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Donald O'Connor

Donald O'Connor (August 28, 1925 - September 27, 2003) was a singer, dancer and actor who came to fame in a series of movies in which he co-starred with Francis, the talking mule. He is still best known for his performance in the movie musical Singing in the Rain.

O'Connor was born into an Irish immigrant family of vaudeville entertainers. As a toddler, he and his sister were involved in a road accident, which resulted in her death. His father died of a heart attack only a few weeks later. Yet it was as a comedy actor and a song-and-dance man that he became famous. His boyish looks did not allow him to take a romantic lead, except when appearing with a bigger star such as Ethel Merman (in Call Me Madam) or Bing Crosby (with whom he appeared in his first film at the age of eleven). However, he did have a separate Hollywood career in the late 1930s, in which he played such incongruous roles as Beau Geste. During World War II, he was re-invented as a star of musical films.

When the heyday of the film musical was over, O'Connor returned to the stage, and had a short-lived television series during the late 1960s. After overcoming a drinking problem in the 1970s, he continued to make film and television appearances into the 1990s. O'Connor was still making public appearances well into 2003.

Among his last words, he is reported to have expressed thanks for the Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement which he expected to win at some future date. He left his wife, Gloria, and four children.

Screen appearances

  • It Can't Last Forever - 1937
  • Men with Wings - 1938
  • Sing You Sinners - 1938
  • Sons of the Legion - 1938
  • Tom Sawyer, Detective - 1938
  • Boy Trouble - 1939
  • Unmarried - 1939
  • Million Dollar Legs - 1939
  • Beau Geste - 1939
  • Death of a Champion - 1939
  • On Your Toes - 1939
  • Night Work - 1939
  • What's Cookin'? - 1942
  • Private Buckaroo - 1942
  • Give Out, Sisters - 1942
  • Get Hep to Love - 1942
  • When Johnny Comes Marching Home - 1942
  • It Comes Up Love - 1943
  • Mister Big - 1943
  • Top Man - 1943
  • Chip Off the Old Block - 1944
  • This Is the Life - 1944
  • The Merry Monahans - 1944
  • Bowery to Broadway - 1944
  • Patrick the Great - 1945.
  • Something in the Wind - 1947
  • Are You with It? - 1948
  • Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin - 1948
  • Yes Sir That's My Baby - 1949
  • Francis - 1950 - first of the "talking mule" movies
  • Curtain Call at Cactus Creek - 1950
  • The Milkman - 1950
  • Double Crossbones - 1951
  • Francis Goes to the Races - 1951
  • Singin' in the Rain - 1952
  • Francis Goes to West Point - 1952
  • I Love Melvin - 1953
  • Call Me Madam - 1953
  • Francis Covers the Big Town - 1953
  • Walking My Baby Back Home - 1953
  • Francis Joins the WACS - 1954
  • There's No Business Like Show Business - 1954
  • Francis in the Navy - 1955
  • Anything Goes - 1956
  • The Buster Keaton Story - 1957
  • Cry for Happy - 1961
  • Le Meraviglie di Aladino - 1961
  • That Funny Feeling - 1965
  • The Donald O'Connor Show - 1968 (television series)
  • Ragtime - 1981
  • Pandemonium - 1982
  • Alice in Wonderland - 1983 (made for television)
  • Alice in Wonderland - 1985 (made for television)
  • A Time to Remember - 1987
  • Toys - 1992
  • Bandit: Bandit's Silver Angel - 1994 (made for television)
  • Father Frost - 1996
  • Out to Sea - 1997

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He left his wife, Gloria, and four children. Claude Rains died in Laconia, New Hampshire and is interred in the Red Hill Cemetery, Moultonborough, New Hampshire. Among his last words, he is reported to have expressed thanks for the Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement which he expected to win at some future date. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 6400 Hollywood Blvd. O'Connor was still making public appearances well into 2003. Smith Goes to Washington, and followed that up in probably his most famous role, that of French police Captain Louis Renault in Casablanca.. After overcoming a drinking problem in the 1970s, he continued to make film and television appearances into the 1990s. Following The Invisible Man, Universal Studios tried to turn him into another horror film actor, but he broke free with his Academy Award nominated role in Mr.

