Frank Beacham's Journal

George Balanchine was born 116 years ago today

George Balanchine was born 116 years ago today.

Balanchine was one of the 20th century's most prolific and famous choreographers. Known as the father of American ballet, he co-founded the New York City Ballet and remained its balletmaster for more than 35 years.

Balanchine was a choreographer known for his musicality. He expressed music with dance and worked extensively with leading composers of his time like Igor Stravinsky.

After years of illness, Balanchine died on April 30, 1983 at age 79 in New York City from Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, which was diagnosed only after his death.

He first showed symptoms during 1978 when he began losing his balance while dancing.

As the disease progressed, his equilibrium, eyesight and hearing deteriorated. By 1982, he was incapacitated.

The night of his death, the company went on with its scheduled performance, which included Divertimento No. 15 and Symphony in C at Lincoln Center.

In his last years, Balanchine suffered from angina and underwent heart bypass surgery.

Balanchine, 1941

Above photo by George Platt Lynes

Danny Kaye was born 110 years ago today

Danny Kaye was born 110 years ago today.

An actor, singer, dancer and comedian, Kaye’s performances featured physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes and rapid-fire nonsense songs. He starred in 17 movies, notably The Kid from Brooklyn (1946), The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947), The Inspector General (1949), Hans Christian Andersen (1952), White Christmas (1954) and The Court Jester (1956).

Kaye’s films were popular, especially his bravura performances of patter songs and favorites such as "Inchworm" and "The Ugly Duckling." He was the first ambassador-at-large of UNICEF in 1954 and received the French Legion of Honor in 1986 for his years of work with the organization.

Kaye died in 1987 at 74 years old.

Here, Kaye and Gene Kelly dance and sing on the Danny Kaye Show

Eartha Kitt was born 94 years ago today

Eartha Kitt was born 94 years ago today.

A singer, actress, dancer and cabaret star, Kitt was perhaps best known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 hit recordings of "C'est Si Bon" and the enduring Christmas novelty smash, "Santa Baby."

Orson Welles once called her the "most exciting woman in the world."

She took over the role of Catwoman for the third and final season of the 1960s Batman television series, replacing Julie Newmar, who was unavailable due to other commitments.

She also voiced Yzma on Disney's The Emperor's New Groove and its television spinoff, The Emperor's New School, earning five Emmy Awards in the process — the last shortly before her death.

Kitt died in 2008 at the age of 81.

Here is Kitt performing "C'est Si Bon"

Alvin Ailey was born 90 years ago today

Judith Jamison, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Alvin Ailey

Photo by Jack Vartoogian

Alvin Ailey was born 90 years ago today.

An African-American choreographer and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City, Ailey is credited with popularizing modern dance and revolutionizing African-American participation in 20th century concert dance. His company gained the nickname "Cultural Ambassador to the World" because of its extensive international touring.

Ailey's choreographic masterpiece, Revelations, is believed to be the best known and most often seen modern dance performance.

In 1977, Ailey was awarded the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP. He received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1988, just one year before his death. In 2014, President Barack Obama selected Ailey to be a posthumous recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Here is Ailey’s Revelations

Radio City Music Hall opened on this day in 1932, 88 years ago

Radio City Music Hall

Photo by Frank Beacham

At the height of the Great Depression, thousands turned out for the opening of Radio City Music Hall, a magnificent Art Deco theater in New York City.

Radio City Music Hall was designed as a palace for the people, a place of beauty where ordinary people could see high-quality entertainment.

Since its 1932 opening — 88 years ago today — more than 300 million people have gone to Radio City to enjoy movies, stage shows, concerts and special events.

Radio City Music Hall was the brainchild of the billionaire John D. Rockefeller, Jr., who decided to make the theater the cornerstone of the Rockefeller Complex he was building in a formerly derelict neighborhood in midtown Manhattan.

The theater was built in partnership with the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and designed by Donald Deskey. The result was an Art Deco masterpiece of elegance and grace constructed out of a diverse variety of materials, including aluminum, gold foil, marble, permatex, glass and cork.

