portrait still in the castle during a BBC documentary. Her husband was the grandfather of the current Earl, who leases his home for the filming of Downton Abbey.

Miles-- the last show that Fred and Adele did was The Bandwagon. The Broadway show was a review - - but they used a lot of the same songs in the movie. Now Funny Face was an earlier show that Fred and Adele did. The movie of course has a different plot but they use some of the same great Gershwin songs of course. Fred liked very much returning to this material because it was top drawer and because he liked continuity in his career. Of course his first show without Adele was Gay Divorce by Cole Porter- - and that of course was his first starring role in the movies. The censors actually changed it to Gay Divorcée because in those days they didn't think divorce could be gay. But I'm a living example that it is indeed quite gay! Miles - - Have you got anything to add?

Miles-- first off I forgot that you mentioned India Adams. And she was a good dub for Cyd. I had The Bandwagon record for many years. I bought the Silk Stockings record in London at Piccadilly Circus - - I never will forget that. And it seems like a Carol Richards or Carol Richard dubbed for Cyd in silk stockings.