The Jivin' Jacks and Jills were a twentieth century American dance group of the World War II era. The group was assembled by

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

via open audition. The intent was to assemble a group of young dancers with appeal to a teen audience.

Louis DaPron Louis Francis DaPron (February 13, 1913, in Indiana – July 21, 1987, in Agoura, California) was an American dancer, choreographer and dance instructor. He worked often with tap dancer Donald O'Connor. Early days His parents were Elizabeth ...

was the group's

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

. The Jivin' Jacks and Jills first appeared in the 1942 musical '' What's Cookin'?'' and appeared in 14 movies altogether. Their high-energy style may be contrasted with the more precision-oriented approach of rival musical-film studio

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

. There were originally fourteen members in the group, all teenagers, among them future stars

Donald O'Connor Donald David Dixon Ronald O'Connor (August 28, 1925 – September 27, 2003) was an American dancer, singer and actor. He came to fame in a series of films in which he co-starred with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talking Mule. His best ...

and

Peggy Ryan Margaret O'Rene Ryan (August 28, 1924 – October 30, 2004) was an American dancer and actress, best known for starring in a series of movie musicals at Universal Pictures with Donald O'Connor and Gloria Jean. Career Ryan joined her paren ...

. Other members included

Roland Dupree Roland Dupree (born Roland Furtado, September 20, 1925 - June 21, 2015) was an American actor, dancer, and choreographer. He is best known for founding the Roland Dupree Dance Academy and his work as the action model for Walt Disney's ''Peter Pan ( ...

, Bobby Scheerer, Dottie Babb, Dolores Mitchell, Jack McGee, Grace MacDonald, Jean McNab, Jane McNab, David Holt, and Corky Geil. Membership was fluid: at the time of ''

Chip Off the Old Block ''Chip Off the Old Block'' is 1944 American comedy musical film starring Donald O'Connor, Peggy Ryan, and Ann Blyth. It was Blyth's film debut. The son of a strict Navy man, O'Connor falls in love with a girl from a performing family (Ann Blyt ...

'' (1944) there were twenty members: Scheerer and Harold Bell, Jerry Antes, Jack Coffey,

Dante DiPaolo Dante Cesare DiPaolo (February 18, 1926 – September 4, 2013) was an American dancer and actor. Sometimes, he also appeared under the name of Dante De Paulo, Dante D' Paulo, and Dante Di Paola. Biography The son of an immigrant miner from Italy, ...

, Lowell McPeek, Lou Payetta, Pat Phelan, George Rowland, Jerry Singer, Ronald Stanton, Jean Davis, Dorothy Web,

Shirley Mills Shirley Olivia Mills (April 8, 1926 – March 31, 2010) was an American actress. She played the roles of the youngest daughter in ''The Grapes of Wrath'' and the title character in '' Child Bride''. In the latter, she is shown nude in a nude sw ...

, Peggy Brant, Elaine Campbell, Arlyne Gladden, Verda Jenkins, Irma Jeter, Lu Anne Jones, Iris Kirksey, Connie Roberts, and Barbara Strong (O'Connor and Ryan were by this time separately billed stars).

Helene Stanley Helene Stanley (born Dolores Diane Freymouth; July 17, 1929 – December 27, 1990) was an American actress. She is best known for being the live model for Cinderella, Aurora, and Anita Radcliffe. Early life Stanley was born in Gary, Indiana. ...

, then going under the name Dolores Diane, was at one time a member.

Tommy Rall Thomas Edward Rall (December 27, 1929 – October 6, 2020) was an American actor, ballet dancer, tap dancer, and acrobatic dancer who was a prominent featured player in 1950s musical comedies. He later became a successful operatic tenor in the 1 ...

was at one time a member. In ''

Private Buckaroo ''Private Buckaroo'' is a 1942 American comedy-musical film directed by Edward F. Cline starring The Andrews Sisters, Dick Foran, Harry James, Shemp Howard, Joe E. Lewis, and Jennifer Holt. The film tells the story of army recruits following ba ...

'', the Jivin' Jacks and Jills performed a dance number to " Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree (with Anyone Else but Me)", which became one of the

Andrews Sisters The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andrews (January ...

' biggest hits. In ''Mister Big'' the group performed "Rude, Crude, and Unattractive". This was the breakout film for group members Donald O'Conner and Peggy Ryan. Because of the rising popularity of O'Connor and Ryan, the movie was re-shot to include more dance scenes for the pair, was retitled (from ''School For Jive''), and was distributed as an

A movie ''A Movie'' (styled as ''A MOVIE'') is a 1958 experimental collage film by American artist Bruce Conner. It combines pieces of found footage taken from various sources such as newsreels, soft-core pornography, and B movies, all set to a score ...

. Although O'Connor was probably the group's weakest dancer at first, he went on to become a star. The group gave its name to the "Jivin' Jacks and Jills Hollywood Reunion", a reunion originally of Universal players (not just the dance team) later expanded to all Hollywood personalities, which was hosted for many years by Michael G. Fitzgerald in

Studio City Studio City is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in 1927, ...

Filmography

The Jivin' Jacks and Jills' appeared in 14 films: *'' What's Cookin'?'' (1942) *''

'' (1942) *''Trumpet Serenade'' (short, 1942) *''

Give Out, Sisters ''Give Out, Sisters'' is a 1942 American film starring The Andrews Sisters. The film co-stars Dan Dailey and the teenage couple of the time, Donald O'Connor and Peggy Ryan. Dailey and O'Connor went on to be in the 1954 film ''There's No Business ...

'' (1942) *''

Get Hep to Love ''Get Hep to Love'' is a 1942 musical film starring Gloria Jean, Donald O'Connor, Jane Frazee, Robert Paige and Peggy Ryan. The film was directed by Charles Lamont. Plot Doris Stanley is an adolescent singer ("14 going on 15") billed as an 11-ye ...

'' (1942) *''

Moonlight in Havana ''Moonlight in Havana'' is a 1942 American film romantic comedy directed by Anthony Mann and featuring Allan Jones, Jane Frazee, and Marjorie Lord. This was Mann's second film as director.. Choreography by Lester Horton. Plot Baseball star Joh ...

'' (1942) *'' Always a Bridesmaid'' (1943) *'' Mister Big'' (1943) *'' Moonlight in Vermont'' (1943) *''

Jitterbugs ''Jitterbugs'' is a 1943 Laurel and Hardy feature film produced by Sol M. Wurtzel and directed by Mal St.Clair. Plot Stan and Ollie are musicians travelling across the country as "The Original Zoot Suit Band". En route to their next gig, their ...

'' (1943) *''

'' (1944) *''

Patrick the Great ''Patrick the Great'' is a 1945 American drama film starring Donald O'Connor, Peggy Ryan, and Frances Dee. This was the last film for O'Connor and Ryan together, who had been a teenage team for the past several years. This was also O'Connor's la ...

'' (1945)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jivin' Jacks and Jills, The American dance groups Organizations established in 1942 1942 establishments in California