Donald O'Connor

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Donald David Dixon Ronald O'Connor (born August 28, 1925 in Chicago , Illinois - † September 27, 2003 in Calabasas , California ) was an American actor , singer , presenter and dancer . He reached the peak of his career in the 1940s and 1950s with Universal Pictures , his best-known role he had in 1952 as Cosmo Brown in the classic film Singin 'In The Rain .

life and career

Donald O'Connor was born in Chicago as the son of vaudeville entertainers Irene and John Edward "Chuck" O'Connor. His father's family originally came from County Cork , Ireland . As a child, Donald was involved in a car accident outside a Hartford theater in which his sister was killed. Just weeks after his daughter died, O'Connor's father also died of a heart attack. The half-orphan was now on the theater stage and had his first film appearance in the musical Melody for Two (1937) at the age of twelve . Other supporting roles for O'Connor soon followed, for example on the side of Bing Crosby in Sing You Sinners (1938) or in the adventure film Three Foreign Legionaries with Gary Cooper , Robert Preston and Ray Milland in the leading roles. In addition to his film appearances, the child actor received training in singing and dance.

After O'Connor outgrew his child roles, he signed a studio contract with Universal Pictures in 1941 . He played leading roles in a long series of small musical films that were primarily aimed at young audiences. His most frequent partners at Universal included Peggy Ryan and Gloria Jean , each of whom he appeared in four films. From 1944 O'Connor completed his service in World War II , but Universal withheld some films with him in front of the cinemas so long that even during his two-year abstinence from Hollywood, new films of his were regularly shown in the cinema. His first film after the war was Something in the Wind (1947), where he starred alongside Deanna Durbin . Other musical films on Universal such as Yes Sir, That's My Baby (1949) directed by George Sherman followed for the actor. In 1950 O'Connor played the leading comedic role in the film Francis, which is about a soldier who befriends a talking donkey. Francis was so successful that five more films for O'Connor and Donkey Francis followed by 1955.

In 1952, O'Connor had his most famous appearance on the side of Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds in the musical classic Singin 'in the Rain . In it he played Cosmo Brown, the crazy-lovable friend and colleague of Kelly's main character. In Singin 'in the Rain , O'Connor also sang the popular song Make' Em Laugh . His performance in Singin 'in the Rain won a Golden Globe Award . In the mid-1950s, O'Connor's career was at its peak with films like Walter Lang's Rhythm in the Blood (1954). Between 1954 and 1955, NBC television produced the musical sitcom The Donald O'Connor Show . He also formed the presenter duo of the Academy Awards in 1954 with Fredric March . O'Connor also hosted other television series such as the Colgate Comedy Hour . After leaving Universal in 1957, he appeared as the silent film star Buster Keaton in the rather inaccurate biopic The Man Who Never Laughed . After his appearance in Aladdin's Adventure (1961), O'Connor's popularity declined noticeably in the 1960s.

From then on, O'Connor mainly made guest appearances on television, occasionally he was also seen in supporting roles in Hollywood films. He played two plays on Broadway in New York in the early 1980s. The artist had one of his last film appearances at the side of Robin Williams as a dying toy manufacturer in Toys (1992). His last film was Matthau - Lemmon -Komödie Tango anyone? from 1997.

Private life

From 1944 to 1954 O'Connor was married to the actress Gwen Carter, from this marriage there was a child. After divorcing Gwen Carter, he married the actress Gloria Noble (1928-2013) in 1956, with whom he remained married until his death. They had three children. However, his private life also had its downsides, around 1970 he was an alcoholic for a few years and only through longer stays in clinic did he manage to overcome his alcohol addiction. Donald O'Connor died of heart failure on September 27, 2003 at the age of 78.

Filmography (selection)

Awards

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0633586/?ref_=nmbio_sp_1

Web links

personal data
SURNAME O'Connor, Donald
ALTERNATIVE NAMES O'Connor, Donald David Dixon Ronald
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American actor and dancer
DATE OF BIRTH August 28, 1925
PLACE OF BIRTH Chicago , Illinois
DATE OF DEATH September 27, 2003
Place of death Calabasas , California