Throwback Thursday and Lennie Bluett
Lennie Bluett, dancer, singer and
pianist, was born in Los Angeles on January 21, 1919. His mother worker as a
cook for Humphrey Bogart and his father was a chauffeur for Buster Keaton.
Bluett’s career began as an extra (playing
a Yankee soldier) in Gone With the Wind,
but at first he found little other acting work. He auditioned for the role of
Sam in Casablanca but was deemed too young (and too tall at 6’4”) for the part.
He played an uncredited dancer in the movie Ziegfeld
Follies (1945) which starred Fred Astaire and Lucille Ball. He danced in
many other movies including: Kismet, A
Star Is Born, Mighty Joe Young, Carolina Blues, When Stranger Marry, Stormy
Weather, and Broadway Rhythm and
others. All uncredited.
Although he never achieved starring
roles, he carried on, performing in mostly black films and playing piano in
clubs and on cruise ships. He remained active well into his nineties, and in
2015 he appeared in a Super Bowl commercial. He died on January 1, 2016 in Los
Angeles. He was 96.
From the Big
Blue Book of Ballet Secrets
Dance History Secret #234:
“Lennie Bluett was a dancer, singer and pianist.”
Link of the Day:
Quote of the Day:
“Never
throughout history has a man who lived a life of ease left a name worth
remembering.”
― Theodore Roosevelt
― Theodore Roosevelt
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