''Queen of the Stardust Ballroom'' is an American musical television movie directed by

Sam O'Steen Samuel Alexander O'Steen (November 6, 1923 – October 11, 2000) was an American film editor and director. He had an extended, notable collaboration with the director Mike Nichols, with whom he edited 12 films between 1966 and 1994. Among the fi ...

and produced by

Roger Gimbel Roger Gimbel (March 11, 1925 – April 26, 2011) was an American television producer who specialized in television movies. Many of Gimbel's television films dealt with real-life events, including '' Chernobyl: The Final Warning'', '' S.O.S. Titani ...

, from the teleplay by

Jerome Kass Jerome Allan Kass (April 21, 1937 – October 22, 2015) was an American screenwriter and author. He wrote ''Queen of the Stardust Ballroom'' in 1975 and '' Ballroom'' in 1978, which were nominated for an Emmy and Tony, respectively. Biography Kas ...

. It was broadcast by

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

on February 13, 1975.

Maureen Stapleton Lois Maureen Stapleton (June 21, 1925 – March 13, 2006) was an American actress. She received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards, in addition to ...

Charles Durning Charles Edward Durning (February 28, 1923 – December 24, 2012) was an American actor who appeared in over 200 movies, television shows and plays.Schudel, Matt (December 26, 2012) "''In real life and on the screen, he played countless role ...

, and

Charlotte Rae Charlotte Rae Lubotsky (April 22, 1926 – August 5, 2018) was an American character actress and singer whose career spanned six decades. Rae was known for her portrayal of Edna Garrett in the sitcoms ''Diff'rent Strokes'' and its spin-off, '' ...

were nominated for

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

s for their performances.

Plot

Bea Asher (Stapleton) is a lonely widow who is told by a waitress named Angie to get out and enjoy life. Angie takes a nervous Bea to the Stardust Ballroom, a local dance hall, for ballroom dancing. Despite Bea stating it has been years since she has danced, Al Green (Durning) asks her to dance. When Bea returns home late, her worried sister Helen (Rae) arrives, having already disturbed Bea's daughter. Bea decides to be her own person now, takes on a more youthful appearance, and frequents the Stardust to dance with Al. This starts a romance. Bea also learns of Al's life off the dance floor. He is married, albeit unhappily, but she so enjoys their time together that it doesn't bother her. Bea's new lifestyle leads her to become the annual queen at the Stardust.

Cast

Maureen Stapleton Charles Durning Queen of the Stardust Ballroom

as Bea Asher: a New York widow who opens a thrift store to sell items in her house to keep from having to move in with her daughter Diane and her family. Her life soon changes when she is taken to the Stardust Ballroom. *

as Al Green: a married mailman who frequents the Stardust. He asks Bea to dance and falls in love with her. *

Michael Brandon Michael Brandon (born Michael Feldman; April 20, 1945) is an American actor. He is known for his role as James Dempsey in the British drama series ''Dempsey and Makepeace'' (1985–1986). His theatre credits include the original Broadway (theat ...

as David Asher: Bea's son who helps her open the store then moves with his family to Los Angeles *

Michael Strong Michael Strong (born Cecil Natapoff; February 8, 1918 – September 17, 1980)California Death Index and Social Security Death Index, accessed on Ancestry.com was an American stage, film and television actor. Early life Michael Strong was bor ...

as Jack: Helen's husband and Bea's accountant *

as Helen: Bea's sister, who dislikes the changes in her *Jacquelyn Hyde as Angie: Bea's waitress friend, who, in showing her how to live life, takes her to the Stardust *

Beverly Sanders Beverly Sanders (born September 2, 1940) is an American actress, comedian, and voice artist. She was born in Hollywood, California. Career Sanders studied acting in New York with Lee Strasberg's Actor Studio. She is married and has an adopted ...

as Diane: Bea's daughter, who also dislikes the changes in her * Alan Fudge as Louis: Diane's husband *

Florence Halop Florence Halop (January 23, 1923 – July 15, 1986) was an American actress. Best known for her roles as surly patient Mrs. Hufnagel on the drama ''St. Elsewhere'' and the raspy-voiced bailiff Florence Kleiner on the sitcom '' Night Court''. H ...

as Sylvia *

Gil Lamb Gilbert L. Lamb (June 14, 1904 – November 2, 1995) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 60 films and television shows between 1935 and 1980. He was also was a stage actor, who appeared in several musicals on Broadway, including ...

as Harry: Bea's first dance partner at the Stardust. Feeling overmatched, she excuses herself from the dance. *

Nora Marlowe Nora Marlowe (September 5, 1915 – December 31, 1977) was an American film and television character actress. Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, Marlowe was an actress best known for her role from 1973 to 1977 as boardinghouse owner/operator ...

as Emily *

Orrin Tucker ORiN (Open Robot/Resource interface for the Network) is a standard network interface for FA (factory automation) systems. The Japan Robot Association proposed ORiN in 2002, and the ORiN Forum develops and maintains the ORiN standard. Background ...

as M.C.

Music and dance

Billy Goldenberg William Leon Goldenberg (February 10, 1936 – August 3, 2020) was an American composer and songwriter, best known for his work on television and film. Early life Goldenberg was born in February 10, 1936 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, ...

composed the music for the film.

Alan Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Turkish surname * Alan (given name), an English given name **List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' *A ...

and

Marilyn Bergman Alan Bergman (born September 11, 1925) and Marilyn Keith Bergman (November 10, 1928 – January 8, 2022) were an American songwriting duo. Married from 1958 until Marilyn's death, together they wrote music and lyrics for numerous celebrated telev ...

wrote the lyrics for the songs used in the film, most of which were sung by the two leads, except for a solo by

Martha Tilton Martha Tilton (November 14, 1915 – December 8, 2006) was an American popular singer during America's swing era and traditional pop period. She is best known for her 1939 recording of "And the Angels Sing" with Benny Goodman. Tilton was born ...

. The dance sequences were choreographed by

Marge Champion Marjorie Celeste Champion ( Belcher; September 2, 1919October 21, 2020) was an American dancer and actress. At fourteen, she was hired as a dance model for Walt Disney Studios animated films. Later, she performed as an actress and dancer in film ...

. and were filmed in Myron's Ballroom in Los Angeles with some 300 regular patrons, including Dean Collins,

Skippy Blair Skippy Blair (March 15, 1924 – June 30, 2021) was an American ballroom dancer credited with popularizing "West Coast Swing." Blair was a member of a group that successfully lobbied the State Legislature in 1988 to have West Coast Swing designated ...

, Larry Kern, and Laure' Haile appearing as extras.Swing Dancing. Tamara Stevens, Erin Stevens. ABC-CLIO. 2011 - Page 203

Awards

O'Steen won the

Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Directors Guild in 1936, the group merge ...

award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Specials, and the

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO * The Writers Guil ...

honored Kass for his original teleplay. The program received two Emmys, for Outstanding Achievement in Choreography and Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography for a Special.

Legacy

The program, which has been released in VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray formats, served as the basis for the 1978 Broadway musical ''

Ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially historic man ...

''.

References

External links

* {{EmmyAward MusicLyrics 1975 television films 1975 films 1970s musical drama films American musical drama films Films scored by Billy Goldenberg CBS network films Films directed by Sam O'Steen American drama television films 1970s English-language films 1970s American films