O'Connor, Donald David Dixon Ronald

▪ 2004

      American actor and dancer (b. Aug. 28, 1925, Chicago, Ill.—d. Sept. 27, 2003, Calabasas, Calif.), was an energetic, versatile performer who spent virtually his whole life in show business. He was best known for his acrobatic song-and-dance number “Make 'Em Laugh” in Singin' in the Rain (1952), which showcased both his dancing skills and his loose-limbed comedic prowess and came to be considered one of the best-ever movie dance numbers. He was almost as famous for sharing the screen with a talking mule in Francis (1950) and five of its sequels. O'Connor was carried onstage when he was only a few days old, and by the time he was three years old, he was part of his family's vaudeville act. Early film appearances included roles in Sing You Sinners (1938), Beau Geste (1939), Mr. Big (1943), and a series of B musicals that made him a teen idol. Among his later popular films were I Love Melvin (1953), in which he tap danced on roller skates, Call Me Madam (1953), There's No Business like Show Business (1954), and Anything Goes (1956). The 1950s also found O'Connor beginning a career on television as a host of The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950–55), for which he won an Emmy Award in 1953, and as the star of his own show, The Donald O'Connor Show (1954). Notable among his later performances were the role of Cap'n Andy in the Broadway revival of Show Boat (1983) and appearances in the films Ragtime (1981) and Toys (1992).

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