Frances Charlotte Greenwood (25 June 1890 - 28 December 1977) was an American actress and dancer.
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Greenwood started in vaudeville, and eventually starred on Broadway, movies and radio. Standing around 6' tall, she was best known for her long legs and high kicks. She earned the unique praise of being, in her words, the "...only woman in the world who could kick a giraffe in the eye". She starred with such luminaries as Betty Grable, Jimmy Durante, Eddie Cantor, Buster Keaton, and Carmen Miranda. Most of Greenwood's best work was done on the stage, and was lauded by such critics as James Agate, Alexander Woollcott and Claudia Cassidy.One of her most successful roles was that of Juno on Cole porter's "Out of This Weorld" in which she introduced the Porter classic "I Sleep Easier Now".
Although the role was written with her in mind, film commitments prevented her from playing "Aunt Eller" in the Rodgers and Hammerstein Broadway hit Oklahoma (1943). She got her chance in the 1955 film version, just prior to retiring in 1956.
Charlotte Greenwood died in Los Angeles, California of undisclosed causes, aged 87.
She was married twice, first, unsuccessfully to actor Cyril Ring, brother of actress Blanche Ring, and secondly and happily to composer Martin Broones.
References
Hayter-Menzies, Grant, Charlotte Greenwood: The Life and Career of the Comic Star of Vaudeville, Radio and Film, McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, Jefferson, North Carolina and London, 2007. ISBN 9780786429950.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Charlotte Greenwood
Charlotte Greenwood at the Internet Movie Database
Charlotte Greenwood at the Internet Broadway Database
Charlotte Greenwood web site
Victoria Times-Colonist, Adrian Chamberlain, 26 May 2007
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Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Greenwood"
Categories: 1890 births | 1977 deaths | American dancers | American film actors | American musical theatre actors | Hollywood Walk of Fame | People from Philadelphia | Vaudeville performers
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