Donald O'Connor: Make 'Em Laugh!

Cosmo Brown (Donald O'Connor) sings about the merits of being a comedic actor in "Singin' in the Rain" (1952). Cast: Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen Director: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly

"It's not easy working with a genius - but Gene was very patient with me." -Donald O'Connor (1988) on his "Singin' in the Rain" co-star, Gene Kelly

Donald O'Connor Interview for Warner Home Video ("Singin' in the Rain" 50th anniversary):

-Your signature number in "Singin’ in the Rain" is “Make ‘Em Laugh.” How did it develop? Did you work with the choreographer to add all the wonderful bits of business?

Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor attending The American Ireland Fund Gala Dinnery on November 19, 1992

-Donald O'Connor: When Gene got the music for “Make ‘Em Laugh” he said to me, “Why don’t you take the girls”— by which he meant his assistant choreographers — “and see what you can come up with?” So I got a pianist and took the girls into a rehearsal hall, and I began to sing and did a pratfall. They laughed, and I said, “Write that down.” Whatever they laughed at the most, that’s what we did on the screen.

-How long did it take to film “Make ‘Em Laugh”?

-Donald O'Connor: I had to do it in one day, because I was doing those pratfalls on cement, and my body — my knees, ankles, and toes — everything started to hurt. We saw right then that we had to shoot fast, and we did. It was absolutely miraculous. Two days later, when I walked onto the set, I got applause from everyone with the lights way up high, like the opening of a Broadway show. Stanley said, “That number is just great. Do you think you could do it again”’ It turned out the aperture on camera had been open too wide, and the whole number was fogged out. I looked like a ghost.

-Other than the title song, “Make ‘Em Laugh” is the most memorable number in the movie. It was generous of Gene Kelly to let another actor have the showstopper.

-Donald O'Connor: I think so, too. It shows you the true character of this man. He was not afraid of competition. He wanted it, and he was happy when you were better than he was, not only professionally but personally. He loved the idea that someone was working hard and paying attention.

-Debbie Reynolds was quite young and inexperienced when she signed on for Signin' in the Rain, compared to you and Kelly. Did that make things difficult during the filming?

Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds in "I Love Melvin" (1953) directed by Don Weiss

-Donald O'Connor: Debbie was quite a remarkable girl. She was so giving and so open that you wanted to take her into your arms. At the same time, she had experienced enough rejection in her life to make her interesting. It was hard to believe she'd never taken dance lessons before 'Singin' in the Rain', but she hadn't. She had to learn all that stuff with Gene and me really pushing her, because we only had a limited amount of time to prepare for the film. But she picked up on everything and managed to keep up with us. I can't imagine who else they could have gotten who would have been as perfect for that part.

-The stunts you do in “Make ‘Em Laugh” are fantastic, even by today’s standards. Did you have any acrobatic training?

-Donald O'Connor: I come from a circus family. We were in vaudeville. That’s where I learned everything. As soon as I was born, I joined the act. I started out dancing and singing a little bit, then I worked up to acrobatics. The family taught me how to balance on my hands. But after my sister was hit by a car and killed, the family became overly protective with me. So I never got to learn all those great tumbling tricks that my brothers Billy and Jack could do. But I did pick things up as I went along. I brought in Jack to teach me how to do all those flips in “Make ‘Em Laugh.”

-When you made Singin’ in the Rain, did you ever envision that you would be talking about it in a forum like this 50 years later?

-Donald O'Connor: No one ever thought it would be this big, though we all knew it was going to be a wonderful picture, because everybody worked so hard on it. Then, when it started taking off, of course everybody was excited. Now, with this new DVD format, it’s a kick to see it coming alive again in a new way. Source: video.barnesandnoble.com

Donald O'Connor and Marilyn Monroe arriving at the “Call Me Madam” premiere (1953)

Donald O'Connor singled out his favorite performance "Call Me Madam (1953): "my favorite number is in there with Vera Ellen. It's the number I do out in the garden with her to 'It's a Lovely Day Today'. It's a beautiful lyrical number. I think she was the best dancer outside of Peggy Ryan I ever danced with."

His 1944 marriage to Gwendolyn Carter ended in divorce 10 years later. They had a daughter, Donna.

His second marriage, to Gloria Noble in 1956, lasted for the rest of his life. They had three children, Alicia, Donald Frederick and Kevin.

Donald O'Connor and Judy Garland rehearse for premiere production of "The Judy Garland Show," their first TV appearance together.

