John F. Brascia (May 11, 1932 – February 19, 2013) 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 ...

and dancer, best known for his dancing partnerships on film with Vera-Ellen in '' White Christmas'' (1954) and with

Cyd Charisse Cyd Charisse (born Tula Ellice Finklea; March 8, 1922 – June 17, 2008) was an American actress and dancer. After recovering from polio as a child and studying ballet, Charisse entered films in the 1940s. Her roles usually featured her abilit ...

and

Liliane Montevecchi Liliane Montevecchi (October 13, 1932 – June 29, 2018) was a French-Italian actress, dancer, and singer. Career Montevecchi took her first dance classes at 8 with Pierre Duprez, primo ballerino of the Opera in Paris, France. She entered the Co ...

in ''

Meet Me in Las Vegas ''Meet Me in Las Vegas'' (1956) is an MGM musical comedy produced by Joe Pasternak, directed by Roy Rowland, filmed in Eastman Color and CinemaScope, and starring Dan Dailey and Cyd Charisse. The screenplay is by Isobel Lennart, cinematograph ...

'' (1956).

Early life

John Frank Brascia was born on May 11, 1932 in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, to Italian immigrants Gaetano Brascia and Caterina Napolitano. The Brascia clan including his Uncle Mike and Aunt Concetta Brascia moved from

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York, before John Frank was born. He had two siblings, Cecilia and Vincent. Brascia was a high-school basketball player beginning in his sophomore year at Colton High School as co-captain. At 5’11" he took the position of guard in his junior year; he was a starter for the Colton Yellowjackets. He played for Colton on the football squad as the starting quarterback in his junior and senior years.

Career

Film

Brascia was a featured dancer with Vera-Ellen in '' White Christmas'' (1954) and with

and

in ''

'' (1956). With dancer and wife
Tybee Arfa (1932–1982)
he formed the dance team Brascia and Tybee, which, beginning in 1957, began appearing as the opening act for artists like Frank Sinatra, Lena Horne, Tony Martin and

George Burns George Burns (born Nathan Birnbaum; January 20, 1896March 9, 1996) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer, and one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, radio, film and television. His arched eyebr ...

, among others.Powell (2007), pp. 169-71. Married in 1958,Powell (2007), pg. 251. the duo appeared frequently on television's ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the '' CBS Sunday Night M ...

'' (1958–66) and on ''

The Hollywood Palace ''The Hollywood Palace'' was an hour-long American television variety show that was broadcast weekly Saturday nights (except September 1967 to January 1968, when it was seen Monday nights) on ABC from January 4, 1964, to February 7, 1970. Titl ...

'' (1967). Brascia began acting in non-dancing film roles beginning in 1967, culminating in ''

The Baltimore Bullet ''The Baltimore Bullet'' is a 1979 American comedy film based on the adventures of two pool hustlers in the United States. It was directed by Robert Ellis Miller and starred James Coburn, Omar Sharif, Bruce Boxleitner and Ronee Blakley. The ...

'' (1980), which he produced and was credited with the film's story and screenplay.

Broadway

Brascia made his Broadway debut on February 11, 1953 in the musical version of the film "Nothing Sacred," titled ''

Hazel Flagg ''Hazel Flagg'' is a 1953 musical, book by Ben Hecht, based on a story by James H. Street. The lyrics are by Bob Hilliard, and music by Jule Styne. The musical is based on the 1937 screwball comedy film '' Nothing Sacred'', the primary screenwrit ...

'', which featured a score by Jule Styne and

Bob Hilliard Bob Hilliard (born Hilliard Goldsmith; January 28, 1918 – February 1, 1971) was an American lyricist. He wrote the words for the songs: "Alice in Wonderland", "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning", " Any Day Now", " Dear Hearts and Gentle ...

