- Born
- Died
- Birth nameCarolyn Grace Haney
- She was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts and went to New Bedford High
School. Even before graduating in 1942, she had opened a dance studio
where she taught dancing. Dancing was in her blood from an early age,
and she performed often at high school festivities, the Mexican Hat
Dance being one of her favorites. During the WWII years, she came to
Hollywood and became the protégé of
Gene Kelly, whom she admired a great
deal. She had fine timing and was indefatigable. Unfortunately, she was
a diabetic, and this may have been the cause of her demise. She married
Larry Blyden in Hollywood (purportedly on
the stage of a theatre), and had two children. After her death, her
husband took the children to Texas, where they had relatives, and was
soon, thereafter, killed in an auto accident.- IMDb Mini Biography By: George G. Vitt, Jr. <gvitt@worldnet.att.net> - Actress/dancer most famous for making
Shirley MacLaine famous, helping make
two of Gene Kelly's most famous
films,
(Singin' in the Rain (1952)
and
An American in Paris (1951)),
and also making a name for herself on Broadway in "The Pajama Game",
which was, of course, the show that made
Bob Fosse known to the dance world with his
fabulous number, "Steam Heat".
One of entertainment's hardest done-by talents, Carol Haney was born in
1924 in New Bedford, Massachusetts and always knew she was going to end
up a dancer - even fortune tellers told her so. Young Carol Haney owned
her self-financed dance school even before she left high school, at
which point she left the East for the West. In Hollywood, she impressed
Jack Cole so much that he made her his
dance partner and assistant. Later on, she was offered a job assisting
the great Gene Kelly, so Haney quit
her spot with Jack Cole, and joined up
with the Freed unit. While assisting
Gene Kelly from 1950, Haney also
appeared in several of his films, in the chorus. In actual fact, the
role of the gangster's moll in the "Broadway Melody" number in
Singin' in the Rain (1952),
eventually danced by Cyd Charisse, was
originally intended for Haney. However, Haney adored
Gene Kelly and worked on, rehearsing
with Charisse every step of the way.
Haney got her chance at dancing stardom later on at MGM, when she was
teamed up with a young fellow, named
Bob Fosse, in a movie called
Kiss Me Kate (1953). The dance Fosse
concocted stopped the show, bringing him his first full choreographic
assignment on Broadway in "The Pajama Game", and Fosse, subsequently,
insisted that Haney be brought to Broadway to dance a minor role.
However, George Abbott, the
legendary Broadway producer was so impressed with Haney's comic ability
that he fired a lead actress and combined her role with Haney's dancing
role to create the role of "Gladys Hotchkiss". Haney was a complete
smash in her first all-talking, all-singing, all-dancing major Broadway
role (having not uttered a word previously in any of her film
appearances), and won the critics' acclaim as well as a Tony for her
efforts.
The torn ankle ligaments Haney suffered one month into the show is also
popular showbiz folklore, as her absence from the show brought
understudy Shirley MacLaine into the
limelight, as well as the attention of Hollywood producer
Hal B. Wallis, who expressly visited the
show to see Haney perform. MacLaine was offered a contract by Wallis
immediately after her performance. Haney recreated her award-winning
role in the film version of
The Pajama Game (1957). She was
also diagnosed with diabetes during filming, collapsing several times
during the rigorous dance routines. This illness, as well as a
self-destructive work ethic and emotional problems, contributed to her
downfall in 1964, aged at just 39. 700 theatre and dance personalities
attended a memorial service in her memory. Like fellow dance great
Gwen Verdon, fans of Haney have only one
piece of film,
The Pajama Game (1957), as a
visual record of a great talent.- IMDb Mini Biography By: marge <marge_is_master@hotmail.com>
- SpousesLarry Blyden(April 17, 1955 - August 11, 1962) (divorced, 2 children)Eugene Dorian Johnson(1945 - 1953) (divorced)
- Shirley MacLaine's rise to stardom is pure Hollywood cliché and
inadvertently due to Carol. Shirley was a chorus girl in the 1954
Broadway production of "The Pajama Game" and understudying Carol as
well. When Carol fractured her ankle, Shirley went on for her. One
night producer Hal B. Wallis saw Shirley and signed her to a movie
contract. The rest, as they say, is history. - Won Broadway's 1955 Tony Award as Best Supporting or Featured Actress
(Musical) for "The Pajama Game." She also received three Tony
nominations as Best Choreographer: in 1959, for "Flower Drum Song;" in
1963, for "Bravo Giovanni;" and in 1964, posthumously, for "Funny
Girl." - She and husband Larry Blyden had two children: Joshua Blyden (who was named after Joshua Logan) was born in 1957, and Ellen Blyden was born in 1960.
- One of Bob Fosse's favorite dancers, she was his specialty partner in the
"From This Moment On" dance sequence in Kiss Me Kate (1953) and
absolutely stole the show with her "Steam Heat" number in Fosse's
The Pajama Game (1957). - Awarded a Tony in 1955 for Supporting Actress in the musical, 'The
Pajama Game.'
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