.
Gene Nelson, so much more handsome than Gene Kelly and an equally good, athletic dancer. Since Kelly had such a stranglehold on the dancing roles that came along, it's no surprise that guys like Nelson, O'Connor and Dailey never got very far in their careers. I had heard that Gene Nelson had turned to directing but wasn't sure, and just never thought to look him up on imdB. Naturally my favorite rendition of his is Kansas City from Oklahoma where he danced all around the train station. His smile was infectious especially when he was charming older ladies. I like that photo you have of him, thanks for it.
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Anne
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Your welcome, Anne. Mr. Nelson eventually did become a director helming some Elvis films, "Your Cheatin Heart" with George Hamilton and numerous popular TV shows.
Adored Binnie Barnes - an elegant lady...
I still have a pair of small jade horses she gave me for one of my birthdays...
When "My Fair Lady" was being filmed Betty Blythe got roles for herself and several others in the ball scenes. She wanted Binnie there too but George Cukor vetoed her and Anne Spaulding (George Hamilton's mother) for some reason.
When Rex Harrison found out, he went ballistic. He adored Binnie; don't know how he felt about Anne!!!
Larry, I guess we'll never know why Cukor rejected Binnie (who I also admired very much).
Your lucky to have the jade horses that she gave to you. It's nice to know that the lady lived a full life bowing out at 95.
I hadn't realized Nancy Kelly made any movies before The Bad Seed. My impression was that she was a stage actress who came out from New York to shoot the film. Have any of our SSO denizens seen her earlier films?
MR, I've seen Nancy Kelly in "Jesse James" with Tyrone Power, "Stanley and Livingstone" with Spencer Tracy, "To the Shores of Tripoli" with John Payne, "Tarzan's Desert Mystery" with Johnny Weissmuller (in which she was a hoot).