Onna White: Broadway/Film Dancing Legend

Born on March 24th, 1922 in Inverness, Nova Scotia, Canada, Onna White started taking dancing lessons when she was 12 years old. After studying at the San Francisco Ballet, she made her Broadway debut in the musical Finian’s Rainbow in 1947. At this point, fully convinced that dancing was her “calling,” she knew that she also wanted to be a choreographer, and she both performed in and served as assistant choreographer in the original Broadway production of Guys and Dolls (1950). From that point on, she was the choreographer for many beloved Broadway musicals and movie-musicals.

She choreographed the original Broadway production of Carmen Jones in 1956, based on the 1954 Dorothy Dandridge film of the same name. She also choreographed the original Broadway productions of The Music Man (1957), Whoop-up (1958), Take Me Along (1959), Irma La Docue (1960), Half a Sixpence (1965), Mame (1966), Illya Darling (1967), 1776 (1969), Gigi (1974) and I Love My Wife (1979). She received Tony Award Nominations for Best Choreography for “Music Man,” “Whoop-up,” “Take Me Along,” “Irma La Docue,” “Half a Sixpence,” “Mame,” “Illya Darling,” and “I Love My Wife,” but unfortunately never won.

In the 1960s, however, when Warner Bros. Pictures purchased the rights for the film adaptation of The Music Man (1962) and assigned Morton “Teague” DaCosta (Tony-nominated director of the original Broadway production) to direct and produce the film, DaCosta immediately asked White to choreograph the film. Despite being intimidated at the idea of choreographing a movie-musical having never done so before, she agreed. She had unique experiences with many of the principal actors on the film. Robert Preston (who reprised his Tony-winning performance as Professor Harold Hill from the original Broadway company) had an easy time learning the steps that she came up with for the “Library” number, but both had a tough time explaining it to the other male dancers for the scene. Shirley Jones (replacing the original Broadway’s Barbara Cook as Marian the Librarian) explained that she was a klutz and had no experience dancing whatsoever, but White replied “Honey, by the time this movie is over, you’ll be a dancer.” In the “Shipoopi,” sequence, White created a movement especially called a “Bell Kick,” and tried to teach it to Buddy Hackett (replacing the original Broadway’s Iggy Wolfe as Marcellus Washburn). Hackett nearly cracked his butt as a result! Ron Howard (who won a Talent Search created by Warner Bros. for the role of Winthrop Paroo) also had a tough time learning the moves for the “Gary, Indiana,” reprise. He just couldn’t grasp it well enough, so they had to film him from the middle-up as he sang the song. 

The “Music Man,” film was as big of a success as its Broadway predecessor, so Columbia Pictures then asked Onna White to choreograph their film adaptation of another smash hit Broadway musical, Bye Bye Birdie (1963). The culmination of her career came in 1968 with Columbia Pictures’ adaptation of Oliver! (1968), another film based on a Broadway predecessor. The film received 12 Academy Award Nominations and won five, plus a special Honorary Oscar for Outstanding Choreography! (The film also won Best Picture of 1968…). White also choreographed Columbia’s 1776 (1972), MGM’s The Great Waltz (1972), and Warner Bros’. Mame (1974). Before retiring in the 1980’s, she also was the choreographer for Walt Disney’s Pete’s Dragon (1977).

Onna White passed away on April 8th, 2005. To this day, she remains the only recipient of the Academy Award for Outstanding Choreography! Her dancing skills undoubtedly, played a huge role in helping make “The Music Man,” “Oliver,” and other movie-musicals worth watching and her legacy of dance will live on for years to come.  

The Golden Television Show

Picture it: NBC Network, September 14th, 1985- the first airing of a Touchstone Pictures-produced sit-com about four elderly women sharing a house together in Miami, Florida. Throughout its seven-year run the hilarious The Golden Girls (1985-1992) and won four Golden Globes and 11 Emmy Awards. And even though it’s been 32 years since its original airing, it remains a classic in heavy syndication (Hallmark Channel, TV Land, and Hulu.) The show has an intriguing history, and I’d like to tell you about that in this blog.