Geometric ornamentation is found throughout the theater, as is Deskey's central theme of the "Progress of Man." The famous Great Stage, measuring 60 feet wide and 100 feet long, resembles a setting sun. Its sophisticated system of hydraulic-powered elevators allowed spectacular effects in staging, and many of its original mechanisms are still in use today.

In its first four decades, Radio City Music Hall alternated as a first-run movie theater and a site for gala stage shows. More than 700 films have premiered at Radio City Music Hall since 1933. In the late 1970s, the theater changed its format and began staging concerts by popular music artists. The Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular, which debuted in 1933, draws more than a million people annually.

The show features the high-kicking Rockettes, a precision dance troupe that has been a staple at Radio City since the 1930s.

In 1999, the Hall underwent a seven-month, $70 million restoration. Today, Radio City Music Hall remains the largest indoor theater in the world.

Thanks History.com

The Nutcracker ballet, with a score by Tchaikovsky, premiered in St. Petersburg, Russia on this day in 1892 — 128 years ago

For many, it is hard to imagine the holiday season without the cultural feast of glittering fairies, toys and sweets that come alive with the dancing and music of “The Nutcracker.”

The Nutcracker ballet, with a score by Tchaikovsky, premiered in St. Petersburg, Russia on this day in 1892 — 128 years ago.

It might never have happened. Tchaikovsky’s parents sent him to law school because they didn’t consider music an acceptable profession. Later, he quit a legal job to attend the St. Petersburg Conservatory, the foundation of an illustrious career that included “Swan Lake” and “Sleeping Beauty.”

The “Nutcracker” tale isn’t entirely Russian, though. It’s based on an 1816 story, “Nutcracker and Mouse King,” by the German writer E. T. A. Hoffmann, and it was adapted and popularized by the French writer, Alexandre Dumas, in 1844 as “The Tale of a Nutcracker.”

Decades later, the St. Petersburg Opera hired Tchaikovsky to write music for a ballet based on the later version. No performances today faithfully follow the staging first done in St. Petersburg.

Tchaikovsky’s scores are among the most famous in ballet, and they lend much of the magic to the holiday fairy tale that ends happily ever after.

Thanks New York Times

Dick Van Dyke is 94 years old today

On this day in 1925 — 94 years ago — Dick Van Dyke, the quintessential “nice guy” actor who would become known for his performances in such movie classics as Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, as well as the popular 1960s TV sitcom, The Dick Van Dyke Show, was born in West Plains, Missouri.

Van Dyke, who was raised in Danville, Illinois, served in the military during World War II and in the 1950s took various acting jobs and hosted a series of TV game shows. In 1960, he starred on Broadway in Bye Bye Birdie, a role which earned him a Tony Award.

The following year, he signed on to play comedy writer, Rob Petrie, on The Dick Van Dyke Show. The show was the brainchild of the writer-director-producer, Carl Reiner, who reportedly based the sitcom on his own experiences working as a comedy writer for Sid Caesar.

The Dick Van Dyke Show featured a strong ensemble cast that included Mary Tyler Moore as Rob’s wife. Laura; Morey Amsterdam and Rose Marie as Rob’s colleagues Buddy and Sally; and Larry Matthews as the Petries’ son, Ritchie.

In the show’s opening credits, Van Dyke was famously seen tripping over an ottoman in the family’s home in New Rochelle, New York, where, in keeping with the conservative broadcasting standards of the time, Rob and Laura Petrie slept in separate beds.

After The Dick Van Dyke Show went off the air in 1966, Mary Tyler Moore starred in her own successful TV sitcom, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which originally aired from 1970 to 1977.

In addition to his TV success in the 1960s, Van Dyke appeared in a string of movies, including the 1963 big-screen adaptation of Bye Bye Birdie, which co-starred Ann-Margret and Janet Leigh.

The following year, he appeared as the charming chimney sweep, Bert, in Walt Disney’s movie musical, Mary Poppins, which featured Julie Andrews, in her feature film debut as the umbrella-toting super nanny. The film, now a beloved cinematic classic, earned 13 Academy Award nominations and took home five Oscars, including Best Actress for Andrews.

Though Van Dyke received positive reviews for his singing and dancing, critics skewered him for his bad English accent.

