Ginger Rogers

Prodded by her prototypical "stage mother" Lela, Ginger Rogers made her performing debut as a dancer at the age of 14 and became a regular on the vaudeville circuit after winning a statewide Charleston contest in Texas. She achieved her breakthrough in 1929-30 when she was prominently cast as second lead in the Broadway musical, "Top Speed" (1929, singing "Hot and Bothered") and then as female lead in the Gershwins' landmark "Girl Crazy" (1930), in which she introduced the song standards "Embraceable You" and "But Not for Me". Having made a few film shorts, she began landing feature film roles at Paramount's East Coast studios in Astoria during the run of the latter show. Rogers moved to Hollywood in 1931, at first continuing to play the cooey, funny flappers first seen in her debut feature, "Young Man of Manhattan" (1930), in which her line, "Cigarette me, big boy!", became a popular catchphrase nationally.

Soon though, Rogers essayed a string of tough, wisecracking chorines in the Warner Bros. Depression musicals "42nd Street" (1933) and "Gold Diggers of 1933" (1933), the latter featuring her by now legendary rendition of "We're in the Money" in pig Latin. Then she joined RKO, where, after starring in the charming satire of radio, "Professional Sweetheart" (1933), she began her legendary dancing partnership with Fred Astaire. Having stolen the spotlight in supporting roles in "Flying Down to Rio" (1933), the duo glided through many a gilded 1930s musical including "The Gay Divorcee" (1934), "Roberta" (1935), "Follow the Fleet" (1936), "Carefree" (1938), and their two best, "Top Hat" (1935) and "Swing Time" (1936), saving RKO Studios and forming one of the most memorable pairings since Rolls and Royce.

Not classically trained but an experienced show dancer, Rogers expanded her range in tap and ballroom styles with remarkable quickness and accomplishment during the series of films with Astaire. She would remain his finest partner because she best fulfilled the dual requirements of being a gifted actress and growing as a gifted dancer. Her glowing expressiveness and effortlessness on the dance floor were crucial complements to Astaire's trademark style, and her unique, enchanting mix of the elegant and the down-to-earth meshed beautifully with his combination of sophistication and modesty. Most of Astaire's partners simply basked in his glow; as dance critic Arlene Croce wrote, Rogers "could even shed her own light". More confident and skilled than most of his later partners and less awed by his formidable abilities than any of the others, Rogers alone helped create a light yet substantial and sexy romantic tension with Astaire both on and off the dance floor which still resonates today.

After the series of musicals with Astaire had run their course, Rogers found herself on surer career ground than her partner, for she had enjoyed such solo successes during the 1930s as "In Person" (1935) and "Vivacious Lady" (1938). Most notable here was the superb "Stage Door" (1937), which reaffirmed her skill as a sharp yet playful comedienne and also stands as one of her finest achievements as a straight actress. Rogers subsequently expanded her range, earning an Oscar for her poignant dramatic work in "Kitty Foyle" (1940) and turning in fine comic performances in two films directed by Garson Kanin, "Tom, Dick and Harry" (1941) and especially the delightful "Bachelor Mother" (1939).

During her peak solo years from 1937-45, Rogers also gave what some consider the performance of a lifetime in Billy Wilder's first American directorial effort, "The Major and the Minor" (1942). One of the only stars during the sound era often called on to play children or indulge in child-like behavior, Rogers here had to disguise herself, at various times, as an adolescent, a female rival and even her own mother. Expert at mimicry and the pert comeback, the movie star most likely to dream in her films, Rogers had firmly established a screen persona as a likably fierce and feminist "American girl next door", a working class Cinderella trying to choose Mr. Right. Perhaps the only downside, in retrospect, in her career then was her manager mother Lela's testifying as a "friendly witness" before the infamous HUAC blacklisting trials of the late 1940s.

Easily one of the most versatile and glamorous performers in the history of Hollywood, Rogers made regular film appearances through the late 1950s in such diverse films as "I'll Be Seeing You" (1944), "The Barkleys of Broadway" (1949, a musical reunion with Astaire), "Storm Warning" (1950), "Monkey Business" (1952), and "Teenage Rebel" (1956). Although many of her films are comedies, some of her best work came in serious drama: the uneven but touching "Primrose Path" (1940), controversial in its day, features splendid work in its tale of a shantytown prostitute's family, and Rogers bravely explored her own middle age as a posy and affected stage star in "Forever Female" (1953).

