Carol Haney
Encyclopedia
Carol Haney was an American dancer and actress. After assisting Gene Kelly
in choreographing films, Haney won a Tony Award
for her role in The Pajama Game
. She then shifted to choreography, being nominated for three more Tonys for her choreography work on Broadway.
, she opened a dancing school when she was fifteen years old. After high school, Haney left her home town for Hollywood and landed bit parts in movies until she was spotted by dancer/choreographer Jack Cole
, becoming his dance partner and assistant from 1946–48.
In 1949, Haney was hired by Gene Kelly
to be his assistant choreographer on MGM musical film
s, and she aided Kelly in some of his best work, including On the Town
, Summer Stock
, An American in Paris
, Singin' in the Rain
(she dubbed Kelly's taps in the title song), and Kelly's dream project, Invitation to the Dance
.
Haney danced with Bob Fosse
in the 1953 film version of Kiss Me, Kate
, and when he landed his first Broadway choreographing assignment, The Pajama Game
(1954), he recommended that Haney be cast in a small dancing part. She then impressed director George Abbott
so much that Abbott combined her role with a larger part, resulting in the character of Gladys Hotchkiss. The role shot Haney to Broadway fame and won her a Tony Award
and two Donaldson awards. The role of Gladys was lucky for Haney's understudy, Shirley MacLaine
. A month into the run of The Pajama Game, Haney injured her leg, and MacLaine took over the role. She was spotted by Hollywood producer Hal Wallis, who had come to the show to see Haney, and MacLaine got a film contract that launched her career, while Haney never became a Hollywood star.
After this, Haney appeared in a few shows, including the touring production Ziegfeld Follies of 1956, but developed paralyzing stage fright. She was seen on television, and she recreated her performance as Gladys in the film version of The Pajama Game
(1957). She focused her career on choreography for Broadway shows: Flower Drum Song
(1958, directed by Gene Kelly), Bravo Giovanni
(1962), She Loves Me
(1963) and Funny Girl (1964). The American Dance Machine (1978) featured her choreography from television. She was nominated for three more Tony Awards, for choreography, for Flower Drum Song, Bravo Giovanni and, posthumously, for Funny Girl. In May 1958, she and Dick Van Dyke
appeared together as guest stars on Polly Bergen
's NBC
's short-lived variety show
, The Polly Bergen Show
.
(1955–62), whom she choreographed in Flower Drum Song. She and Blyden had two children, Joshua (1957–2000) and Ellen (b. 1960).
in 1964, at age 39, six weeks after the opening of Funny Girl, which she choreographed. The cause of death was pneumonia
, complicated by diabetes and alcoholism
.
Gene Kelly
Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer...
in choreographing films, Haney won a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for her role in The Pajama Game
The Pajama Game
The Pajama Game is a musical based on the novel 7½ Cents by Richard Bissell. It features a score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story deals with labor troubles in a pajama factory, where worker demands for a seven-and-a-half cents raise are going unheeded...
. She then shifted to choreography, being nominated for three more Tonys for her choreography work on Broadway.
Life and career
Born in New Bedford, MassachusettsNew Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, located south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and about east of Fall River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 95,072, making it the sixth-largest city in Massachusetts...
, she opened a dancing school when she was fifteen years old. After high school, Haney left her home town for Hollywood and landed bit parts in movies until she was spotted by dancer/choreographer Jack Cole
Jack Cole (choreographer)
Jack Cole was an American dancer, choreographer, and theatre director known as the father of theatrical jazz dance.-Early life:...
, becoming his dance partner and assistant from 1946–48.
In 1949, Haney was hired by Gene Kelly
Gene Kelly
Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer...
to be his assistant choreographer on MGM musical film
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
s, and she aided Kelly in some of his best work, including On the Town
On the Town (film)
On the Town is a 1949 musical film with music by Leonard Bernstein and Roger Edens and book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. It is an adaptation of the Broadway stage musical of the same name produced in 1944, although many changes in script and score were made from the original stage...
, Summer Stock
Summer Stock
For the article about the theatre genre, see Summer stock theatre.Summer Stock is a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical made in 1950. The film was directed by Charles Walters and stars Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Eddie Bracken, Gloria DeHaven, Marjorie Main, and Phil Silvers...
, An American in Paris
An American in Paris (film)
An American in Paris is a 1951 MGM musical film inspired by the 1928 orchestral composition by George Gershwin. Starring Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant, Georges Guetary, and Nina Foch, the film is set in Paris, and was directed by Vincente Minnelli from a script by Alan Jay Lerner...
, Singin' in the Rain
Singin' in the Rain
Singin' in the Rain is a 1952 American comedy musical film starring Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds and directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, with Kelly also providing the choreography...
(she dubbed Kelly's taps in the title song), and Kelly's dream project, Invitation to the Dance
Invitation to the Dance (film)
Invitation to the Dance is a 1956 anthology film consisting of three distinct stories, all starring and directed by Gene Kelly.The film is unusual in that it has no spoken dialogue, with the characters performing their roles entirely through dance and mime...
