Thomas Edward Rall (December 27, 1929 – October 6, 2020) was an American

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

dancer,

tap dance Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perfo ...

r, and acrobatic dancer who was a prominent featured player in 1950s musical comedies. He later became a successful

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

tic

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

in the 1960s, making appearances with the

Opera Company of Boston The Opera Company of Boston was an American opera company located in Boston, Massachusetts, that was active from the late 1950s through the 1980s. The company was founded by American conductor Sarah Caldwell in 1958 under the name Boston Opera Gr ...

, the

New York City Opera The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through 2013 (when it filed for bankruptcy), and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, du ...

, and the American National Opera Company.

Life and career

Rall was born in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

to Edward and Margaret Rall, but raised in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

. An only child, he had a crossed eye which made it hard for him to read books, so his mother enrolled him in dancing classes. In his early years he performed a dance and acrobatic

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 ...

act in Seattle theaters and attempted small acting roles. His family moved to Los Angeles in the 1940s, and Rall began to appear in small movie roles. His first film appearance was a short MGM film called ''Vendetta''. He began taking

tap dancing Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perfo ...

lessons and became a member of the jitterbugging

Jivin' Jacks and Jills 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 via open audition. The intent was to assemble a group of young dancers with appeal to a teen audience. L ...

Universal Studios 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 ...

. Rall joined

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 ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

in several light wartime

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 ...

vehicles including ''Give Out, Sisters'' (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 ...

'' (1942), and '' Mister Big'' (1943), among others. He appeared in the films '' The North Star'' and ''

Song of Russia ''Song of Russia'' is a 1944 American war film made and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The picture was credited as being directed by Gregory Ratoff, though Ratoff collapsed near the end of the five-month production, and was replaced by Lás ...

'' (1944). Rall took ballet lessons and danced in classical and

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

shows, including '' Milk and Honey'', ''

Call Me Madam ''Call Me Madam'' is a musical written by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. The musical is a satire on politics and foreign policy that spoofs postwar America's penchant for lending billions of dollars to ...

'', and '' Cry for Us All''.

Jerry Herman Gerald Sheldon Herman (July 10, 1931December 26, 2019) was an American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway theatre. One of the most commercially successful Broadway songwriters of his time, Herman was the composer and lyricis ...

said of Rall in ''Milk and Honey'': " onald addlerdid extraordinary choreography for Tommy Rall, who was suddenly so admired by the audience that

he producer He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

put his name on the marquee under the three stars. It was very, very earned by him. He was a terrific singer and dancer." He is best known for his acrobatic dancing in several classic musical films of the 1950s, including ''

Kiss Me, Kate ''Kiss Me, Kate'' is a musical written by Bella and Samuel Spewack with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The story involves the production of a musical version of William Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew'' and the conflict on and off-s ...

'' as "Bill" (1953), ''

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers ''Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'' is a 1954 American musical film, directed by Stanley Donen, with music by Gene de Paul, lyrics by Johnny Mercer, and choreography by Michael Kidd. The screenplay, by Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich, and Do ...

'' as "Frank" (1954), '' Invitation to the Dance'' (1956), '' Merry Andrew'' as "Giacomo Gallini" (1958), and ''

My Sister Eileen ''My Sister Eileen'' is a series of autobiographical short stories by Ruth McKenney, originally published in ''The New Yorker'', which eventually inspired many other works: her 1938 book ''My Sister Eileen'', a play, a musical, a radio play (a ...

'' as "Chick" (1955). Rall's film career waned as movie musicals went into decline. He had a role in the movie '' Funny Girl'', as "The Prince" in a parody of the

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

''. On Broadway he danced to acclaim as "Johnny" in

Marc Blitzstein Marcus Samuel Blitzstein (March 2, 1905January 22, 1964), was an American composer, lyricist, and librettist. He won national attention in 1937 when his pro-union musical ''The Cradle Will Rock'', directed by Orson Welles, was shut down by the Wo ...

and

Joseph Stein Joseph Stein (May 30, 1912 – October 24, 2010) was an American playwright best known for writing the books for such musicals as ''Fiddler on the Roof'' and '' Zorba''. Biography Born in New York City to Jewish parents, Charles and Emma ...