As with most stars at their mid-career stage, Rogers enjoyed fewer roles specifically tailored to her distinctive star persona after the mid-40s, but at her best continued to deliver performances of charm, insight and energy. Although the 50s generally represented a period of decline, one can still find credits like "Tight Spot" (1955), a tense film noir elevated by Rogers' superb work as a hard-bitten prison inmate asked to testify against a crime boss. Few stars fought typecasting quite as much; Rogers even changed her look considerably from film to film. If the resulting strain sometimes showed in her miscasting, she always had the glow of a star athlete. Also, her penchant for playing performers (in over 30 films) added an intriguing, reflexive edge to even routine material unworthy of her.

After returning to the live theater in the late 50s and doing tours, summer stock and TV, Rogers again basked in the spotlight in 1965 when she scored with critics and public alike in the lead role of the hit Broadway musical, "Hello Dolly!", playing for a year and a half of continuously sold-out shows after original star Carol Channing left the cast. She later went on the road with "Dolly" and enjoyed another year and a half of success. Rogers followed up by opening the 1969 London production of "Mame", for which she was the highest-paid performer to ever appear on the West End stage up to that time. Starting in 1975, Rogers toured internationally into the 80s with a small group of dancers and comics in "The Ginger Rogers Show", a nostalgic retrospective of her career. Always guesting on TV or making personal appearances, she finally enjoyed a chance at directing in 1987 with a stage revival of the musical, "Babes in Arms". Long one of the more underrated of Hollywood's legendary divas, Rogers, a true "domestic goddess" long before comic Roseanne coined the term, was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Kennedy Center in 1992.

• Also Credited As:
  Virginia Katherine McMath
• Born:
  July 16, 1911 in Independence, Missouri, USA
• Died:
  April 25, 1995.
• Job Titles:
  Actor, Dancer, Comedian, Singer, Fashion consultant for J.C. Penney in 1960s and 70s

Family

• Cousin: Rita Hayworth. popular film star of the 1940s and 50s; one of WWII s most famous pin-ups; began career in dancing act with her father; films include Blood and Sand (1941), Gilda (1946), Miss Sadie Thompson (1953) and Pal Joey (1957); starred in a segment of the anthology film Tales of Manhattan (1942), but a different one than the one which highlighted Rogers; not all sources confirm that Rogers and Hayworth were cousins
• Father: William Eddins McMath. separated from Lela McMath when Rogers was a small child
• Mother: Lela Rogers. acted as Ginger s manager; married second husband John Rogers while working as a newspaper reporter in Kansas City (divorced 1929); worked for a time at RKO teaching and promoting new talent; wrote a series of fiction books centered around daughter s character for Whitman publishers in the 1940s; friendly witness during the HUAC trials of the 1940s and 50s; made brief appearance as mother of Rogers s character in The Major and the Minor (1942); died in 1977
• Step-father: John Rogers. adopted Ginger Rogers after her father s death; divorced from Lela McMath in 1929

Significant Others

• Companion: Cary Grant. co-starred with Rogers in Once Upon a Honeymoon (1942) and Monkey Business (1952); had a romantic relationship in the 1940s, briefly reprised in the 50s
• Companion: Fred Astaire. met in 1930 when he did uncredited dance direction on Girl Crazy ; dated briefly
• Companion: George Stevens. involved with Rogers in an on again/off again affair when she was separated from Lew Ayres in the late 1930s; directed Rogers in Swing Time (1936) and Vivacious Lady (1938)
• Companion: Greg Bautzer. prominent Hollywood attorney; close friend to many top film stars; dated and was involved with Rogers for a time c. late 1940s/early 50s
• Companion: Howard Hughes. involved with Rogers during late 1930s; she reportedly broke off their engagement when she discovered he was being unfaithful

