Different winners without GE

[xandandl]

2 hours ago, corpsband said:

I remember PR practicing in the fields adjacent to JBCrum for East.  I think the soloist had just gotten injured and was just performing through it?  Can't remember all of the details.  Anyway loved that show.  

I'm not sure whether it was the Alllentown or championship week performance preps but the story line is true if the soloist was the dancer. He had sat down at a break and put his hands behind him to brace himself up. Unfortunately there were shards of a broken beer bottle in the glass and he started to bleed profusely. Thank God, conductor Will Pitts dad, a surgeon; was present and stitched the dancer up saving the performance and the Regiment's show.  As you know, Will is now the music arranger for Regiment.

[BRASSO]

2 hours ago, N.E. Brigand said:

Then again--though this story may be apocryphal--supposedly when a Hollywood studio gave Astaire a screen test, the casting director's summary was:

"Can't sing. Can't act. Balding. Can dance a little."

 Astaire is well known for his dance partner, Ginger Rodgers. But in reading up on Astaire, he claims that as good as Ginger was, his original dance partner was the best female dance partner he ever saw, or danced with. He danced with her when he was just starting out( her name escapes me at the moment.. would have to look it up) but she was from England, and she did not want to go with Astaire to the US. Astaire left and came to the US. She left dancing, got married and settled down in England. Astaire went on to stardom. His Movie roles helped his career take off... and of course, he had dozens of outstanding female dance partners over the years that made him look pretty good too with his dance routines with them.

Edited March 1, 2017 by BRASSO

[N.E. Brigand]

4 hours ago, BRASSO said:

Astaire is well known for his dance partner, Ginger Rogers. But in reading up on Astaire, he claims that as good as Ginger was, his original dance partner was the best female dance partner he ever saw, or danced with. He danced with her when he was just starting out (her name escapes me at the moment; would have to look it up) but she was from England, and she did not want to go with Astaire to the U.S. Astaire left and came to the A.S. She left dancing, got married and settled down in England. Astaire went on to stardom. His movie roles helped his career take off, and, of course, he had dozens of outstanding female dance partners over the years that made him look pretty good too in his dance routines with them.

Well . . .

Astaire's premier dance partner was his older sister, Adele. They were big stars on Broadway, but she retired in 1932 (at the age of 36) to marry a British lord.

She and Fred were both born in Omaha to German immigrants.

Fred and Adele were dance partners for more than 25 years, having started as children.

[BRASSO]

46 minutes ago, N.E. Brigand said:

Well . . .

Astaire's premier dance partner was his older sister, Adele. They were big stars on Broadway, but she retired in 1932 (at the age of 36) to marry a British lord.

She and Fred were both born in Omaha to German immigrants.

Fred and Adele were dance partners for more than 25 years, having started as children.

 Yes, I read about this years ago. Forgot his dance partner early on was actually his sister. I knew about the English connection, and that she left Fred to marry an Englishmen and settle in England. Forgot the guy was a Brittish Lord. I recall Astaire saying how much he missed his sister throughout his career, both professionally as his long time early dance partner ( when he had not yet hit the bigtime, in the movies ), as well as you reminded me now, his loved older Sister that moved far away to England. He said he danced with dozens and dozens of great ( and beautiful ) female dance partners in over 70 years of his dancing ( Ginger Rogers, Charisse ( sp ? ) Hayworth, Garland, Goddard, Powell, Bremer, Caron, etc, but that his older sister was far and away his most talented and best dance partner he ever had, he once said. His sister indeed must have been pretty good, as Ginger Rogers ( just one of his dance partners ) was spectacular as both a solo dancer, as well as a many years dance partner in the movies with Fred Astaire.

Edited March 1, 2017 by BRASSO

[N.E. Brigand]

25 minutes ago, BRASSO said:

He said he danced with dozens and dozens of great ( and beautiful ) female dance partners in over 70 years of dancing (Rogers, Charisse (sp?) Hayworth, Garland, Goddard, Powell, Caron, etc.), but that his sister was far and away his best dance partner he ever had.

Twenty-five years ago, some professor where I went to college did a study that purported to show, by virtue of the amount of time Astaire spent actually dancing onscreen with his various partners as a percentage of the length of their movies together, that Astaire's favorite screen partner was in fact Rita Hayworth.

I think probably that oversimplfiied things (e.g., others besides Astaire had a say in the amount of dance time in a given picture), but it was still interesting.

You did indeed spell Cyd Charisse's name correctly. One of her films with Astaire (and the one most liked by film historians) was The Band Wagon (1953), which was also the title of Fred's last Broadway show with Adele.

Charisse's most iconic screen appearance is arguably with Gene Kelly in the "Gotta Dance" section of Singin' in the Rain, one of the sources for Madison Scouts' 2015 show.

 

Edited March 1, 2017 by N.E. Brigand