's 1959 musical ''

Juno Juno commonly refers to: *Juno (mythology), the Roman goddess of marriage and queen of the gods *Juno (film), ''Juno'' (film), 2007 Juno may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters *Juno, in the film ''Jenny, Juno'' *Ju ...

'' (based on

Seán O'Casey Seán O'Casey ( ga, Seán Ó Cathasaigh ; born John Casey; 30 March 1880 – 18 September 1964) was an Irish dramatist and memoirist. A committed socialist, he was the first Irish playwright of note to write about the Dublin working classes. ...

's play ''

Juno and the Paycock ''Juno and the Paycock'' is a play by Seán O'Casey. Highly regarded and often performed in Ireland, it was first staged at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin in 1924. It is set in the working-class tenements of Dublin in the early 1920s, during the Ir ...

'').

Ken Mandelbaum Ken Mandelbaum is a Jewish American columnist, critic, and author whose primary field of expertise is musical theatre. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Mandelbaum was introduced to Broadway musical theatre by his parents and grandparents at ...

wrote: "

DeMille DeMille or De Mille is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Agnes De Mille, American dance and choreographer * Beatrice deMille, English-born American playwright and screenwriter *Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; Augu ...

provided two fine ballets: her second act 'Johnny' in which Tommy Rall danced out Johnny's emotions...was the evening's highlight."Mandelbaum, Ken
''Juno''
''Not Since Carrie: Forty Years of Broadway Musical Flops'', Macmillan, 1992, , p. 312 He took the title role in a production of Massenet's '' Le jongleur de Notre-Dame'' by the New England Opera Theatre in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

in 1961 in a role which required both singing and juggling and dancing. Rall was highly respected by his contemporaries—including dance greats Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor—with the latter describing Rall as one of the “greatest dancers living...above Astaire and Kelly.”

Personal life

Rall was briefly married to his ''Juno'' co-star

Monte Amundsen Monte Amundsen (January 15, 1930 – December 24, 2011) was an American opera and musical singer who appeared on Broadway in Marc Blitzstein's musical ''Juno'' in 1959, which starred Shirley Booth. Biography Composer Marc Blitzstein was repor ...

. He later married former ballerina Karel Shimoff. In 2007, a Texas dance instructor by the name of Fredric Brame was found to have been posing as Tommy Rall since the late 1960s. When Rall found out about the masquerade decades later, through a friend of the family, Rall contacted the

Montgomery County, Texas Montgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county had a population of 620,443. The county seat is Conroe. The county was created by an act of the Congress of the Republic of Texas on December 14, 1 ...

Sheriff's office. No legal action was taken against Brame. Rall wanted Brame to stop taking credit for his work and warned that if he continued or did it again a lawsuit would be filed.

Death

In September 2020, Rall had heart surgery and recovered at the Fireside Health Center (Santa Monica, California). Subsequently, in October, he had additional heart surgery at Providence Saint John's Health Center (Santa Monica, California). He died around 5 P.M. on October 6 of congestive heart failure, aged 90. He was survived by his wife, Karel, and their son, Aaron, a Lieutenant-Colonel in the US Army. Another son, David, predeceased his parents.

Filmography

Sources: TCM; MasterWorks Broadway Features: *'' What's Cookin'?'' (

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

) as Member, The Jivin' Jacks and Jills (uncredited) *''

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 b ...

'' (1942) as Member of the Jivin' Jacks and Jills (uncredited) *''Give Out, Sisters'' (1942) as Member of the Jivin' Jacks and Jills *''

'' (1942) as Member - Jivin' Jacks (uncredited) *''It Comes Up Love'' (

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 – ...

) as Stag (uncredited) *'' Mister Big'' (1943) as 'Jivin' Jacks and Jills' Member (uncredited) *''Always a Bridesmaid'' (1943) as Member of The Jivin' Jacks and Jills (uncredited) *'' The North Star'' (1943) as Dancing Peasant (uncredited) *''

'' (

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

) as Dancing Peasant (uncredited) *''

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' was a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as ''The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air ...

'' (

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...

