Versatile actor/singer/dancer Donald O’Connor was born on August 28, 1925, and he’s been gone almost five years.  Throughout a long career which began while he was still a child — his parents were circus folk — and soon transitioned into a stage act with two of his brothers, then into movies, O’Connor was an affable and indefatigable screen presence.  Often more comic than crooner, he was a skilled and charming musical performer who always gave us everything he had.  Though he brought to life one of the movie’s most energetic musical numbers ever — “Make ‘Em Laugh” from 1952′s Singin’ in the Rain — his own favorite onscreen musical moment, as revealed during a talk show appearance on TV’s The Mike Douglas Show, was a lovely and lyrical dance from 1953′s Call Me Madam, opposite Vera Ellen.   

Donald O’Connor replaced Broadway’s Russell Nype when the 1950 Ethel Merman mega-hit stage musical Call Me Madam, with words and music by Irving Berlin, was transferred to screen in 1953.  O’Connor’s career had been all over the place, in terms of studios, at least; Universal brought him to stardom first as a young performer and then featured him in a steady stream of films including one opposite a talking mule named Francis, a possibly laughable but certainly profitable choice which eventually led to five more Francis movies.  At the same time as he was cranking out B-level material at Universal, he was picked by Gene Kelly to co-star with him in Singin’ in the Rain at MGM, and then Fox brought him over for the major role in Call Me Madam. 

Donald O’Connor played Kenneth Gibson, press attache to Merman’s Sally Adams, the ”hostess with the mostest”, a character based on the larger-than-life Washington social leader Perle Mesta who served as Ambassador to Luxembourg in the real world.  Merman, in her first screen appearance in ten years, was of course reprising her Tony-winning role, a perfect fit for her brassy charm and considerable vocal abandon.  She knew how to put over a Berlin song, and Fox hired suave George Sanders to play the attractive European fellow who falls for Sally, and vice versa.  Hollywood dancer/actress Vera Ellen had been making MGM musicals for a few years, favorites like On the Town, Three Little Words and The Belle of New York.

Movie audiences flocking to Call Me Madam back in 1953 were elated to see their favorite songs brought to life on the screen.  Ethel and Donald made the charming counterpoint duet “You’re Just in Love” their own, and Donald and Vera Ellen both sang and danced to the agreeably romantic ballad “It’s a Lovely Day Today”.  It’s the latter that O’Connor named his favorite number, actually the scene where he and Vera Ellen dance to it in a beautifully-lit courtyard; they merely sing it together in a department store setting.  It’s cute and fanciful, spirited and coquettish, and a perfect showcase for the sprightly talents of Donald and Vera Ellen.  They’re nicely paired, both of them somewhere between elegant and energetic, and it’s easy to see why O’Connor was so fond of this pairing. 

Could there be any better way to remember the talented Donald O’Connor on his birthday than by enjoying such a lovely dance sequence?  A nice guy on and off-screen, there’s nobody like him anymore.  He is certainly missed. 

Donald O’Connor, 1925 – 2003.