The idea of a sit-com about elderly women was first envisioned at NBC in 1984. NBC Senior Vice President Warren Littlefield met with Paul Junger Witt and Tony Thomas (son of television legend, Danny Thomas), both of whom had just finished working as the creators of the ABC show Soap (1977-1981). Littlefield asked if they might consider developing the pilot script for the show. They declined, but Witt instead asked his wife, Susan Harris (who was one of the producers on “Soap,”) if she would develop the script. Surprisingly Harris agreed, despite the fact that she had been planning to retire after “Soap,” and unfortunately was suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Once she developed the pilot script, she agreed to collaborate with her husband and Thomas once again, and Littlefield green-lit the show. 

Director Jay Sandrich first cast Estelle Getty in the role of the irascible, wisecracking Sophia Petrillo, then Betty White and Rue McClanahan as Rose Nylund and Blanche Devereaux. Bea Arthur was the final cast member to join, in the pivotal role of Dorothy Zbornak. Casting was not as easy as it looked. Getty was intimidated by the role due to lifelong stage fright and the pressure of working with already established television leading ladies. And NBC originally brought in White and McClanahan in reversed roles, but Sandrich feared that Betty White as Blanche was “going to be Sue Ann Nivens (her Mary Tyler Moore character) all over again,” and the roles were switched.

On September 9th, 2009, Betty White, Rue McClanahan, Beatrice Arthur, and Estelle Getty were all honored as Disney Legends which is an award you can receive for making any kind of contribution to the Walt Disney Studios from acting in a hit movie/television show to designing a beloved theme park attraction. At this point in time, Arthur and Getty were sadly both deceased and McClanahan was too ill to attend, so White accepted for the whole group. (While “Golden Girls,” remains the only contribution to Disney for Beatrice Arthur, Estelle Getty, and Rue McClanahan, Betty White has also appeared in a number of other projects for the studio. She acted in the Touchstone Pictures films, The Proposal (2009) and You Again (2010) and also lent her voice to Disney/Studio Ghibli’s Ponyo (2008), the ABC 30-min. short Operation Secret Santa (2010) and also an episode of the Disney Channel Original Series Mickey Mouse (2013)).

“The Golden Girls,” arguably serves as a great reminder that living life to the fullest can happen no matter one’s age, and tough times in later years can be overcome. One could easily characterize “The Golden Girls,” as a family sit-com, in spite of the fact that it is about a family that is not biologically related-just best friends. It helps keep the legacy of Disney family entertainment alive, but it also has a legacy of its own: living life at its fullest means always loving your friends!  

Lee Arenberg: The World’s Greatest Dwarf-Pirate

You might remember that Grumpy was the name of one of Snow White’s Seven Dwarf friends in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). And all throughout the film, Grumpy despises Snow White and the fact the she “invades” his and his brothers’ cottage. For all he knows, she’s really the Evil Queen in disguise and could wreak her “vengeance” on them at any time. But…he warms up to Snow White when she is on the verge of death (thanks to the real Evil Queen’s poisoned apple, only to be awoken by “True Love’s Kiss.”) In the film he was voiced by Pinto Colvig, who also voiced Sleepy, and provided the hiccup noises for Dopey. Since Colvig’s original voice-over performance, Grumpy has been reincarnated many times in animation and live-action for Disney, and for the last six seasons, Grumpy the Dwarf (who is known as Leroy the Miner in Storybrooke, Maine) has been brilliantly portrayed by Lee Arenberg, on ABC’s Once Upon a Time (2011-present). Besides Grumpy, however, Lee Arenberg has an intriguing history with the studio.

Lee Arenberg played Pintel in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003). (You’ll recognize one of his big moments in “Pirates”-he greets Kiera Knightley’s character with “Hello, Puppet!”). Arenberg reprised that role for the first two sequels in the “Pirates” franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006) and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007), along with Mackenzie Crook who played Ragetti, the pirate with the glass eye. Arenberg also acted in the Hollywood Pictures film, V.I. Warshawski (1991), reprised the role of Grumpy in the “Once Upon a Time,” spin-off, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (2013-2014), appeared in an episode of the Disney Channel Original Series, Good Luck Charlie (2010-2014), and played Pintel again in the Disney video game, Disney INFINITY (2013). 

