LOS ANGELES –– Entertainer Donald O'Connor, who combined comedy and acrobatics in the show-stopping "Make 'Em Laugh" number in the classic movie "Singin' in the Rain," died Saturday, his daughter said. He was 78.
O'Connor, who had been in declining health in recent years, died of heart failure, his daughter, Alicia O'Connor, told The Associated Press.
It was in the '50s that O'Connor made the films for which he was best known — a series of highly successful "Francis the Talking Mule" comedies and movie musicals that put his song and dance talents to good use.
Songs in movie musicals are often touching or exciting, but O'Connor performed a rare feat with a number that were laugh-out-loud funny.
The best, 1952's "Singin' in the Rain," also starred Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds and took a satirical look at Hollywood during the transition from silent to sound pictures.
As he sings "Make 'Em Laugh," O'Connor dances with a prop dummy and does all manner of amusing acrobatics.
"Someone handed me a dummy that was on the stage," he recalled in a 1995 Associated Press interview. "That was the only prop I used. I did a pratfall and we wrote that down. Every time I did something that got a laugh, we wrote it down to keep in the number."
The American Film Institute's list of the top 100 American movies ever made ranked "Singin' in the Rain" at No. 10.
Among O'Connor's other '50s musicals were "Call Me Madam," "Anything Goes" and "There's No Business Like Show Business."
He said it was a fluke that he landed in so many musicals, nothing he started out as a "straight" actor. He also said his song-and-dance image came with a downside.
"Back then, when you were typecast that way, it was very difficult to get dramatic parts," he recalled. "Look at Fred Astaire, who was a darn good actor."
O'Connor, who had been in declining health in recent years, died of heart failure, his daughter, Alicia O'Connor, told The Associated Press.
It was in the '50s that O'Connor made the films for which he was best known — a series of highly successful "Francis the Talking Mule" comedies and movie musicals that put his song and dance talents to good use.
Songs in movie musicals are often touching or exciting, but O'Connor performed a rare feat with a number that were laugh-out-loud funny.
The best, 1952's "Singin' in the Rain," also starred Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds and took a satirical look at Hollywood during the transition from silent to sound pictures.
As he sings "Make 'Em Laugh," O'Connor dances with a prop dummy and does all manner of amusing acrobatics.
"Someone handed me a dummy that was on the stage," he recalled in a 1995 Associated Press interview. "That was the only prop I used. I did a pratfall and we wrote that down. Every time I did something that got a laugh, we wrote it down to keep in the number."
The American Film Institute's list of the top 100 American movies ever made ranked "Singin' in the Rain" at No. 10.
Among O'Connor's other '50s musicals were "Call Me Madam," "Anything Goes" and "There's No Business Like Show Business."
He said it was a fluke that he landed in so many musicals, nothing he started out as a "straight" actor. He also said his song-and-dance image came with a downside.
"Back then, when you were typecast that way, it was very difficult to get dramatic parts," he recalled. "Look at Fred Astaire, who was a darn good actor."