Throwback Thursday and Miriam Nelson
The world recently lost a significant
person in dance history last month. Miriam Nelson, a dancer and choreographer
for many films and television programs, died on August 12, 2018 at her home in Beverly
Hills. She was 98.
Born in Chicago, Miriam Lois Frankel was
fascinated bly tap dancing at an early age. When she was a teenager, her family
moved to New York where she continued
the dance lessons she’d begun in Chicago.
She made her Broadway debut in “Sing Out
the News” and went on to dance in five other musicals including Cole Porter’s “Panama
Hattie”. Fellow performers included June Alllyson and Vera Ellen.
After her marriage to Gene Nelson (an
actor, dancer and ice skater), the couple moved to Los Angeles and she began
working a a contract player at Paramount. She danced in “Lady in the Dark” , “Cover
Girl”, and other uncredited roles. She soon became known as a choreographer for
films, creating numbers for her husband and many others.
In the 1950s she worked on television
variety shows and choreographed the live, televised opening of Disneyland in
July 1955. She worked on early TV programs like the “Donna Reed Show” and “Father
Knows Best” and on through the decades with “Colombo” and “Murder She Wrote”.
As if this weren’t enough she choreographed nightclub acts for Carol Channing,
Ann Miller and others.
Behind the scenes, she was the “ghost
tapper” for many movies, providing the tap sounds much like singers whose
voices were dubbed over the celebrity leads.
She continued to tap dance into her 90s.
From the Big
Blue Book of Ballet Secrets
Dance History Factoi #247:
“Miriam Nelson “ghost tapped” the audio for movies.
Link of the Day:
Quote of the Day:
“I knew,
really knew, I would never die with my song unsung.”
― Gary Russo, Don't Die with Your Song Unsung
― Gary Russo, Don't Die with Your Song Unsung
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