Today, a moment of appreciation for the all too unsung genius of choreographer/director
Jack Cole (1911-1974).
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| Jack Cole, 1930s |
He informed all those that would follow from Michael Kidd to Bob Fosse. Gwen Verdon was his assistant for seven years.
In addition to his incomparable dance directing, his art direction of color palettes and sets his camera angles (most of these, by the way, going uncredited) make for some spectacular frames of film. In an interview before her death Jane Russell said that during the dance numbers on "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" Howard Hawks was rarely even present!
His last work was teaching at UCLA up until two weeks before his death.
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| Jack Cole 1971 |
He made 'em Sparkle:
He made 'em Sizzle:
And sometimes, inexplicably:
He made 'em make you wanna make 'em!
As always I have combed many different sources before assembling this post, but if you want more info on Mr. Cole, one place stands above the rest. It's Debra Levine's fine 'arts * meme'. You will find it Here.
4 comments:
A brilliant tribute! I have always loved that bizarre Mitzi Gaynor routine too... Jx
What creativity! Monroe's version of "Diamonds" and Hayworth's performance have become iconic. All this due to a man who most of us know nothing about. Because of this post he is getting some recognition.
What a great and diverse career from one of the all-time greats! Thanks for highlighting this!
Thanks for the great post, the Blame Mame number is my all time favorite.
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