Okla-homey
12/9/2008, 06:53 AM
December 9, 1929: Ginger Rogers makes Broadway debut
http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/8513/ginger21807417803058387ek1.jpg
Fred and Ginger
79 years ago, on this day in 1929, 18-year-old Ginger Rogers makes her Broadway debut, in Top Speed. She went on to become one of Hollywood's wealthiest and most adored actresses.
http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/5294/ginger20rogersko8.jpg
Rogers was born Virginia Katherine McMath in 1911 in Independence, Missouri. As a toddler, she took dancing and singing lessons, and by age five she was appearing in commercials. Her single mother, a reporter and writer, was a dedicated stage parent but turned down a chance to sign Ginger to a movie contract at age six.
Instead, Ginger began performing in her early teens with a vaudeville troupe in Texas. At age 15, she won a Charleston contest and soon after began touring the vaudeville circuit with her act, "Ginger and the Redheads." Her mother traveled with her as a chaperone.
http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/9062/gingerrogerscolorog8.gif
In 1929, Rogers was cast in her first Broadway lead. The following year, she made a splash in George Gershwin's Girl Crazy. In 1931, she signed a movie contract with Pathe and played a series of wisecracking blondes in various B movies.
She worked at various studios after Pathe and settled at RKO, where in 1933 she was paired with Fred Astaire in Flying Down to Rio. Although she lacked formal ballroom training, she and Astaire were a perfect match on the dance floor. Audiences flocked to the ten movies they made together, which included The Gay Divorcee (1933), Top Hat (1935), Swing Time(1936), and Shall We Dance? (1937). Rogers was also an accomplished actress: She won an Academy Award for her role in Kitty Foyle (1940). Over 60 years, she made more than 70 movies.
http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/7159/gingerrogers1sq8.jpg
Nice gams!
A savvy businesswoman, Rogers invested her earnings wisely. In 1939, she bought a ranch on Oregon's Rogue River, where she spent as much of her free time as possible. Married and divorced five times, Rogers had no children. She continued to perform into the mid 1960s, scoring triumphs on Broadway in Hello, Dolly in 1965 and in London with Mame in 1969. Rogers died at her Southern California home in 1995 at the age of 83.
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/6133/insane7zolh2.jpg
http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/8513/ginger21807417803058387ek1.jpg
Fred and Ginger
79 years ago, on this day in 1929, 18-year-old Ginger Rogers makes her Broadway debut, in Top Speed. She went on to become one of Hollywood's wealthiest and most adored actresses.
http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/5294/ginger20rogersko8.jpg
Rogers was born Virginia Katherine McMath in 1911 in Independence, Missouri. As a toddler, she took dancing and singing lessons, and by age five she was appearing in commercials. Her single mother, a reporter and writer, was a dedicated stage parent but turned down a chance to sign Ginger to a movie contract at age six.
Instead, Ginger began performing in her early teens with a vaudeville troupe in Texas. At age 15, she won a Charleston contest and soon after began touring the vaudeville circuit with her act, "Ginger and the Redheads." Her mother traveled with her as a chaperone.
http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/9062/gingerrogerscolorog8.gif
In 1929, Rogers was cast in her first Broadway lead. The following year, she made a splash in George Gershwin's Girl Crazy. In 1931, she signed a movie contract with Pathe and played a series of wisecracking blondes in various B movies.
She worked at various studios after Pathe and settled at RKO, where in 1933 she was paired with Fred Astaire in Flying Down to Rio. Although she lacked formal ballroom training, she and Astaire were a perfect match on the dance floor. Audiences flocked to the ten movies they made together, which included The Gay Divorcee (1933), Top Hat (1935), Swing Time(1936), and Shall We Dance? (1937). Rogers was also an accomplished actress: She won an Academy Award for her role in Kitty Foyle (1940). Over 60 years, she made more than 70 movies.
http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/7159/gingerrogers1sq8.jpg
Nice gams!
A savvy businesswoman, Rogers invested her earnings wisely. In 1939, she bought a ranch on Oregon's Rogue River, where she spent as much of her free time as possible. Married and divorced five times, Rogers had no children. She continued to perform into the mid 1960s, scoring triumphs on Broadway in Hello, Dolly in 1965 and in London with Mame in 1969. Rogers died at her Southern California home in 1995 at the age of 83.
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/6133/insane7zolh2.jpg