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Celebrity history- Joan McCracken
Broadway showgirl Peggy Fears with actor Zachary Scott and his wife Ruth ( above). Below celebrities like Heddy LaMarr, Herschel Benardi, Richard Burton,Troy Donahue, Judy Holiday, and Jerome Robbins were just a few who visited and some bought in the Pines during the 50’s.
Over the years many people have called Fire Island their home. Among the most intriguing was a woman who rose to fame as ” The girl who fell down” in the original production of “Oklahoma!, and went on to inspire the careers of countless dancers and choreographers, most notably Bob Fosse (her second husband). She also inspired Truman Capote, who is said to have modeled the iconic Holly Golightly from “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” on this fallen star.
Joan Hume McCracken was born on December 31, 1917. Her mother was Mary Humes, and her father was Franklin T. McCraken, a noted sportswriter for the Philadelphia Public Ledger.McCracken started dancing at an early age, at a time when youth ballet was far from popular activity it is today. In fact according to biographer Lisa Jo Sagolla, Philadelphia’s “1926 yellow pages contained 85 different listings for dance teachers, but few if any offered serious ballet training. Despite this, McCracken was driven- and her talents were obvious. She won a scholarship at the age of eleven for her acrobatic work at a Philadelphia gym. In 1934 she dropped out of what would have been her sophomore year of high school and moved to New York City to study with the iconic choreographer George Balanchine at his School of American Ballet in that institution’s debut year.A year later McCraken was back in Philadelphia to dance under famed ballerina Catherine Littlefield as a member of Littlefield’s new comapny, The Littlefield Ballet ( which later became the Philadelphia Ballet). At the company’s official debut in November of 1935, McCracken was a principal soloist. She would later tour wit
The Girl Who Fell Down: A Biography of Joan McCracken
Lisa Jo Sagolla. Northeastern University Press, $35 (304pp) ISBN 978-1-55553-573-5
While biographies of great cultural icons abound, the greatest stories are often those of the tragic also-rans, the unheralded power behind the throne. Simultaneously the tale of a genuine innovator and an all-but-forgotten minor celebrity, dance historian and choreographer, Sagolla's biography of the dancer and actor Joan McCracken is a kind of literary rescue mission, an attempt to save her from the dreaded fate of cultural anonymity. An accomplished ballet dancer and the originator of the""Girl who Falls Down"" role in the premiere run of Oklahoma! on Broadway, McCracken helped to define a new type of stage icon: the dancer-comedienne. From there she proceeded to develop a successful stage career, sign a film contract with MGM, marry the famed choreographer Bob Fosse and become an early television personality, an inaugural member of the Actors Studio and one of Truman Capote's inspirations for the protagonist of Breakfast at Tiffany's. Yet while McCracken's star shone brightly albeit briefly (she died at 44 after a lifetime battle with diabetes) on the Broadway stage, her career as a whole was a bizarre parade of missed opportunities, personal tragedy and failing health. Sagolla's skills as a researcher and scholar are formidable. Sadly, the same cannot be said for her instincts as a biographer. Such pains are taken to establish her subject's""historical significance"" that the book takes on an air of dreary piety. McCracken is endlessly described as""trailblazing"" and""pioneering,"" and the text is so liberally peppered with quotations from her critical accolades as to border on the ridiculous. Amidst this storm of interviews and source material, McCracken's personality shines through only occasionally, leaving the reader with a strong sense of her place in history, but little idea of who she was. Illustrations not seen
Joan McCracken
American dancer and actress (1917–1961)
Joan McCracken | |
|---|---|
McCracken in 1950 | |
| Born | Joan Hume McCracken (1917-12-31)December 31, 1917 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | November 1, 1961(1961-11-01) (aged 43) New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Dancer, actress |
| Years active | 1935–1958 |
| Spouses | Jack Dunphy (m. 1939; div. 1948)Bob Fosse (m. 1952; div. 1959) |
Joan Hume McCracken (December 31, 1917 – November 1, 1961) was an American dancer and actress who became famous for her role as Sylvie ("The Girl Who Falls Down") in the original 1943 production of Oklahoma! She also was noted for her performances in the Broadway shows Bloomer Girl (1944), Billion Dollar Baby (1945) and Dance Me a Song (1950), and the films Hollywood Canteen (1945) and Good News (1947).
McCracken was a trendsetter in musical comedy dance. In her Oklahoma! role, she became an instant sensation for a carefully choreographed pratfall during the "Many a New Day" dance number. She was considered an innovator in combining dance with comedy, and branched into dramatic roles on Broadway and early television. However her career was cut short, ending several years before her death at age 43, as she suffered complications from diabetes.
McCracken was generous in promoting the careers of other dancers, including Shirley MacLaine, and was a strong influence on her second husband, Bob Fosse, encouraging him to become a choreographer. She was noted for unconventional behavior and was one of a number of real-life counterparts to inspire the character of Holly Golightly in her friend Truman Capote's novella Breakfast at Tiffany's.
Early life
Joan Hume McCracken was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 31, 1917, the daughter of Mary Humes and Franklin T. McCrack
The Girl Who Fell Down: A Biography of Joan McCracken - Hardcover
Synopsis
Dancer and actress Joan McCracken (1917-1961) commanded a pioneering career that influenced some of the greatest artists on Broadway and in Hollywood. An overnight sensation for her 1943 comedic role as "The Girl Who Falls Down" in the groundbreaking musical Oklahoma!, McCracken established the prototype dancer-comedienne, headlining in ballet, stage, film, and television productions before her life was tragically cut short by complications from diabetes.
Derived from extensive interviews with McCracken's friends, family, and colleagues, this is the first biography of the charismatic dancer. Lisa Jo Sagolla paints a complex portrait of the petite, blue-eyed, and sprightly entertainer as a woman exploiting her mesmerizing beauty and magnetism to succeed in the man's world of entertainment, yet always retaining the persona of childlike pixie she portrayed onstage. McCracken's comic exuberance and athleticism also epitomized a new ballet form that married the European ideas of aristocratic grace and movement with a uniquely American spirit and style.
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