I had the rare privilege of getting to meet Mr. Arenberg at a recent “Once Upon a Time,” Convention in Chicago, IL and he was there. Along with several other members of the cast, he signed autographs, participated in the Q&A Panels, and entertained with music. At one point, he performed his famous “Hello Puppet” line for the entire audience and played his harmonica (which was quite remarkable!) and acknowledged that he had had good experiences making both “Once,” and “Pirates.” He and fellow cast mate, Michael Coleman (who plays Happy the Dwarf) both also talked about how they’re both hoping to return to season seven of “Once” with the other dwarfs.

Lee Arenberg will forever be remembered as Pintel the Pirate in the “Pirates of the Caribbean,” series and as Grumpy/Leroy in “Once Upon a Time.” His performance as Grumpy is a most modern portrayal of the character, but when you see him on your television screen, you really can’t think of anyone else in the part. What the writers/producers of “Once,” have in-store for the Dwarfs in season seven remains to be seen, but whatever it is, the actors who play their characters, especially Lee Arenberg, will most certainly be worth-watching.   

The Kings of Broadway

For most Broadway fans, “The King and I,” remains as entertaining as it was when it was first produced 66 years ago. One of Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s best, it is rooted in the true story of Mongkut who ruled Siam (now known as Thailand) from 1851-1868, and the Indian-born British schoolteacher named Anna Leonowens who who taught his many wives and children. While in Siam, Leonowens published two memoirs, The English Governess at Siamese Court in 1870 and Romance of the Harem in 1872. And 60 years later, Margaret Landon melded the two narratives into a semi-fictionalized novel: Anna and the King of Siam, which was adapted as a black-and-white film in 1946, starring Rex Harrison as Mongkut and Irene Dunne as Anna. The story was readapted again for the Broadway Stage as a musical in 1951.  

Yul Brynner wasn’t very well known prior to starring in “The King and I,” on Broadway. That changed when “The King and I,” opened to great acclaim from critics and audiences alike. The original production of the musical won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Actor in a Musical for Brynner. When 20th Century Fox gave the “green light” to the film adaptation of “The King and I,” and asked Brynner to reprise his stage role, they told him that they were considering casting Maureen O’Hara as Anna. But Brynner specifically requested for good friend Deborah Kerr and Fox obliged. (Both received Best Actor Oscar Nominations for their performances, and Brynner won.) Brynner reprised his role as Mongkut for two Broadway revivals in 1977 and 1985, playing 695 and 191 performances respectively. In 1985, Brynner was also awarded a special Tony for having played the role of King Mongkut on stage for a grand total of 4,625 performances. Then returned for a not-very-well-known television series called Anna and the King (1972) which only lasted 13 episodes. The show paired him with Samantha Eggar as Anna, who ironically made the film Dr. Doolittle (1967) with Rex Harrison. 

Rex Harrison was the first actor to play Mongkut on screen. When Twentieth Century Fox gave was casting the “The King and I,” movie-musical, they offered the role of the King to him, but he declined it, having already committed to his career-defining role: Professor Henry Higgins in Lerner and Lowe’s My Fair Lady. And—just like “The King and I,”—“My Fair Lady,” also won the Tonys for Best Musical and Best Actor in a Musical. (Harrison also won the Best Actor Oscar for the 1964 film adaptation of My Fair Lady and reprised the role for the 25th Anniversary Broadway production of the musical in 1981.)

Two more film adaptations of the story were made (a non-musical version in 1999, Anna and the King, with Jodie Foster as Anna and Chow-Yun Fat as King Mongkut, and an animated movie-musical the same year). Broadway revivals followed in 1996 and 2015 that also won followed Tonys as the story’s popularity continues.