Milestones

• 1917 Offered a part in a Fox film while mother was working as a scriptwriter; mother refused to let her work after the first day
• 1925 Briefly worked as substitute dancer for Eddie Foy in vaudeville
• 1926 Began working regularly on the vaudeville circuit: billed as Ginger and Her Redheads , toured Oklahoma and Texas with two other dancers, after winning a statewide Charleston contest in Texas; the two redheads who performed with her had finished second and third in the contest and were engaged by Rogers mother; later did a solo act
• 1928 Worked as band singer with Paul Ash s orchestra in New York (date approximate)
• 1929 Appeared in a number of short subjects including A Night in a Dormitory (1929) and Office Blues (1930)
• 1929 Success on Broadway in supporting role in musical Top Speed (singing Hot and Bothered ) led to screen test at Parmount s Astoria, Long Island Studio; signed by Paramount
• 1930 Made feature film debut at Paramount s studios in Astoria, Queens, as a Jazz Age flapper in Young Man of Manhattan , in which she uttered a line which enjoyed a nationwide popularity, Cigarette me, big boy!
• 1930 Played female lead in her first feature musical film, Queen High
• 1930 Returned to Broadway as female lead (at age 19) of George and Ira Gershwin s successful Girl Crazy , earning $1,000 per week; introduced the song standards Embraceable You and But Not for Me ; first met Fred Astaire (whom she dated briefly), who helped stage one of her dance numbers
• 1931 Moved out to Hollywood; first West Coast-produced feature, The Tip Off ; made several films for RKO-Pathe
• 1932 Composed song, The Gal Who Used to Be You which she sang in a short film, Hollywood on Parade #1
• 1932 First top-billed role in The Thirteenth Guest
• 1932 Named one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars of 1932
• 1933 Famous career moment: performing cheerful Depression-era anthem, We re in the Money , in pig Latin in Golddiggers of 1933
• 1933 First film with Fred Astaire, Flying Down to Rio , in which they played supporting roles
• 1933 Played early showcase part in RKO s Professional Sweetheart ; one of her earliest films which was built up as a vehicle for her talents
• 1933 Signed with RKO
• 1934 First co-starring vehicle with Astaire, The Gay Divorcee
• 1936 Radio debut in The Curtain Rises with Warren William on Lux Radio Theater
• 1937 Enjoyed notable success without Astaire in Stage Door
• 1938 First of four appearances on the cover of Life magazine
• 1939 Invited to place her hand and footprints and her signature in cement at Grauman s Chinese Theater
• 1939 Last RKO musical with Fred Astaire, The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle
• 1941 Opted not to renew her exclusive contract with RKO and began free-lancing; signed nonexclusive pact with the studio
• 1944 Starred in first film in color, Paramount s Lady in the Dark ; film also featured the famous mink and sequins gown which cost over $30,000 at the time and was later donated to and kept on display at the Smithsonian Institute; Rogers entire wardrobe for the film cost $150,000-200,000
• 1945 Highest-paid woman in the US, earning over $250,000; was also America s 8th highest paid person overall that year
• 1946 First film made through nonexclusive RKO deal in three years, Heartbeat , was also her last for the studio for a decade
• 1946 Starred in rare historical drama, Magnificent Doll , in which she played First Lady Dolley Madison
• 1948 Displeased with the scripts RKO sent her, Rogers and studio ended her nonexclusive contract by mutual consent
• 1949 Reunited with Fred Astaire when called on to replace an ailing Judy Garland in The Barkleys of Broadway
• 1950 Presented Fred Astaire with a special Oscar at the Academy Awards ceremony for 1949 films
• 1951 Made last of four appearances on the cover of Life magazine, in connection with her return to Broadway after 20 years
• 1951 Returned to Broadway to star in a dual role Louis Verneuil s unsuccessful comedy, Live and Let Love ; for one part she was billed as Ginger Rogers and for the other she was credited under her birth name Virginia McMath ; show closed after 51 performances, though Rogers received good reviews
• 1954 Made TV debut in Tonight at 8:30 , a version of three short plays by Noel Coward
• 1954 Starred in first film not made in the United States, the British-produced Beautiful Stranger (U.S. Release title, Twist of Fate )
• 1957 Starred in last feature film for seven years, Oh Men! Oh Women!
• 1958 Starred in TV variety special, The Ginger Rogers Show
• 1959 Made Las Vegas performing debut at the Riviera Hotel
• 1959 Starred in a live British TV adaptation of the musical, Carissima ; oddly enough, the role as staged gave her the opportunities to neither sing nor dance
