December 14
Born Today:
Dan Dailey
Film star Dan Dailey (1915-1978) (on the far right) got his start on Broadway in the original production of Babes in Arms (1937), a show that also featured tap duo The Nicholas Brothers. Dailey moved to Hollywood and began making movies in the 1940s, starring in Mother Wore Tights (1947) with Betty Grable (1916-1973), There’s No Business Like Show Business (1954) with Donald O’Connor (1925-2003), and It’s Always Fair Weather (1955) alongside Gene Kelly (1912-1996) and Michael Kidd (1915-2007).
Also Born Today: Choreographer June Taylor (1917-2004), famous for the all-female troupe, The June Taylor Dancers, worked with Jackie Gleason on many iterations of his television comedy/variety shows. Ballerina Charlene Gehm MacDougal (1951-2021) danced lead roles with the Joffrey Ballet from 1976–1991, and on Broadway in a revival of West Side Story, and in the original Phantom of the Opera (1988).