In 1968, Van Dyke had another hit movie musical with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, in which he plays the eccentric inventor, Caratacus Potts, who develops a magic car. The film’s screenplay was co-written by Roald Dahl, the best-selling author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
 
From 1971 to 1974, Van Dyke starred in The New Dick Van Dyke Show, playing a Phoenix TV talk show host. The actor, who in the 1970s went public with his struggle with alcoholism, was featured in a series of made-for-TV movies and did guest appearances on various TV shows before he was cast in another successful series, the medical crime drama, Diagnosis Murder.

The show, which originally aired from 1993 to 2001, also featured Van Dyke’s son, Barry Van Dyke. After half a century in show business, Van Dyke continues to act. Among more recent recent movie credits are Curious George (2006) and Night at the Museum (2007).

Here is an episode of the “Dick Van Dyke Show”

Thanks History.com

Sammy Davis, Jr. was born 95 years ago today

Photo by Allan Warren

Sammy Davis, Jr. was born 95 years ago today.

Primarily a dancer and singer, Davis also had many acting roles on stage and screen, and was noted for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities.

At the age of three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father and Will Mastin as the Will Mastin Trio, which toured nationally. After military service, Davis returned to the trio. He became an overnight sensation following a nightclub performance at Ciro's after the 1951 Academy Awards. With the trio, he became a recording artist.

In 1954, Davis lost his left eye in an automobile accident, and several years later, he converted to Judaism. Davis' film career began as a child in 1933. In 1960, he appeared in the first Rat Pack film, Ocean's 11.

After a starring role on Broadway in 1956's Mr. Wonderful, Davis returned to the stage in 1964's Golden Boy, and in 1966 had his own TV variety show, The Sammy Davis Jr. Show.

Davis' career slowed in the late 1960s, but he had a hit record with "The Candy Man" in 1972 and became a star in Las Vegas, earning him the nickname "Mister Show Business."

As an African-American, Davis was the victim of racism throughout his life and was a large financial supporter of the civil rights movement. He had a complex relationship with the African-American community, and drew criticism after physically embracing President Richard M. Nixon in 1972.

One day on a golf course with Jack Benny, he was asked what his handicap was. "Handicap?" he asked. "Talk about handicap — I'm a one-eyed Negro Jew." This was to become a signature comment, recounted in his autobiography, and in countless articles.

After reuniting with Sinatra and Dean Martin in 1987, Davis toured with them and Liza Minnelli internationally, before he died of throat cancer in 1990. He died in debt to the Internal Revenue Service, and his estate was the subject of legal battles.

Davis was awarded the Spingarn Medal by the NAACP. He was the recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 1987

Here, Sammy Davis Jr. performs “Mr. Bojangles”

Steve Rubell, the co-owner of New York’s Studio 54 night club, was born 77 years ago today

Steve Rubell, the co-owner of New York’s Studio 54 night club, was born 77 years ago today.

Rubell and his brother, Don, spent their childhoods with their parents in Brooklyn. His father worked for the U.S. Postal Service and later became a tennis pro. Rubell attended Wingate High School, and was also an avid tennis player, but decided against playing professionally.

Entering Syracuse University, Rubell had the intention of becoming a dentist, but failed his courses and switched majors, studying finance and history. He was reportedly not a good student but managed to complete his studies, going on to complete a Master's degree in Finance.

While attending college, Rubell met Ian Schrager, who became a lifelong friend and business partner. Rubell joined the National Guard, returning to New York after a tour of duty in a military intelligence unit. He worked at a brokerage firm after his return.

Rubell then decided to start his own business and opened two Steak Lofts restaurants: one in Queens, New York, and the other in New Haven, Connecticut. Rubell and Schrager opened two clubs, one in Boston with John Addison from La Jardin, the other, called The Enchanted Garden, in Queens in 1975, which later became Douglaston Manor.

In April, 1977, they opened Studio 54 in the old CBS television studio on West 54th Street that the network was selling. Rubell became a familiar face in front of the building, turning people down at the door and only letting in those who met his specific standards.

