May 2
Born Today:
Vernon Castle
Ballroom dancer Vernon Castle (1887-1918) was the husband/performing partner of Irene Castle (1893-1969). Together, they made ballroom dancing fashionable and performed in nightclubs and on Broadway in the early part of the twentieth century. During the height of their partnership, he insisted on fighting in WWI and trained to be a pilot. Although he survived the war, he was killed in a plane crash just outside of Fort Worth in 1918, ending a magical duo entirely too soon. The 1939 biopic, The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle, starred Fred Astaire (1899-1987) and Ginger Rogers (1911-1995) as the couple.
Also Born Today: Italian ballet dancer Nicola Guerra (1865-1942) is best known for teaching and setting choreography on dancers at several prestigious European companies including the Paris Opera Ballet and the Budapest Opera. Broadway dancer/choreographer Tony Stevens (1948-2011) was the assistant on the original version of Chicago (1975). He also organized the taped dancer confessions that inspired the Broadway musical A Chorus Line (1975), and he choreographed the movie version of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982).