Dan Dailey

For the glass artist (born 1947), see Dan Dailey (glass artist).
Dan Dailey

in Washington Melodrama (1941)
Born Daniel James Dailey
(1915-12-14)December 14, 1915
New York, New York, U.S.
Died October 16, 1978(1978-10-16) (aged 62)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death Complications from hip surgery
Years active 1921
1937–1977
Spouse(s) Esther Rodier (?-1941)
Elizabeth Hofert (1942-1951) one child
Gwen Carter O'Connor (1955–1960)
Children Dan Dailey III, (1948–1975)

Daniel James "Dan" Dailey, Jr. (December 14, 1915 – October 16, 1978) was an American dancer and actor.

Early life and career

Dailey was born on December 14, 1915,[1] in New York City, to Daniel James Dailey, Sr. and Helen Theresa (née Ryan) Dailey.[2] His younger sister was actress Irene Dailey. He appeared in a minstrel show in 1921, and later appeared in vaudeville before his Broadway debut in 1937 in Babes in Arms. In 1940, he was signed by MGM to make films and, although his past career had been in musicals, he was initially cast as a Nazi in The Mortal Storm and a mobster in The Get Away.[3] However, the people at MGM realized their mistake quickly and cast him in a series of musical films.

He served in the United States Army during World War II, and was commissioned as an Army officer after graduation from Signal Corps Officer Candidate School at Fort Monmouth in New Jersey.[4] He returned to Hollywood to make more musicals. Beginning with Mother Wore Tights (1947) He became the frequent and favorite co-star of Betty Grable. His performance in their film When My Baby Smiles at Me in 1948 garnered him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

In 1949, he showcased his singing abilities by recording four songs for Decca Records with the popular Andrews Sisters singing trio. Two of the songs were Irish novelties ("Clancy Lowered the Boom!" and "I Had a Hat (When I Came In)"). The other songs, Take Me Out to the Ball Game and In the Good Old Summertime capitalized on the success of two MGM blockbuster films of the same names from that same year, starring Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra, and Judy Garland and Van Johnson, respectively. Dailey and The Andrews Sisters were an excellent match, and their vocal stylings on these selections were full of gaeity and fun.[5]

In 1950, he starred in A Ticket to Tomahawk, often noted as one of the first screen appearances of Marilyn Monroe, who played a very small part as a dance hall girl. That same year, he played the title role in When Willie Comes Marching Home, for which he received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy in 1951. He portrayed baseball pitcher Dizzy Dean in The Pride of St. Louis.

One of his most notable roles was as Terence Donahue in the 20th Century Fox musical extravaganza There's No Business Like Show Business (1954), which featured Irving Berlin's music and also starred Monroe, Ethel Merman, Mitzi Gaynor, Johnnie Ray, and Donald O'Connor, whose wife Gwen divorced O'Connor and married Dailey around that time.

He played GI-turned-advertising man Doug Hallerton in It's Always Fair Weather (1955). The film was screened at drive-in theaters and was not a box-office success, although it did receive good reviews. He starred opposite Cyd Charisse and Agnes Moorehead in Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956). The following year, he portrayed "Jughead" Carson in the drama The Wings of Eagles, a biographical film on the life of Frank Wead. It was Dailey's last film for MGM.

As the musical genre began to wane in the late-1950s, he moved on to various comedic and dramatic roles on television, including appearing in The Four Just Men and Faraday & Company. In the late 1960s, Dailey toured as Oscar Madison in a road production of The Odd Couple. co-starring Elliott Reid as Felix Unger and also featuring Peter Boyle as Murray the cop. From 1969-71, Dailey was the Governor opposite Jullie Sommars's J.J. in the sitcom The Governor & J.J. which revolved around the relationship between his character, the conservative governor of an unnamed state and his liberal daughter Jennifer Jo. His performance won him the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Musical or Comedy, making him the first actor to receive the award in 1970.

Death

Dailey died on October 16, 1978, from complications following hip replacement surgery.[6] He is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.[7]

Filmography

Films:

Radio:

Television:

Stage:

Other:

Box office ranking

For a number of years movie exhibitors voted Dailey among the most popular stars in the country:

References

  1. ↑ The 1920 census and Dailey's official enlistment record shows that he was born December 14, 1915, not 1913 as is sometimes reported.
  2. ↑ Both the 1920 for New York City and 1930 Census for Nassau Co, New York list him as Daniel J Dailey, son of Daniel J & Helen Dailey - not James J Dailey as sometimes reported. His sister Irene also appears in the same 1930 census.
  3. ↑ Donna Reed Foundation for the Performing Arts. "The Get Away".
  4. ↑ Dailey enlisted in the Army shortly after Pearl Harbor and attended Signal Corps Officer Candidate School at Fort Monmouth, NJ starting in September 1942. He was commissioned on Dec 12, 1942 and served until late 1946, when he was discharged as a captain.
  5. ↑ Sforza, John: "Swing It! The Andrews Sisters Story;" University Press of Kentucky, 2000
  6. ↑ "Dan Dailey, Actor, Dies". Milwaukee Journal. Oct 17, 1978.
  7. ↑ Dan Dailey at Find a Grave
  8. ↑ Hope Edges Out Crosby as Box-Office Champ; Wayne, Williams Click Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File) [Los Angeles, Calif] 30 December 1949: 15.

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