Donald O'Connor as Milton Haskins, Martha Stewart as Bunny La Fleur and George O'Hanlon as Buster, performing the musical number "Daddy, Surprise Me" in "Are You with It?" (1948)

Mr. O'Connor prided himself on being forward-looking, and he was not inclined to dwell on his past. "I'm no longer a superstar," he said in 1992. "Now I'm working on being a quasar, because stars wear out. Quasars go on forever." Source: www.nytimes.com


Joseph Gordon-Levitt - SNL Opening Monologue ("Make 'Em Laugh") On November 21st, 2009

He explained that "Singing In The Rain" is his all-time favorite musical and that he's always had a fascination with the song "Make 'Em Laugh."

How to build Emotional Muscle (Kerry Kelly)

"An American in Paris" is best known for its wordless 17 minute ballet sequence at the end, the most visually striking in the film.

In another number, the romantic courtship dance to “Our Love is Here to Stay”, Jerry Mulligan (Gene Kelly) is attempting to woo the resistant Lise (Leslie Caron), who leans shyly against a wall. When the violins start, Jerry pulls Lise into a gentle embrace, and the two begin a balletic exchange that is at once sinuous and chaste.

Gene Kelly as Jerry is fleet-footed, graceful, athletic, and undeniably masculine. No matter how many grand jetés he executes, you never for a moment forget he’s a guy (muscular and passionate).

Gene Kelly representing Toulouse-Lautrec's Chocolate Dancing in Achille’s Bar painting

"Emotional Muscle: Strong Parents, Strong Children" by PHD Kerry Kelly Novick & Jack Novick (2010). Kerry Kelly Novick (Gene Kelly's daughter) received degrees in Comparative Literature from the University of California at Berkeley and Psychology from University College, London. Kerry and her husband Jack Novick, PhD, have been working with children and families on thoughtful, positive parenting techniques for more than four decades. Psychoanalysts and psychologists, they are the founders of the innovative Allen Creek Preschool in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

"All parents want their children to have healthy bodies with strong physical muscles. They also want their children to grow up to be successful, kind, responsible, creative, and good. 'Emotional Muscle' provides parenting tips for the first five years of your child’s life, offering opportunities for emotional muscle-building at every stage". Source: www.buildemotionalmuscle.com

Gene Kelly bottle feeding his daughter Kerry (1942)

Gene Kelly's first two wives were dancers. Actress Betsy Blair met Gene in the "Diamond Horseshoe" (Billy Rose's nightclub) where he was a choreographer and she was a chorus dancer.

Carol Haney, Gene Kelly, and Jeanne Coyne Rehearsals for "Singin' in the Rain" (1952)

Gene Kelly's second wife Jeanne Coyne had worked as his dancing assistant for many years before they married in 1960. A major talent in her own right, her dazzling footwork can be seen in the "From This Moment On" number alongside partner Bobby Van, Ann Miller, Tommy Rall, Carol Haney and Bob Fosse in "Kiss Me, Kate" (1953).

Gene Kelly and Tamara Toumanova in "Invitation to the Dance" (1956) directed by Gene Kelly

Ballet routine traditionally starts with barre exercises, corner travelling work, centre exercises which tests the students stability without the barre for support. Tap dance focuses on percussive rhythm and precise patterns of sound. It is a rhythmic dance (with syncopation and improvisation) that helps build muscle control, and it's performed with shoes that have metal taps underneath. It's important to know how to build muscle while practising dance and training in its varieties of tap, ballet, jazz, etc.

Gene Kelly expanding the ballet frames

"On The Town" (1949) directed by Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly: Gabey (Gene Kelly) falls for Ivy "Miss Turnstiles of the Month" Smith (Vera-Ellen) thinking she is some sophisticated celebrity, but she's actually a kootch dancer in Coney Island.

"On the Town", was based on the Broadway musical "On the Town", adapted from "Fancy Free", a Jerome Robbins ballet. The original sailors in the ballet were innocent gobs. According to screenwriter Adolph Green: "With Gene as the leading character and the star of the picture, the angle of the story had to be changed. He couldn't be a helpless, naive type. The whole structure of the story had to be changed to suit the people who were going to play the characters."

Kelly's character, Gabey, was thus changed from a passive character to a cad prototype. For a still camera, Kelly felt that "a dancer rushing from a fair distance away can create some sort of kinaesthetic effect." Both Clive Hirschhorn in his biography of Kelly and Barry Day noted that panning shots used by Kelly often made use of vertical props (such as the lamppost in "Singin' in the Rain" and the ladder in "You Were Meant for Me"), to create more depth. According to Day, Kelly's answer to the question of the best way to photograph dance was to create an artificial depth of field.

