Danny Dare (March 20, 1905, New York City – November 20, 1996,

Tarzana, Los Angeles, California Tarzana is a suburban neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Tarzana is on the site of a former ranch owned by author Edgar Rice Burroughs. It is named after Burroughs' fictional jungle hero, Tarzan. History ...

) was an American choreographer, actor, director, writer, and producer of the stage, screen, and film.Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 1996: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre By Harris M. Lentz, Page 54

Career

Dare began his career in the 1920s as an actor on the New York stage, making his

Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''T ...

debut in 1923 in the musical '' Dew Drop Inn''. He then performed on the

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

circuit, where he also gained experience as a choreographer, comedy sketch writer, and eventually a producer. In 1927 he portrayed Ronnie Webb in the musical ''

The Five O'Clock Girl ''The Five O'Clock Girl'' is a musical with a book by Guy Bolton and Fred Thompson, music by Harry Ruby, and lyrics by Bert Kalmar. It focuses on wealthy Beekman Place playboy Gerald Brooks and impoverished shopgirl Patricia Brown, who become a ...

'', also serving as the show's assistant choreographer. He soon became highly busy as a choreographer on Broadway, serving in that capacity for such shows as ''

The Little Show ''The Little Show'' was a musical revue with lyrics by Howard Dietz and music by Arthur Schwartz. It was the first of 11 musicals that featured the songs of Dietz and Schwartz. The revue opened at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway on April 30, 192 ...

'' (1929), '' Sweet Adeline'' (1929) '' Sweet and Low'' (1930), '' You Said It'' (1931), and '' Tattle Tales'' (1933). In 1931 he produced the play '' Sentinels'' and later produced, directed, and wrote the book for the musical ''

Meet the People ''Meet the People'' (1944) is a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical comedy film made, and set, during World War II, and starring Lucille Ball and Dick Powell and featuring Virginia O'Brien, Bert Lahr, Rags Ragland and June Allyson. The film takes its ...

'' (1940). Dare's talents as a choreographer drew the attention of executives at

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production and distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldest film studio in the world, the second-olde ...

and he was offered a contract with the studio in 1929. He went on to choreograph several films with the company including '' Let's Go Places'' (1930), '' Such Men Are Dangerous'' (1930),Film choreographers and dance directors By Larry Billman, page 289 ''

Not Damaged ''Not Damaged'' is a 1930 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Chandler Sprague and written by Harold R. Atteridge and Frank Gay. The film stars Lois Moran, Walter Byron, Robert Ames, Inez Courtney, George Corcoran and Rhoda Cross. The ...

'' (1930), '' Wild People'' (1932), '' Three Cheers for Love'' (1936), ''

Start Cheering ''Start Cheering'' is a 1938 American musical film directed by Albert S. Rogell and starring Jimmy Durante, Charles Starrett, Joan Perry, and Walter Connolly. It is best remembered today for guest appearances throughout the film by The Three ...

'' (1938), '' Hit Parade of 1941'' (1940), ''

Panama Hattie ''Panama Hattie'' is a 1940 American musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and book by Herbert Fields and B. G. DeSylva. The musical is about a nightclub owner, Hattie Maloney, who lives in the Panama Canal Zone and ends up dealing with ...

'' (1942), and most notably ''

Holiday Inn Holiday Inn is an American chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia. and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson, who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee that year. The chain was a divisio ...

'' (1942). The last film he choreographed was ''

Road to Utopia ''Road to Utopia'' is a 1946 American semi-musical comedy film directed by Hal Walker and starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour. Filmed in 1943 but not released until 1946, ''Road to Utopia'' is the fourth film of the "''Road to …' ...

'' in 1946.The Great American movie book By Paul Michael, page 233 In 1938 Dare turned to directing for the first time with the film '' The Main Event''. He never directed another film, but he was active as a television director during the 1950s with the shows ''

Damon Runyon Theater ''Damon Runyon Theater'' is an American television program that presented dramatized versions of Damon Runyon's short stories. Hosted by Donald Woods, the program, sponsored by Anheuser-Busch's Budweiser beer, aired for a total of 39 episodes on ...

'' and ''

How to Marry a Millionaire ''How to Marry a Millionaire'' is a 1953 American screwball comedy film directed by Jean Negulesco and written and produced by Nunnally Johnson. The screenplay was based on the plays ''The Greeks Had a Word for It'' (1930) by Zoe Akins and ''Lo ...

''. He also produced a total of eight films between 1945 and 1952.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dare, Danny 1905 births 1996 deaths American choreographers American film directors Film producers from New York (state) American television directors Male actors from New York City 20th-century American businesspeople