December 27
Born Today:
Tommy Rall
Tommy Rall (1929-2020) remains one of the most underrated dancers on film. A highly versatile performer, Rall did it all - tap, ballet, Broadway, acrobatics, and later on, he was an operatic tenor. His performances in Kiss Me Kate (1953) and in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) were exceptional, yet he never got the big movie roles. However, he was enormously respected by the Hollywood dance community, and that's saying something.
Also Born Today: French ballerina Marie-Madeleine Guimard (1743-1816) was the star of the Paris Opera for a quarter century during the reign of King Louis XVI, and she later married ballet dancer Jean-Étienne Despréaux (1748-1820). Celebrated teacher Bessie Schönberg (1906-1997) influenced modern dance students at Sarah Lawrence College until 1975.