The "Miss Turnstiles Ballet" does not occur in the diegetic world of the film, but takes place in Gabey's imagination. With a few vertical props strategically positioned, the camera can wander at will. Instead of revealing everything at once, it provides a series of surprising frames within frames. Suddenly the dancer had depth on screen, thanks to Gene Kelly's efforts behind the camera.

In the scene with Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds) in "Singin' in the Rain", recording Jean Hagen's nasal dialogue in the film-within-a-film: "Our love will last 'til the stars turn cold", Reynolds' voice was not used either. According to Stanley Donen: "We used Jean Hagen (Lina Lamont) dubbing Debbie dubbing Jean. Jean's voice is quite remarkable, and it was supposed to be cultured speech and Debbie had that terrible Western noise..."

Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds as Kathy Selden and Don Lockwood in the "You're My Lucky Star" musical scene: "You are my lucky star, I was starstruck, You're all my lucky charm, I'm lucky in your arms, You've opened Heaven's portal, Here on earth for this poor mortal."

Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron on the set of "An American in Paris" (1951) directed by Vincente Minnelli

In both their introductory numbers and the subsequent ballets, Ivy Smith (Vera-Ellen) and Lise Bouvier (Leslie Caron) had been presented as very nearly the "complete woman" for Gene Kelly's characters Gabey and Jerry.

Cyd Charisse and Gene Kelly during the ballet scene in "Broadway Rhythm Ballet" ("Singin' in the Rain")

Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds) represented the "complete woman" only as a platonic conception, because her dance introduction happened in the film diegesis and because Reynolds was a more limited dancer, so in "Singin' in the Rain" the ballet scene expanded the definition of ideal woman with the introduction of Cyd Charisse's minx character, who countered with sensuality and sexual perversity Reynold's sweet effervescence.

From the entrance of Cyd Charisse, with Kelly's character's hat dangling on the tip of her shoe, to the camera's ogling of her famous long legs, it is clear that the dimensions of ideal woman in the film are being expanded from Reynold's innocence to Charisse's aggressive sexuality.

The presence of Charisse's character also helps to expand Kelly's persona in the film. Debbie Reynolds' had brought out his tenderness, but Cyd Charisse brought out conspicuously the sexual fire in his personality.

Cyd Charisse and Gene Kelly on the set of "It's Always Fair Weather" (1955) directed by Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly

A song was written for Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse in "It's Always Fair Weather" by Andre Previn & Comden and Green, but never made it into the film. It was entitled "Love is Nothing But a Racket," and was intended to be a slow, romantic duet.

Kelly has been described during the making of the film as an "overworked, jagged-in-the-nerves executive." Donen was even more caustic: "I didn't really want to co-direct another picture with Kelly at that point. We didn't get on very well and, for that matter, Gene didn't get on well with anybody. It was the only picture during which the atmosphere was really horrendous. We had to struggle from beginning to end. I can only say it was an absolute one hundred per cent nightmare."

While the status of the relationship of Kelly and Donen would certainly dissolve after the completion of "It's Always Fair Weather", the film and its contradictions are rooted in a changing America during that time, and specifically in changes that were a part of Kelly's persona.

Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra in "Anchors Aweigh" (1945) directed by George Sidney

The role of America in the world, especially in regard to its interventionism in such countries as South Korea, began to be questioned. The confidence of the country after World War Two gradually gave way to the "Age of Anxiety," the fifties. The dynamics of typically paternalist male/female relationships began to be questioned as well.

Gene Kelly, more than most performers, was a reflection of 40's confidence in America. He had begun his Hollywood career in 1942 starring in "For Me and My Gal" alongside Judy Garland, thereafter playing a variety of war-time roles ("Pilot No. 5", "Thousands Cheer", "The Cross of Lorraine", "The Devil Makes Three"). Some of his greatest successes were in films where he had played US Navy servicemen, such as "Anchors Aweigh" and "On the Town".

It is easy to link the influence of dance in his films with the confidence of America in itself. As that confidence progressively waned, so did the influence of musicals, leaving Kelly to create song-and-dance films without that characteristical confidence and idealistic joy that had infused them before.

Gene Kelly and Betsy Blair (married 22 September 1941 - divorced 3 April 1957)

Also the intrusion of the increasing trend to marginalize dance in Gene Kelly's posterior films occurred at the same time his marriage with Betsy Blair broke up. -The Gene Kelly/Stanley Donen Trilogy: Singin' and Dancin' in the Narrative and Film Structure (1984) by Mark DuPre