.Bloom and Vlastnik (2004), pg. 312. Color photo of Brascia with

Helen Gallagher Helen Gallagher (born July 19, 1926) is an American actress, dancer, and singer. She is the recipient of three Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, and a Drama Desk Award. Early years Born in Brooklyn, she was raised in Scarsdale, New York, and the ...

. The production was supervised and choreographed by

Robert Alton Robert Alton (2 January 1902 – 12 June 1957) was an American dancer and choreographer, a major figure in dance choreography of Broadway and Hollywood musicals from the 1930s through to the early 1950s. He is principally remembered today as the ...

(who choreographed the film ''White Christmas'', featuring Brascia, a year later). Brascia won a

Donaldson Award The Donaldson Awards were a set of theatre awards established in 1944 by the drama critic Robert Francis in honor of W. H. Donaldson (1864–1925), the founder of ''The Billboard'' (now ''Billboard'') magazine. Categories included "best new pla ...

for his performance in the musical.Suskin (1990), pg. 294.Powell (2007), pg. 170. Powell incorrectly reports that John Brascia won a Tony Award; she must have confused this with the Donaldson Award.

Nightclubs

John Brascia was a featured dancer in ''The Magic Carpet Revue, New York - Paris - Paradise'', which opened at the Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas on May 23, 1955 and starred Vera-Ellen with a cast of 60.

''"... the entire evening was built around Vera-Ellen, who tapped and did ballet and sang, happily undubbed, and wore gorgeous costumes by Hollywood's famed designer
Howard Shoup Howard Shoup (August 29, 1903 – May 29, 1987) was an American costume designer who received 5 Academy Award nominations. He had over 170 film credits during his long career. Including films like ''Ocean's 11'' and '' Cool Hand Luke''. Sho ...
. ... Her routines were based on those developed for her by
Robert Alton Robert Alton (2 January 1902 – 12 June 1957) was an American dancer and choreographer, a major figure in dance choreography of Broadway and Hollywood musicals from the 1930s through to the early 1950s. He is principally remembered today as the ...
. She did partnered dances with friend John Brascia, who was also given solo dancing opportunities."''Soren (2003), pp. 159-60.

Reviews

" ''... the best thing, by far, is the finale — a gaudy, satiric ballet, done to the old " Frankie and Johnny" ballad, as arranged by Johnny Green. Miss Charisse is accompanied in this one by

as "the other dame" and John Brascia as the luckless Johnny, and the ballad, with modern bebop lyrics, by

Sammy Cahn Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premi ...

, is sung by the off-screen voice of

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...

It's crazy, man! And cool!''" -- Bosley Crowther, ''New York Times''

Personal life

Brascia was married three times. He married his dance partner, Tybee Arfa, in 1958. His second marriage was to actress and model Sondra Scott, with whom he had a daughter. That marriage also ended in divorce. He married actress and model Jordan Michaels in 1986. The couple had a daughter.

Death

Brascia died in 2013, aged 80, and was survived by Jordan Michaels Brascia, his two daughters, and extended family. His son-in-law (by his older daughter) was football player Cade McNown.

Filmography

Notes

References

* Bloom, Ken and Vlastnik, Frank. ''Broadway Musicals - The 101 Greatest Shows Of All Time.'' New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, 2004. . * Powell, Josephine. ''Tito Puente: When The Drums Are Dreaming.'' Bloomington, IN: Author House, 2007. (hard cover). (soft cover). * Soren, David, with Banasiak, Meredith and Johnston, Bob. ''Vera-Ellen - The Magic and the Mystery.'' Baltimore, MD: Luminary Press, 2003. . * Suskin, Steven. ''Opening Night On Broadway - A Critical Quotebook of the Golden Era of the Musical Theatre, Oklahoma! (1943) to Fiddler on the Roof (1964).'' New York: Schirmer Books, 1990. .

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brascia, John 1932 births American people of Italian descent American male film actors American male dancers 2013 deaths 20th-century American male actors Male actors from Fresno, California