Donald David Dixon Ronald O'Connor (August 28, 1925 – September 27, 2003) was an American dancer, singer and actor. He came to fame in a series of films in which he co-starred, in succession, with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talking Mule.
O'Connor was born into a vaudeville family, where he learned to dance, sing, play comedy, and perform slapstick. The most distinctive characteristic of his dancing style was its athleticism, for which he had few rivals. Yet it was his boyish charm that audiences found most engaging, and which remained an appealing aspect of his personality throughout his career. In his Universal musicals of the early 1940s, O'Connor was a wisecracking, fast-talking teenager, much like Mickey Rooney of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). But by 1952 and Singin' in the Rain, MGM had cultivated a much more sympathetic sidekick persona for him, and that remained O'Connor's signature image.
His best-known work was his "Make 'Em Laugh" dance routine in Singin' in the Rain (1952), for which O'Connor was awarded a Golden Globe. He also won a Primetime Emmy Award from four nominations and received two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Early years O'Connor was born on August 28, 1925 in Chicago to Vaudevillians Edward "Chuck" O'Connor and Effie Irene (née Crane), the 200th child born at St. Elizabeth Hospital there. Both the O'Connors struggled to remember where and when exactly Donald was born, due to the family's extensive travel. Effie was a bareback rider and Chuck was a circus strongman and acrobat. His father's family was from Ireland.
O'Connor later said, "I was about 13 months old, they tell me, when I first started dancing, and they'd hold me up by the back of my neck and they'd start the music, and I'd dance. You could do that with any kid, only I got paid for it."DONALD O'CONNOR Weekend All Things Considered; Washington, D.C. : 1. Washington, D.C.: NPR. (May 25, 1997)
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 died. A few weeks later, his father died of a heart attack while dancing on stage in Brockton, Massachusetts.
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 was not performing.
Career O'Connor Family O'Connor joined a dance act with his mother and elder brother Jack. They were billed as the O'Connor Family, the Royal Family of Vaudeville. They toured the country doing singing, dancing, comedy, and acting. "Our entire family composed an act," he says. "We really didn't have a choice; if you were in the family you appeared in the act. I loved vaudeville. The live audiences created a certain spontaneity."
When they were not touring they stayed with O'Connor's Uncle Bill in Danville, Illinois. O'Connor never went to school,The Life Story of DONALD O'CONNOR. Picture Show, London, Vol. 62, Iss. 1607 (January 16, 1954): 12. but performed in the Danville High School dramatic club with Dick Van Dyke and Bobby Short.
He later said, "I learned two dance routines. I looked like the world's greatest dancer. I did triple wings and everything. But I had never had any formal training. So, when I went into movies and started working with all those great dancers, I had a terrible time. I couldn't pick up routines because I didn't have any formal training. At the age of 15 — from 15 on, I really had to learn to dance. And that's quite old for someone to start dancing real heavy, professionally."
Contrasting the vaudevillian style of dance with that of ballet and musicals he observed, "All hoofers, they dance from the waist down. And I had to learn to dance from the waist up. And then, I became what's known as a total dancer."
O'Connor began performing in movies in 1937, making his debut at age 11 in Melody for Two appearing with his family act. He was also in Columbia's It Can't Last Forever (1937).
Paramount O'Connor signed a contract at Paramount Studios. He appeared in Men with Wings (1938), directed by William Wellman, as Fred MacMurray's character as a boy. He was billed fifth in Sing You Sinners (1938) playing Bing Crosby's and MacMurray's younger brother.Chicago Born Donald O'Connor Is a Veteran of Stage and Films at 25 Zylstra, Freida. Chicago Daily Tribune July 27, 1950: c1.
He was in Sons of the Legion (1938), then had the second lead in a B-picture, Tom Sawyer, Detective (1938), playing Huckleberry Finn opposite Billy Cook's Tom Sawyer. O'Connor third billed in both Boy Trouble (1939) and Unmarried (1939), playing John Hartley as a young boy in the latter.
O'Connor was billed fourth in Million Dollar Legs (1939) with Betty Grable. He played Gary Cooper as a young boy in Beau Geste (1939), directed by Wellman.
Night Work (1939) was a sequel to Boy Trouble and O'Connor was in Death of a Champion (1939).
He went to Warner Bros to play Eddie Albert as a young boy in On Your Toes (1939). He then returned to his family act in vaudeville for two years.
Universal In 1941, O'Connor signed with Universal Pictures for $200 a week, where he began with What's Cookin'? (1942), a low-budget musical with The Andrews Sisters, the studio's teenage singing star Gloria Jean, and Peggy Ryan.Obituaries: Donald O'Connor, 78, comic and dancer Anonymous. Back Stage; New York Vol. 44, Iss. 40, (Oct 3 – 9, 2003): 47. The film was popular and Universal began to develop O'Connor and Ryan as their version of Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland.Zylstra, Freida. (July 25, 1950) "Chicago Born Donald O'Connor Is a Veteran of Stage and Films at 25" Chicago Daily Tribune
He, Ryan, and the Andrews Sisters were in Private Buckaroo (1942) and Give Out, Sisters (1942); then he was co-starred opposite Jean in four films: Get Hep to Love (1942), When Johnny Comes Marching Home (1943), It Comes Up Love (1943), and School for Jive, which showed O'Connor to such good advantage that he became the focal point of the film, retitled Mister Big (1943). Universal added $50,000 to the budget and elevated the "B" movie to "A" status.