• 1959 Starred in tour of a bound-for-Broadway musical comedy, The Pink Jungle , opposite Agnes Moorehead; play performed in several cities, but show had various problems with script, cast and production and the show never made it to Broadway
• 1963 Made a pilot for a TV comedy series, The Ginger Rogers Show , in which she played twin sisters Elisabeth and Margaret Harcourt; option on possible series not picked up
• 1964 Played the Queen on a TV version of Rodgers s and Hammerstein s musical version of Cinderella , with Leslie Ann Warren in the title role
• 1964 Rogers and husband G. William Marshall set up production deal to make their own films, shooting in Jamaica; encountered production, budgeting and bureaucratic problems on the one film they made, The Confession , starring Rogers; resulting film turned out poorly and was only distributed in 1971 in select areas under titles include Quick, Let s Get Married and Seven Different Ways
• 1965 Final dramatic film role, played Jean Harlow s mother in the biopic, Harlow
• 1967 Reunited with Fred Astaire on Academy Awards broadcast, when they presented the writing awards; did a 30-second impromptu dance bit together while en route to the podium which received a huge audience response and caused considerable media hubbub
• 1971 Toured US in the musical, Coco ; attracted media attention when she refused to utter one four-letter word in the script
• 1972 Signed a seven-year deal to act as traveling fashion consultant for J.C. Penney Stores
• 1975 Starred onstage in the spring in Chicago in romantic comedy, Forty Carats , then toured with show during the summer
• 1978 Recorded an album of songs in England for EMI called Miss Ginger Rogers
• 1980 Performed a capsule version of her touring show at Radio City Music Hall
• 1980 Starred in a summer production of Anything Goes opposite Sid Caesar
• 1983 Career feted on the syndicated documentary TV special, Legends of the Screen
• 1987 Appeared in the Hail and Farewell episode of the ABC series Hotel
• 1987 Made directorial debut staging a revival of the musical comedy play, Babes in Arms
• 1988 Unsuccessfully sued the Italian producers of Fellini s film Ginger and Fred for invasion of privacy
• 1991 Made television appearance as guest interviewee along with June Allyson, Jane Powell, and Esther Williams on Burt Reynolds Conversations With...
• 1995 Last public appearances included those at a photo session for a Vanity Fair magazine issue dedicated to Hollywood and at a Screen Actors Guild tribute (Rogers was one of the original 100 members of the actors union when it was founded in the early 1930s)
• Appeared in successful international touring nightclub and stage retrospective of her career, The Ginger Rogers Show (taped for Italian TV; also did a song and dance number to The Carioca on American TV program, The People s Command Performance ); later did versions of her nightclub act internationally into the 1980s
• Appeared in touring stage shows, regional and summer stock performances of such musicals as Annie, Get Your Gun , Tovarich and The Unsinkable Molly Brown
• Enjoyed earliest solo starring successes in such films as Romance in Manhattan and In Person
• Guest starred occasionally on TV on shows such as The Love Boat (in an episode reuniting her with former co-star Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.)
• Left Paramount; made a number of films for Warner Brothers
• Made London stage debut; was the highest-paid performer ever to appear on London stage up until that time (earning 5000 pounds--at the time the rough equivalent of $12,000--per week for a 56-week run), in the musical Mame
• Mother Lela Rogers testified as a friendly witness before the infamous HUAC witch hunt anti-leftist trials which resulted in the Hollywood blacklists of the late 1940s and early 50s
• Moved with family to Forth Worth, Texas while in high school; took part in school dramatics and took dancing lessons
• Replaced Carol Channing (who opened the musical) in Hello, Dolly! on Broadway; was critically acclaimed in the role and enjoyed great boxoffice success; performed in the show for a year and a half until February 1967, then toured nationally with the show for another year and a half; performed the role 1,116 times
• Rogers and Astaire appeared together on motion picture exhibitors annual poll of top ten box office stars three years in a row, placing 4th, 3rd and 7th
• Subject of a custody battle between parents when they separated; at one point the infant Rogers was kidnapped by her father
• Travelled abroad extensively for the first time
• Vaudeville act expanded to include other dances such as the Spanish-flavored Valencia; also did comedy patter routines involving baby talk and comic wordplay
• Was in unique position of being RKO s only top boxoffice star under long-term contract; first major solo hit after the series co-starring Astaire, Bachelor Mother , RKO s biggest hit of 1939