) as Chorus Boy (uncredited) *''

Kiss Me Kate ''Kiss Me, Kate'' is a musical written by Bella and Samuel Spewack with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The story involves the production of a musical version of William Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew'' and the conflict on and off-sta ...

'' (

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

) as Bill Calhoun 'Lucentio' *''

'' (

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

) as Frank (Frankincense) Pontipee *''

'' (

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

) as Chick *''

The Second Greatest Sex ''The Second Greatest Sex'' is a 1955 Western musical comedy film directed by George Marshall and starring Jeanne Crain and George Nader. It is a Western version of the play ''Lysistrata'' by Aristophanes. Plot In 1880, men from three Kansas ...

'' (1955) as Alf Connors *''

World in My Corner ''World in My Corner'' is a 1956 American film noir drama sport film directed by Jesse Hibbs and starring Audie Murphy and Barbara Rush. It was one of the few non-Westerns Murphy made in his career. Plot Tommy Shea (Audie Murphy), a boxer from J ...

'' (

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

) as Ray Kacsmerek *'' Invitation to the Dance'' (1956) as The Sharpie in 'Ring Around the Rosy' *''

Walk the Proud Land ''Walk the Proud Land'' is a 1956 CinemaScope Technicolor Western film directed by Jesse Hibbs and starring Audie Murphy and future Academy Award winner Anne Bancroft. Filmed at Old Tucson Studios, it recounts the first successful introduction ...

'' (1956) as Taglito *'' Merry Andrew'' ( 1958) as Giacomo Gallini *'' Funny Girl'' (

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

) as Prince in 'Swan Lake' Parody (uncredited) *'' Pennies from Heaven'' (

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

) as Ed *''

Dancers Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

'' (

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

) as Patrick *'' Saturday the 14th Strikes Back'' (

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

) as The Werewolf (final film role) *''Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age'' (

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, Documentary) as Himself Short Subjects: *''Vendetta'' (

) as Bit Part (uncredited) *''Trumpet Serenade'' (1942) as Himself - Member, 'The Jivin' Jacks and Jills'

Stage work, Broadway

Source: MasterWorksBroadway; Internet Broadway Database"Tommy Rall Broadway"
ibdb.com, accessed December 24, 2016 *''

American Concertette American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

'' (1945) *''

Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual ei ...

'' (1946) *''Look Ma, I'm Dancin'!'' (as Tommy) (1948) *''Small Wonder'' (1948) *''

Miss Liberty ''Miss Liberty'' is a 1949 Broadway musical with a book by Robert E. Sherwood and music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. It is based on the sculpting of the Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World'') in 1886. The score includes the song ...

'' (as The Boy, The Dandy, Another Lamplighter) (1949) *''

'' (Principal Dancer) (1950) (also understudy for

Russell Nype Russell Harold Nype (April 26, 1920 – May 27, 2018) was an American actor and singer. Early years Born in Zion, Illinois, Nype majored in speech and English at Lake Forest College, earning a bachelor's degree. In World War II, he served in t ...

) *''

'' (as Johnny Boyle) (1959) *'' Milk and Honey'' (as David) (1961) *''Cafe Crown'' (as David Cole) (1964) *'' Cry for Us All'' (as Petey Boyle) (1970)

References

Sources

*Koegler, Horst (1998)
"Rall, Tommy"
''Dizionario della danza e del balletto'', p. 392. Gremese Editore. . *Mordden, Ethan (2002)
''Open a new window: the Broadway musical in the 1960s''
Palgrave Macmillan, p. 102.

External links

* * * * (vidéo Danse Routine - Tommy Rall & Ann Miller -

Kiss me Kate ''Kiss Me, Kate'' is a musical written by Bella and Samuel Spewack with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The story involves the production of a musical version of William Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew'' and the conflict on and off-sta ...

film sur

youtube.com YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most vis ...

: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P84-_7kCiQ {{DEFAULTSORT:Rall, Tommy 1929 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American singers American male ballet dancers American male dancers American male film actors American male musical theatre actors American male singers American tap dancers American tenors Deaths from congestive heart failure Male actors from Kansas City, Missouri Musicians from Kansas City, Missouri Singers from Missouri