O'Connor and Ryan were in Top Man (1943), with Susanna Foster, and Chip Off the Old Block (1944), with Ann Blyth. O'Connor and Ryan both had cameos in Universal's all-star Follow the Boys (1944).
During World War II, on his 18th birthday in August 1943, O'Connor was drafted into the United States Army. Before he reported for induction on February 6, 1944, Universal already had four O'Connor films completed. They rushed production to complete four more by that date, all with Ryan: This Is the Life (1944), with Foster; The Merry Monahans (1944), with Blyth and Jack Oakie; Bowery to Broadway (1945), another all-star effort where O'Connor had a cameo; and Patrick the Great (1945).
Return from war service Upon O'Connor's return from military service, he found that his employers had changed hands. A merger in 1946 had reorganized the studio as Universal-International, with new executives in charge. They didn't know O'Connor, now nearly broke, and didn't know what to do with him. Finally, the studio paired O'Connor opposite their biggest female star, Deanna Durbin, in Something in the Wind (1947), and kept him busy in musical comedies: Are You with It? (1948) with Olga San Juan, Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin' (1949) with Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride, and Yes Sir, That's My Baby (1949) with Gloria DeHaven.Donald O'Connor, Miss Main Set Comedy. Pace, G K. Los Angeles Times, August 9, 1948: 12.
"I wasn't really a dancer, a good dancer, until I got older," he said later. "I could do those wings and stuff and I looked very good, but my heavens, it was very, very hard for me to pick up on — pick up steps. It was just oh — so laborious for me. I didn't have a short cut like the other dancers do."
Francis In 1949, O'Connor played the lead role in Francis, the story of a soldier befriended by a talking mule. Directed by Arthur Lubin, the film was a huge success. As a consequence, his musical career was constantly interrupted by production of one Francis film per year until 1955. O'Connor later said the films "were fun to make. Actually, they were quite challenging. I had to play straight in order to convince the audience that the mule could talk."Donald O'Connor's musical Journey keeps him on road Dale, Steve. Chicago Tribune December 20, 1985: n_a50.
O'Connor followed the first Francis with comedies: Curtain Call at Cactus Creek (1950), The Milkman (1950), and Double Crossbones (1951).
He did Francis Goes to the Races (1951), another big hit. In February 1951 he signed a new contract with Universal for one film a year for four years, enabling him to work outside the studio.
Singin' in the Rain In January 1952, O'Connor signed a three-picture deal with Paramount.PARAMOUNT SIGNS DONALD O'CONNOR: Actor Will Make 3 Pictures for Studio -- Betty Hutton's Film May Be One of Them By THOMAS M. PRYOR Special to The New York Times. January 24, 1952: 23. He also received an offer to play Cosmo the piano player in Singin' in the Rain (1952) at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
That film featured his widely known rendition of "Make 'Em Laugh," which he choreographed with help from the assistant dance directors and his brother.Filmed interview shown on TCM The number featured dozens of jumps, pratfalls, and two backflips launched by running halfway up a wall.
"The scene was building to such a crescendo, I thought I'd actually have to kill myself," said O'Connor.
He acted alongside Gene Kelly, and earned the 1953 Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Comedy or Musical.
O'Connor went back to Universal for Francis Goes to West Point (1952) then returned to MGM for I Love Melvin (1953) a musical with Debbie Reynolds.
He began appearing regularly on television. One review in 1952 called him "1952's new star. Movie bred, he has the versatility of a Jimmy Durante and the effervescence of youth. He can dance, he can sing, he can act, and he can spout humor, but not yet with the finesse of a veteran."YOUNG DONALD O'CONNOR MAKES GOOD IN VIDEO Chicago Daily Tribune April 20, 1952: e2.
He supported Ethel Merman in Call Me Madam (1953) at 20th Century Fox, later saying the film contained his best dancing. He co-starred in another Fox musical, There's No Business Like Show Business (1954), which featured Irving Berlin's music and also starred with Ethel Merman, Marilyn Monroe (O'Connor's on screen love interest), Dan Dailey, Mitzi Gaynor, and Johnnie Ray.
After Francis Covers the Big Town (1953), Universal put O'Connor in a musical in color, Walking My Baby Back Home (1953) with Janet Leigh.
O'Connor's industry and public recognition reached a peak in 1954, when he was asked to emcee that year's Academy Awards ceremony.Donald O'Connor Named to Emcee Oscar Awards, Chicago Daily Tribune February 19, 1954: a8.
He received excellent notices for Francis Joins the WACS (1954) and was scheduled to play Bing Crosby's partner in White Christmas (1954). O'Connor was forced to withdraw because he contracted an illness transmitted by the muleQ Fever Hits Star, Melbourne Argus August 15, 1953, p. 4. and was replaced in the film by Danny Kaye.Donald O'Connor Enters Hospital Hopper, Hedda. Los Angeles Times August 9, 1953: 3.
O'Connor, resentful of how the Francis series had interfered with his musical career, reluctantly agreed to star in Francis in the Navy (1955).Donald O'Connor Scheduled for Another 'Francis' Film Hopper, Hedda. Chicago Daily Tribune, October 18, 1954: b16. Arthur Lubin, who directed the series, later recalled that O'Connor "got very difficult" to work with: "He'd sit in his dressing room and stare into space, and I think he had problems at home."