Unit+Two+Directors+and+Key+People

=**Unit Two Directors and Key People**=

He is now known as the star in the films "Singin' In the Rain" and "An American Night in Paris," and he is usually seen in musical films and was accredited to be the one to make ballet commercially acceptable in films.He plays Don Lockwood in "Singin' In the Rain". His role in the movie is now considered iconic but he wasn't the first choice for the role. He also directed the film.
 * Gene Kelly-** An actor, dancer, singer, director, producer, and choreographer, he co-directed and starred in "Singin' In the Rain". He is known for his energetic dancing style.


 * Debbie Reynolds** - Debbie Reynolds started her career with Warner Bros. after winning a beauty contest at the age of 16. Starred in "Singin' in the Rain", filmed many other films/musicals with MGM and Warner Bros, had a few of her own T.V. shows and was a guest on others, several of her songs reached the Top 25 Billboard hits. Her most typical role was a perky wholesome young woman, one of her other most well known films was "The Unsinkable Molly Brown." She spent most of the money she made starting a museum of Hollywood in Los Angeles. She played Kathy Selden in "Singin' In the Rain". Her singing and talking voice were often dubbed.


 * Donald O'Conner** - Donal O'Conner was born on August 28, 1925 in Chicago, Illinois. His entertainment career started in Vaudeville with his family. He played the role of Cosmo in the film, "Singin' in the Rain". In the film he performs in vaudeville with Don Lockwood, his best friend, before the two of them went into the movie industry. His role as Cosmo in "Singin' in the Rain" led him to winning a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Comedy or Musical. Astaire's dancing partner, who starred in "Singin' In The Rain". He wasn't originally supposed to star as Cosmo Brown but the role was eventually given to him and he proved all doubters wrong.


 * Fred Astaire-** American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer, and actor. His career as an actor lasted a total of 76 years, in which he made 31 musicals. Entered show business at age 5 with his older sister Adele in vaudeville and later broadway performances. He won an Honorary Academy Award in 1950 for his unique artistry and contribution to musical film, he was inducted into the International Tap Dance Hall of Fame in 2002.

"Anchors Aweigh" (1945). He also starred with Gene Kelly in the MGM musical "On the Town" (1949) and "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" (1949). He was a renowned actor and singer.
 * Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra**- He started out as a saloon singer carrying his own P.A. system, but eventually formed the Hoboken Four. After starting his solo career, he stared in the 1946 Academy Awards Best Picture nominee


 * Leonard Bernstein**- An American conductor, composer, author, and pianist who was one of the first American born conductors to receive worldwide attention. He worked in many musicals, such as On the Town and West Side Story. He won 7 Tony Awards for songwriting and a Pulitzer Prize for Sunday in the Park with George.


 * Stephen Sondheim**-Was a composer and a lyricist for many films, his best work was Sweeney Todd. He won many Grammy Awards and Pulitzer Prizes. The New York Times names him the greatest man to work in musical theatre.


 * Judy Garland-**An american actress and singer. Starred in "The Wizard of Oz" in 1939 and she got a special juvenile Oscar statuette on 29th February 1940 for Best Performance by a Juvenile Actor for when she sang "Somewhere Over The Rainbow". She was born as Frances Ethel Gumm on June 10, 1922 by two vaudevillians, Frank and Ethel Gumm. Once she showed great potential in cinema, her mother Ethel started driving her to succeed by making her perform in nightclubs, bars, hotels, and theaters by herself. Her career officially kicked off when she sang "You Made Me Love You" at Clark Gable's birthday party in February 1937, where she then rose to stardom through the musical, "The Wizard of Oz" in 1939. Other famous performances of her were "Meet Me in St. Louis" (1944), "Easter Parade" (1948) and "A Star is Born" (1954).


 * Mickey Rooney** - Was an actor and producer. He became well known from a series of some 50 silent comedies. In 1934 he was signed to MGM. He gave a memorable performance as Puck in Warner Brothers prestigious film " A Midsummer Night's Dream." With movies like "The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn" and "National Velvet" he reached the top of his career.


 * Rita Moreno-** Rosita Dolores Alverio was born in Humacao,Puerto Rico on December 11 1931. She moved to New York when she was six with her mother. Rita Moreno got her first movie experience dubbing Spanish language versions of American movies. She made her Broadway debut at the age of 14 in the play "Skydrift" at the Belasco Theatre. Let alone she did not play in Broadway again for 20 years but she went through her first Broadway performance very professionally. She's the first Hispanic woman to win an Academy Award.


 * Russ Tamblyn-** An American film and television actor. Known for his performance in the 1961 movie musical "West Side Story" as Riff, the leader of the Jets gang. Tamblyn's character, Riff, was inspired by the character Mercutio, in Romeo and Juliet. Starting early at age six, he took up dancing and acrobatics and appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" to mark those abilities. He featured in popular family oriented comedies such as "Father of the Bride" and "Father's Little Dividend" through his early film career and he also played a key role in other drama movies as well. Tamblyn eventually transitions to musical films, where the genre was quickly on the decline. Despite the low-budget musical films he made (before West Side Story), most of them were critically acclaimed by reviewers.


 * Robert Wise-** Was a director, producer, and editor, he was the editor for Citizen Kane (1941). Wise started out as a director of B-movies, and his career went on quickly, making many classical films. His theoretical film, Rooftops, proved his amazing directing skills. He was born in Winchester, Indiana on september 10, 1914.


 * Ginger Rogers-** An American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century. She made a total of 73 films, and is noted for her role as Fred Astaire's romantic interest and dancing partner in a series of ten Hollywood musical films that revolutionized the genre. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress in her performance Kitty Foyle (1940). She later on appeared on broadway and other stage plays, traveling in Europe, the U.S., and Canada.