The really good AFI tributes are the ones where there's warmth in the room for the tributee. Morgan Freeman, winner of the 39th AFI Life Achievement Award, is in that category. Many of the black-tie guests at Sony Stage 15--where so many iconic MGM musicals were made, from The Wizard of Oz to AFI attendee Rita Moreno's first film at age 16, The Toast of New Orleans--were talking about how inspiring it was that Freeman's movie career, after years as a dancer, stage actor and star of The Electric Company, began at age 50 with the movie Street Smart. "This Aarp member has shown beyond a shadow of a doubt that he can kick some ass," said Dame Helen Mirren, his co-star in Red. We ...
- 6/11/2011
- Thompson on Hollywood
Dancer and actor known for his role in the American TV soap opera All My Children
There are legions of actors who are deeply grateful for the existence of long-running television soap operas. James Mitchell, who has died aged 89, was one of them. He enjoyed playing the wily patriarch Palmer Cortlandt in the popular Us daytime soap All My Children from 1979 to 2008. It came at the right time in his career. At 59, his dancing days were over and his film acting had failed to catch fire.
The majority of loyal fans of All My Children were probably not aware that the debonair, grey-haired Mitchell, still svelte and handsome, had been a leading dancer for many years, particularly associated with the celebrated choreographer Agnes de Mille. According to De Mille, Mitchell had "probably the strongest arms in the business, and the adagio style developed by him and his partners has become...
There are legions of actors who are deeply grateful for the existence of long-running television soap operas. James Mitchell, who has died aged 89, was one of them. He enjoyed playing the wily patriarch Palmer Cortlandt in the popular Us daytime soap All My Children from 1979 to 2008. It came at the right time in his career. At 59, his dancing days were over and his film acting had failed to catch fire.
The majority of loyal fans of All My Children were probably not aware that the debonair, grey-haired Mitchell, still svelte and handsome, had been a leading dancer for many years, particularly associated with the celebrated choreographer Agnes de Mille. According to De Mille, Mitchell had "probably the strongest arms in the business, and the adagio style developed by him and his partners has become...
- 4/13/2010
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
Singer and Hollywood star best known for her roles in MGM musicals of the 1940s and 50s
When coloratura soprano Kathryn Grayson, who has died aged 88, sang five songs, including an aria from La Traviata, in MGM's all-star patriotic parade, Thousands Cheer (1943), she began her 10-year reign as the prima donna of Hollywood. With her china-doll features, little turned-up nose and patrician manner, Grayson raised the tone of more than a dozen musicals. Although opera managers did not beat a path to her door, her clear, slightly shrill, small voice carried well on film in popular classics and operatic scenes.
Her classical training led her not to the opera house, but to the radio, in particular The Eddie Cantor Show, on which she was discovered by an MGM talent scout at the age of 18 in 1940. In the same year, she married the minor film actor John Shelton.
In her first film,...
When coloratura soprano Kathryn Grayson, who has died aged 88, sang five songs, including an aria from La Traviata, in MGM's all-star patriotic parade, Thousands Cheer (1943), she began her 10-year reign as the prima donna of Hollywood. With her china-doll features, little turned-up nose and patrician manner, Grayson raised the tone of more than a dozen musicals. Although opera managers did not beat a path to her door, her clear, slightly shrill, small voice carried well on film in popular classics and operatic scenes.
Her classical training led her not to the opera house, but to the radio, in particular The Eddie Cantor Show, on which she was discovered by an MGM talent scout at the age of 18 in 1940. In the same year, she married the minor film actor John Shelton.
In her first film,...
- 2/20/2010
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
Kathryn Grayson, the lilting soprano who starred in the classic MGM musicals "Show Boat," "Kiss Me Kate" and "Anchors Aweigh," died Wednesday at her Los Angeles home. She turned 88 last week.Grayson's longtime companion and secretary, Sally Sherman, said Thursday that the actress died of natural causes.Grayson also was professionally linked with Howard Keel, with whom she co-starred in three movies. With him, Grayson sang and acted as the riverboat belle Magnolia in "Show Boat" (1951); as a Parisian dress shop owner in "Lovely to Look At" (1952) -- in which she sang Jerome Kern's "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" -- and as a high-strung actress in "Kiss Me Kate" (1953). Later in their careers, Grayson and Keel performed together in nightclubs -- she was a coloratura soprano, he was a baritone -- and toured in summer stock.Born as Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick on Feb. 9, 1922, in Winston-Salem, N.C., she...
- 2/18/2010
- backstage.com
Kathryn Grayson, the lilting soprano who starred in the classic MGM musicals "Show Boat," "Kiss Me Kate" and "Anchors Aweigh," died Wednesday at her Los Angeles home. She turned 88 last week.
Grayson's longtime companion and secretary, Sally Sherman, said Thursday that the actress died of natural causes.
Grayson also was professionally linked with Howard Keel, with whom she co-starred in three movies. With him, Grayson sang and acted as the riverboat belle Magnolia in "Show Boat" (1951); as a Parisian dress shop owner in "Lovely to Look At" (1952) -- in which she sang Jerome Kern's "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" -- and as a high-strung actress in "Kiss Me Kate" (1953).
Later in their careers, Grayson and Keel performed together in nightclubs -- she was a coloratura soprano, he was a baritone -- and toured in summer stock.
Born as Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick on Feb. 9, 1922, in Winston-Salem, N.C., she...
Grayson's longtime companion and secretary, Sally Sherman, said Thursday that the actress died of natural causes.
Grayson also was professionally linked with Howard Keel, with whom she co-starred in three movies. With him, Grayson sang and acted as the riverboat belle Magnolia in "Show Boat" (1951); as a Parisian dress shop owner in "Lovely to Look At" (1952) -- in which she sang Jerome Kern's "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" -- and as a high-strung actress in "Kiss Me Kate" (1953).
Later in their careers, Grayson and Keel performed together in nightclubs -- she was a coloratura soprano, he was a baritone -- and toured in summer stock.
Born as Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick on Feb. 9, 1922, in Winston-Salem, N.C., she...
- 2/18/2010
- by By Duane Byrge
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.