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| Ginger Rogers |
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| "My mother told me I was dancing before I was born" An entertainment legend was born on July 16, 1911 in Independence, Missouri. Her name: Virginia Katherine McMath. We know her as Ginger Rogers. She received the name Ginger because one of her cousins, a very young one, wasn't able to pronounce Virginia correctly. It finally came out Ginger. Ginger's parents separated when she was a toddler. Her father kidnapped her twice but was safely returned to her mother. Ginger started her professional life after winning "The New Texas State Charleston Championship" contest on November 9, 1925. She was fourteen years old. She did vaudeville acts until she was seventeen. In 1928, she performed for the first time on a New York stage. In 1931, she left for Hollywood. Her first Hollywood film was "The Tip Off". In 1933, she went to RKO Studios. There she did her first film with Fred Astaire, whom she had met earlier while in New York City. The film was "Flying Down to Rio," which she actually did later on in her life. At this time in her life, Ginger was making her twentieth movie compared to Fred's second. In 1934, Ginger made seven films. She continued to make movies and in 1937, she did a film called Stage Door. It was not a song and dance film. She had wanted to do something different. She had made seven movies with Fred Astaire and wanted to do her own thing. Stage Door gave her that chance. The film was about a group of aspiring actresses, living together in New York, in a theatrical boarding house. In 1939, Ginger and Fred did another film together, "The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle." The Castles popularized ballroom dancing in the years before World War I. Ginger not only could sing and dance, she was a wonderful actress, who could do comedy as well as dramatic roles. In 1940, she won the "Best Actress in a Leading Role" Oscar, for her fine performance in Kitty Foyle. Also in 1940, she bought 1,800 acres of land in Oregon. Life magazine was interested in this and did a photo session of her ranch. In 1942, she did a film called "The Major and the Minor." This movie reminded Ginger of her early years when she would disguise herself as a child so she could ride the trains at half-fare. Her mom and her rode the trains going cross country while doing her vaudeville acts. During World War II, one film she made was "Tender Comrade." The movie was about women defense-plant workers. In 1948, Ginger and Fred were filmed in Technicolor for the first time. The film was "The Barkleys of Broadway." It was their last film together. In 1951, after twenty one years, she returned to theater in New York City in a play called "Love and Let Love." It lasted for fifty one performances. Also in 1951, she did "We're Not Married." This was a story about a justice of the peace who marries five couples during a period when his license is invalid. Ginger was wonderful in comedies. Another comedy, in the same year, was "Monkey Business," with Cary Grant. Cary played an absent-minded professor and Ginger played his wife. The professor's boss wants him to find the fountain of youth. Both the professor and his wife unknowingly, drink some sort of potion, which the laboratory chimp had mixed together. The potion causes them to revert back to childlike behavior. Great comedy! In 1956, Ginger returned to RKO after ten years, doing "The First Traveling Saleslady." After that, she made a few more movies and went back to theater, her real passion. Her last movie, "Harlow," was in 1965. It was based on the life of actress Jean Harlow. Ginger saw Hollywood starting to go in a different direction and chose not to go along. In 1965, in New York City, she did "Hello Dolly." She had refused the role twice, before saying yes. It ran one and a half years, ending in February, 1967. About three months after that, she started doing a tour around the country in places where "Hello Dolly" had not performed. She did 1,116 performances, starting in Denver and ending up in New York in February, 1968. "The Ginger Roger's Show" opened in Oklahoma City in December, 1975. She toured the country and the world for the next five years. In February, 1980, "The Ginger Rogers Show" opened at the Olympia Theatre in Paris. In 1984 she retired . In March 1986, Ginger and Fred's good pal Hermes Pan was honored for his contributions to dance. They attended the celebration and it would be the last time Ginger and Fred appeared in public together and the last time Ginger saw him. For relaxation, Ginger loved to paint in oils and sketch portraits in charcoal. She loved ice cream sodas and had a soda fountain put in her home. And she loved animals, especially dogs and cats. She had at least nine dogs during her years. Ginger made seventy three films. She wrote an autobiography in 1991 entitled, "Ginger, My Story," which was very interesting and enjoyable to read. Ginger passed away of natural causes in Rancho Mirage, California on April 25, 1995. She was 83. I will always remember Ginger and the beautiful way she danced with Fred Astaire. She was wonderful when it came to comedy and she was just as wonderful doing dramatic parts. What a great person and entertainer. A true legend.  Find hard to find items on eBay! 
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| Barb Melloh | Cincinnati | OH | 45240 | USA |  Barb@classicfilmfan.net |
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