In , Rogers starred in one of the first films to be co-directed and co-written by a woman, Wanda Tuchock's drama Finishing School. Throughout her lifetime, Rogers starred in five films that are now archived by the National Film Registry in the Library of Congress for their "cultural, historical, or aesthetic" significance: among them are 42nd Street , Top Hat , and Swing Time Her stint as the character lasted a little under two years.
The first woman to receive such an honor, Rogers was granted the status of Admiral in the Texas Navy in for her achievements in the worlds of film and dance. Like her mother, Rogers was a devout Christian Scientist. Her adherence to the religion led her to remarry and divorce five different times throughout her lifetime. In , Rogers became a fashion consultant for J. Penney, even helping design loungewear and intimates.
Roger's birthplace, a quaint, one-story home in Independence, Missouri, was renovated and turned into a small museum which opened in Additionally, the town also hosts a Ginger Rogers themed festival and fundraiser in mid-July for the continued preservation of Rogers's legacy.
There, she enjoyed rafting, and picking blueberries for her home-made jams. Won 1 Oscar. See more awards ». Known For. Kitty Foyle Kitty Foyle. The Major and the Minor Susan Applegate. Monkey Business Mrs. Edwina Fulton. Show all Hide all Show by Hide Show Actress 93 credits. Natalie Trent. Margaret Davis. Stella Logan. Ginger Rogers. Cavendish - The Fastest Goon in the West Sally Swinger. Scarlett O'Fever. Angie Cartwright.
Kay Neilson. Lisa Marvin. Oh, Women! Mildred Turner. Ramona Gladwyn. Hide Show Soundtrack 70 credits. She had already been making one- and two-reelers at the Astoria studios in New York, and now she was offered a Paramount contract and made her feature debut in Young Man of Manhattan, starring Claudette Colbert.
As an easy-going flapper, she uttered a line, "Cigarette me, big boy! Her first major break came with her casting as the lead in the Gershwin musical Girl Crazy on Broadway , in which she introduced "Embraceable You" and "But not for Me". Her singing voice, never strong, came in for some criticism and the show was stolen by another newcomer, Ethel Merman, whose voice was anything but small.
Lela and Ginger decided that Hollywood was the place to pursue her future, and accepted a contract from Pathe. None of her early roles was memorable, however, until Warners cast her in 42nd Street. Besides being a landmark musical, it gave Ginger, as Anytime Annie "The only time she said no, she didn't hear the question" , a chance to display her comic skills.
She was now close friends with one of the studio's top film-makers, Mervyn LeRoy it was strongly believed they would marry , and he cast her in an even stronger role in Gold Diggers of , in which Ginger represented one of the cinematic icons of the Depression era when she opened the film clothed in gold coins singing "We're in the Money". Cooper instead. Ginger was now under contract to RKO, so she was rushed into the film three days into shooting and found herself playing opposite Fred Astaire.
Rogers had met Astaire earlier when he had been brought in by Girl Crazy's producers to help out with the choreography and they had even dated a few times.
Neither of them expected great things from the film they were about to make but as Astaire told her, "It'll be fun. The Gay Divorcee title changed to placate Hollywood's production code confirmed the team's magical chemistry and included the first of their classic romantic duets, "Night and Day". In a deserted ballroom, as Ginger crosses Fred's path to leave, he blocks her. Tentatively resisting, she bends her body with his and they start to glide across the floor.
The harmony and sensual tension of this sequence is due in no small part to Ginger and demonstrates why she was the greatest of all Astaire's partners. Not only do they dance as one "She could follow Fred as if one brain was thinking" said Ben Lyon , but Ginger acts the dance perfectly, never appearing to be revelling in the display of technique or conscious of anything other than the emotions of attraction and seduction implicit in the choreography.
Katharine Hepburn's famed remark "She gave him sex, he gave her class" is true, but conveys only part of their magical chemistry. The team's next, Roberta, had them again billed below the romantic leads Irene Dune and Randolph Scott but they had no trouble stealing the film. Because dialogue in their earlier films had been drowned out by cinema audiences applauding their numbers, RKO were careful in Roberta to follow all their dances with applause or laughter so that there was time for audience response.
Both Astaire and Rogers had raised objections to carrying on their partnership - Fred had long been paired with his sister Adele on the stage and now wanted to consolidate a reputation as a solo star; Ginger, though grateful for the good the films were doing for her career, wanted to be accepted as a straight actress.
Her talents as a comic were already being appreciated - in Roberta she adopted a hilarious Polish-Hungarian accent to mimic Lyda Roberti, who had played the same role in the stage production, while "I'll Be Hard to Handle" in the same film was the first of the team's playful "challenge" dances, in which Ginger displayed her mischievously impish sense of humour - combined with the effortless technique that was in fact the result of weeks of work, the result was perfection.
In her later years, Miss Rogers frequently criticized contemporary movies because they contained four-letter words, and in likened Hollywood to the biblical sin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. During a stint as spokeswoman for J. Penney Co. In an age when the girl next door rarely dyed her hair, Miss Rogers did dye or bleach hers--frequently. But the vivacious star raised the most eyebrows by marrying--and divorcing--five husbands: vaudeville performer Culpepper in ; actor Lew Ayres in ; Marine Private Jack Briggs, who was nine years her junior, in ; Paris attorney-turned-actor Jacques Bergerac, who was 15 years younger than she, in , and actor-director-producer William Marshall, with whom she formed a short-lived movie production company in Jamaica, in She was also engaged for a time to billionaire Howard Hughes.
No one believes that more than I do. Although Miss Rogers refused to give her age as she grew older, her birth date, July 16, , was unchallenged and critics frequently commented that she looked far younger than she was. Asked in if aging bothered her, the irrepressible leading lady said:. All Sections.
0コメント