Renowned Death Hag
She was a character actor that I confused with Mary Wickes. Down Argentine Way was on the other day and I thought she was so charming as the Aunt to Betty Grable's character.
Does anyone know anything else on this great actress? I know there was a book that was just released. I'll have to check into that.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]peek-a-boo!!
Got this off Wikipedia:
Charlotte Greenwood
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Charlotte Greenwood (1940)
Frances Charlotte Greenwood (25 June 1890 - 28 December 1977) was an American actress born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
She got her start in vaudeville, and eventually starred on Broadway, movies and radio. Standing at almost 6' tall, she was best known for her long legs and high kicks. She earned the unique praise of being, in her words, the "...only woman in the world who could kick a giraffe in the eye". She starred with such luminaries as Betty Grable, Jimmy Durante, Eddie Cantor, Buster Keaton, and Carmen Miranda. Most of ms. Greenwood's best work was done on the stage, and was lauded by such critics as James Agate, Alexander Woollcott and Claudia Cassidy.
Although the role was written with her in mind, film commitments prevented her from playing "Aunt Eller" in the Rodgers and Hammerstein Broadway hit Oklahoma (1943). She got her chance in the 1955 film version, just prior to retiring in 1956.
Charlotte Greenwood died in Los Angeles, California of undisclosed causes, aged 87.
She was married twice, first, unsuccessfully to actor Cyril Ring, brother of actress Blanche Ring, and secondly and happily to composer Martin Broones.
I don't know a whole lot about this longgggggg legged actress, except that I really like her. I first remember her in a Shirley Temple movie. I read somewhere that she had a really bad first marriage, something about a scandal but what I don't know. She was fabulous though.
This was another funny lady, and she indeed could kick higher than her head!!! Like Eve Arden, Mary Wickes, she played best friend and never got the guy.
I forgot about her Thanks for the background.
Renowned Death Hag
she was a total scream! the fact that she could kick her legs sideways as high as her head was just hilarious to watch. fine comedic style!!!!
pull the string!
The Shirley Temple movie she was in was called Young People, CG and Jack Oakie played vaudevillians who adopt Shirley and later retire to a small New England town, where a lot of the townspeople snub them because they're in show business. I remember that Charlotte Greenwood and Jack Oakie died within a few weeks of each other.
I remember wondering if she had double-jointed hips... she could stand on one leg and almost point the other one straight up. She sometimes wore skirts with a huge number of pleats to allow her to do this.
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