When the heyday of the film musical was over, O'Connor returned to the stage, and had a short-lived television series during the late 1960s. That was the title character in James Whale's The Invisible Man. It was his distinctive voice which had won him the role. During World War II, he was re-invented as a star of musical films. It was ironic that Rains' first Hollywood role was as the star of a movie in which he did not appear until the very end. However, he did have a separate Hollywood career in the late 1930s, in which he played such incongruous roles as Beau Geste. Later Rains taught at the institution, working with John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier, among others. His boyish looks did not allow him to take a romantic lead, except when appearing with a bigger star such as Ethel Merman (in Call Me Madam) or Bing Crosby (with whom he appeared in his first film at the age of eleven). Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, founder of The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, recognized Rains' acting talent and paid for the elocution lessons he needed to succeed as an actor.

Yet it was as a comedy actor and a song-and-dance man that he became famous. Gassed during World War I, he was almost blind in one eye for the rest of his life. His father died of a heart attack only a few weeks later. Rains was born in London. As a toddler, he and his sister were involved in a road accident, which resulted in her death. Claude Rains (November 10, 1889 - May 30, 1967) was an English actor. O'Connor was born into an Irish immigrant family of vaudeville entertainers. Battle of the Worlds.

He is still best known for his performance in the movie musical Singing in the Rain. Build Thy House. Donald O'Connor (August 28, 1925 - September 27, 2003) was a singer, dancer and actor who came to fame in a series of movies in which he co-starred with Francis, the talking mule. The Invisible Man. Out to Sea - 1997. Crime Without Passion. Father Frost - 1996. The Man Who Reclaimed His Head.

Bandit: Bandit's Silver Angel - 1994 (made for television). The Clairvoyant. Toys - 1992. The Mystery of Edwin Drood. A Time to Remember - 1987. The Last Outpost. Alice in Wonderland - 1985 (made for television). Hearts Divided.

Alice in Wonderland - 1983 (made for television). Anthony Adverse. Pandemonium - 1982. Stolen Holiday. Ragtime - 1981. The Prince and the Pauper. The Donald O'Connor Show - 1968 (television series). They Won't Forget.

That Funny Feeling - 1965. White Banners. Le Meraviglie di Aladino - 1961. The Adventures of Robin Hood. Cry for Happy - 1961. Gold Is Where You Find It. The Buster Keaton Story - 1957. Four Daughters.

Anything Goes - 1956. They Made Me a Criminal. Francis in the Navy - 1955. Juarez. There's No Business Like Show Business - 1954. Sons of Liberty. Francis Joins the WACS - 1954. Daughters Courageous.

Walking My Baby Back Home - 1953. Smith Goes to Washington. Francis Covers the Big Town - 1953. Mr. Call Me Madam - 1953. Four Wives. I Love Melvin - 1953. Saturday's Children.

Francis Goes to West Point - 1952. The Sea Hawk. Singin' in the Rain - 1952. The Lady with Red Hair. Francis Goes to the Races - 1951. Four Mothers. Double Crossbones - 1951. Jordan.

The Milkman - 1950. Here Comes Mr. Curtain Call at Cactus Creek - 1950. The Wolf Man. Francis - 1950 - first of the "talking mule" movies. Now, Voyager. Yes Sir That's My Baby - 1949. Casablanca.

Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin - 1948. Moontide. Are You with It? - 1948. Kings Row. Something in the Wind - 1947. Forever and a Day. Patrick the Great - 1945. Phantom of the Opera.

Bowery to Broadway - 1944. Skeffington. The Merry Monahans - 1944. Mr. This Is the Life - 1944. Passage to Marseille. Chip Off the Old Block - 1944. Caesar and Cleopatra.

Top Man - 1943. This Love of Ours. Mister Big - 1943. Notorious. It Comes Up Love - 1943. Strange Holiday. When Johnny Comes Marching Home - 1942. Angel on My Shoulder.

Get Hep to Love - 1942. Deception. Give Out, Sisters - 1942. The Unsuspected. Private Buckaroo - 1942. Rope of Sand. What's Cookin'? - 1942. The Passionate Friends.

Night Work - 1939. Song of Surrender. On Your Toes - 1939. Where Danger Lives. Death of a Champion - 1939. The White Tower. Beau Geste - 1939. Sealed Cargo.

Million Dollar Legs - 1939. The Man Who Watched the Trains Go By. Unmarried - 1939. Lisbon. Boy Trouble - 1939. The Pied Piper of Hamelin. Tom Sawyer, Detective - 1938. This Earth Is Mine.

Sons of the Legion - 1938. The Lost World. Sing You Sinners - 1938. Battle of the Worlds. Men with Wings - 1938. Lawrence of Arabia. It Can't Last Forever - 1937. Twilight of Honor.

The Greatest Story Ever Told. Smith Goes to Washington. 1940 Nominated Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Mr. 1944 Nominated Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Casablanca.

Skeffington. 1945 Nominated Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Mr. 1947 Nominated Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Notorious.