He also dealt with the club's celebrity patrons, ensuring that they were thrown lavish parties. His tactics worked, and the club made $7 million during its first year.

In December, 1978, Studio 54 was raided after Rubell was quoted as saying that only the Mafia made more money than the club brought in.

In June, 1979, Rubell and Schrager were charged with tax evasion, obstruction of justice and conspiracy for reportedly skimming nearly $2.5 million in unreported income from the club's receipts, in a system Rubell called "cash-in, cash-out and skim."

Police reports state that cash and receipts were in the building and were hidden in the ceiling sections of Rubell's office, where both he and Schrager worked. A second raid occurred in December, 1979.

The pair hired Roy Cohn to defend them, but on January 18, 1980, they were sentenced to three and a half years in prison and a $20,000 fine each for the tax evasion charge. On February 4, 1980, Rubell and Schrager went to prison and Studio 54 was sold in November of that year for $4.75 million.

In January, 1981, Rubell and Schrager were released from prison after handing over the names of other club owners involved in tax evasion. Once released, Rubell and Schrager purchased the Executive Hotel on Madison Ave and renamed it Morgan's.

Rubell later opened the Palladium, a large dance club famous for displaying art by Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol, and considered central to the New York club scene in the 1980s. In 1998, the Palladium was demolished so that New York University dorms could be built in its place.

Mike Myers played the part of Steve Rubell in the movie, 54, much to Rubell's relatives' protest after the movie portrayed him as an overly sleazy gay man and an alcoholic junkie with mob connections. Rubell has also been the topic of an episode of Biography titled, Steve Rubell: Lord of the Disco.

In 1985, after discovering he had contracted AIDS, Rubell (who was closeted for most of his life) began taking AZT, but his illness was furthered by his continued drug usage and drinking, which affected his already compromised immune system.

Rubell died on July 25, 1989, with the official cause of death listed as hepatitis.

Here, Rubell is pictured above with Bianca Jagger at Studio 54 in 1978

Anna Mae Bullock — known by her stage name Tina Turner — is 81 years old today

Anna Mae Bullock — known by her stage name Tina Turner — is 81 years old today.

Turner is a singer, dancer, actress and author, whose career has spanned more than half a century.

Born and raised in the American South, she is now a Swiss citizen. She began her musical career in the mid-1950s as a featured singer with Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm, first recording in 1958 under the name, "Little Ann." Her introduction to the public as Tina Turner began in 1960 as a member of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue.

Success followed with a string of notable hits credited to the duo, including "River Deep – Mountain High" (1966), "Proud Mary" (1971) and "Nutbush City Limits" (1973), a song which she wrote.

In her autobiography, I, Tina, she revealed several instances of severe domestic abuse against her by Ike Turner prior to their 1976 split and subsequent 1978 divorce.

Raised as a Baptist, she melded her faith with Buddhism in 1974, crediting the religion and its spiritual chant of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo for helping her to endure during difficult times. After her divorce from Ike Turner, she rebuilt her career through performances, though she initially struggled to make an impact on the music charts as a solo artist.

In the early 1980s, she launched a comeback with another string of hits, starting in 1983 with the single "Let's Stay Together," followed by the 1984 release of her fifth solo album, Private Dancer, which became a worldwide success.

"What's Love Got to Do with It," the most successful single from the album, was later used as the title of a biographical film adapted from her autobiography.

In addition to her musical career, Turner has also experienced success in films, including a role in the 1975 rock musical, Tommy, and a starring role in the 1985 Mel Gibson blockbuster film, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, as well as a cameo role in the 1993 film, Last Action Hero.

One of the world's most popular entertainers, she is often called "the queen of rock." Turner has been termed the most successful female rock artist, selling more concert tickets than any other solo performer in history. Her combined album and single sales total approximately 100 million copies worldwide. She is noted for her energetic stage presence, powerful vocals and career longevity.

In 2008, Turner returned from semi-retirement to embark on her Tina!: 50th Anniversary Tour. Turner's tour became one of the highest selling ticketed shows of 2008–2009.

The biographical musical, Tina, is now running on Broadway.

Here, Turner performs “What’s Love Got to Do With It”