Donald O'Connor

He left his wife, Gloria, and four children. He currently resides in Tehachapi, California in retirement. 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. According to the legend, this mistake was considered too embarrassing to correct. O'Connor was still making public appearances well into 2003. There is an urban legend that Palance liked Marisa Tomei so much that in 1992 he announced her as an Oscar winner for her part in My Cousin Vinny while there actually was another name on his note. After overcoming a drinking problem in the 1970s, he continued to make film and television appearances into the 1990s. During World War II, Palance, a bomber pilot, crash and received severe burns that led to extensive facial surgery, resulting in his gaunt, pinched face.

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. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1991 for City Slickers. During World War II, he was re-invented as a star of musical films. Of Ukrainian descent, Palance was born in Lattimer Mines, Pennsylvania. However, he did have a separate Hollywood career in the late 1930s, in which he played such incongruous roles as Beau Geste. Jack Palance (born Vladimir Palanuik) (born 18 February 1919) is an American actor. 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).

Yet it was as a comedy actor and a song-and-dance man that he became famous. His father died of a heart attack only a few weeks later. As a toddler, he and his sister were involved in a road accident, which resulted in her death. O'Connor was born into an Irish immigrant family of vaudeville entertainers.

He is still best known for his performance in the movie musical Singing in the Rain. 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. Out to Sea - 1997. Father Frost - 1996.

Bandit: Bandit's Silver Angel - 1994 (made for television). Toys - 1992. A Time to Remember - 1987. Alice in Wonderland - 1985 (made for television).

Alice in Wonderland - 1983 (made for television). Pandemonium - 1982. Ragtime - 1981. The Donald O'Connor Show - 1968 (television series).

That Funny Feeling - 1965. Le Meraviglie di Aladino - 1961. Cry for Happy - 1961. The Buster Keaton Story - 1957.

Anything Goes - 1956. Francis in the Navy - 1955. There's No Business Like Show Business - 1954. Francis Joins the WACS - 1954.

Walking My Baby Back Home - 1953. Francis Covers the Big Town - 1953. Call Me Madam - 1953. I Love Melvin - 1953.

Francis Goes to West Point - 1952. Singin' in the Rain - 1952. Francis Goes to the Races - 1951. Double Crossbones - 1951.

The Milkman - 1950. Curtain Call at Cactus Creek - 1950. Francis - 1950 - first of the "talking mule" movies. Yes Sir That's My Baby - 1949.

Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin - 1948. Are You with It? - 1948. Something in the Wind - 1947. Patrick the Great - 1945.

Bowery to Broadway - 1944. The Merry Monahans - 1944. This Is the Life - 1944. Chip Off the Old Block - 1944.

Top Man - 1943. Mister Big - 1943. It Comes Up Love - 1943. When Johnny Comes Marching Home - 1942.

Get Hep to Love - 1942. Give Out, Sisters - 1942. Private Buckaroo - 1942. What's Cookin'? - 1942.

Night Work - 1939. On Your Toes - 1939. Death of a Champion - 1939. Beau Geste - 1939.

Million Dollar Legs - 1939. Unmarried - 1939. Boy Trouble - 1939. Tom Sawyer, Detective - 1938.

Sons of the Legion - 1938. Sing You Sinners - 1938. Men with Wings - 1938. It Can't Last Forever - 1937.