Donald oconnor biography-part three wheel

He came to fame in a series of films in which he co-starred, in succession, with Gloria Jean , Peggy Ryan , and Francis the Talking Mule. O'Connor was born into a vaudeville family, where he learned to dance, sing, play comedy, and perform slapstick. The most distinctive characteristic of his dancing style was its athleticism, for which he had few rivals.

Yet it was his boyish charm that audiences found most engaging, and which remained an appealing aspect of his personality throughout his career. But by and Singin' in the Rain , MGM had cultivated a much more sympathetic sidekick persona for him, and that remained O'Connor's signature image. Elizabeth Hospital there. Both the O'Connors struggled to remember where and when exactly Donald was born, due to the family's extensive travel.

Donald oconnor biography-part three wheel: I think Mr. O'Connor

O'Connor later said, "I was about 13 months old, they tell me, when I first started dancing, and they'd hold me up by the back of my neck and they'd start the music, and I'd dance. You could do that with any kid, only I got paid for it. When O'Connor was only two years old, he and his seven-year-old sister, Arlene, were hit by a car while crossing the street outside a theater in Hartford, Connecticut ; Donald survived, but his sister died.

A few weeks later, his father died of a heart attack while dancing on stage in Brockton, Massachusetts. O'Connor's mother was extremely possessive of her youngest son due to these traumas, not allowing him to cross the street on his own until he turned