.
Haney danced with Bob Fosse
Bob Fosse
Robert Louis “Bob” Fosse was an American actor, dancer, musical theater choreographer, director, screenwriter, film editor and film director. He won an unprecedented eight Tony Awards for choreography, as well as one for direction...
in the 1953 film version of Kiss Me, Kate
Kiss Me, Kate (film)
Kiss Me Kate is the 1953 MGM film adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name.Inspired by The Taming of the Shrew, it tells the tale of musical theater actors, Fred Graham and Lilli Vanessi, who were once married and are now performing opposite each other in the roles of Petruchio and...
, and when he landed his first Broadway choreographing assignment, The Pajama Game
The Pajama Game
The Pajama Game is a musical based on the novel 7½ Cents by Richard Bissell. It features a score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story deals with labor troubles in a pajama factory, where worker demands for a seven-and-a-half cents raise are going unheeded...
(1954), he recommended that Haney be cast in a small dancing part. She then impressed director George Abbott
George Abbott
George Francis Abbott was an American theater producer and director, playwright, screenwriter, and film director and producer whose career spanned more than nine decades.-Early years:...
so much that Abbott combined her role with a larger part, resulting in the character of Gladys Hotchkiss. The role shot Haney to Broadway fame and won her a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
and two Donaldson awards. The role of Gladys was lucky for Haney's understudy, Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine is an American film and theater actress, singer, dancer, activist and author, well-known for her beliefs in new age spirituality and reincarnation. She has written a large number of autobiographical works, many dealing with her spiritual beliefs as well as her Hollywood career...
. A month into the run of The Pajama Game, Haney injured her leg, and MacLaine took over the role. She was spotted by Hollywood producer Hal Wallis, who had come to the show to see Haney, and MacLaine got a film contract that launched her career, while Haney never became a Hollywood star.
After this, Haney appeared in a few shows, including the touring production Ziegfeld Follies of 1956, but developed paralyzing stage fright. She was seen on television, and she recreated her performance as Gladys in the film version of The Pajama Game
The Pajama Game (film)
The article is about the 1957 film. For other uses see The Pajama Game .The Pajama Game is a 1957 musical film based on the stage musical of the same name...
(1957). She focused her career on choreography for Broadway shows: Flower Drum Song
Flower Drum Song
Flower Drum Song was the eighth stage musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. It was based on the 1957 novel, The Flower Drum Song, by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee. The piece opened in 1958 on Broadway and was afterwards presented in the West End and on tour...
(1958, directed by Gene Kelly), Bravo Giovanni
Bravo Giovanni
Bravo Giovanni is a musical with a book by A. J. Russell, lyrics by Ronny Graham, and music by Milton Schafer. It is based upon the novel, "The Crime of Giovanni Venturi", by Howard Shaw ....
(1962), She Loves Me
She Loves Me
She Loves Me is a musical with a book by Joe Masteroff, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and music by Jerry Bock.The musical is the fifth adaptation of the play Parfumerie by Hungarian playwright Miklos Laszlo, following the 1940 James Stewart-Margaret Sullavan film The Shop around the Corner and the...
(1963) and Funny Girl (1964). The American Dance Machine (1978) featured her choreography from television. She was nominated for three more Tony Awards, for choreography, for Flower Drum Song, Bravo Giovanni and, posthumously, for Funny Girl. In May 1958, she and Dick Van Dyke
Dick Van Dyke
Richard Wayne "Dick" Van Dyke is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer with a career spanning six decades. He is the older brother of Jerry Van Dyke, and father of Barry Van Dyke...
appeared together as guest stars on Polly Bergen
Polly Bergen
Polly Bergen is an American actress, singer, and entrepreneur.-Career:Bergen appeared in many film roles, most notably in the original Cape Fear opposite Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum...
's NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's short-lived variety show
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
, The Polly Bergen Show
The Polly Bergen Show
The Polly Bergen Show is a half-hour 18-episode comedy/variety show, starring then 27-year-old Polly Bergen, which aired on NBC in the 1957-1958 television season. The program is remembered for its impressive guest-star lineup as well as its closing theme song, "The Party's Over" .The Polly Bergen...
.
Family
Haney was married to Eugene Dorian Johnson (1945–1953) and then Broadway actor and TV host Larry BlydenLarry Blyden
Larry Blyden was an American actor and game show host, best known for his appearances on Broadway and as the host of the game show What's My Line?-Personal life:...
(1955–62), whom she choreographed in Flower Drum Song. She and Blyden had two children, Joshua (1957–2000) and Ellen (b. 1960).
Death
Haney died in Saddle Brook, New JerseySaddle Brook, New Jersey
Saddle Brook is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 13,659....
in 1964, at age 39, six weeks after the opening of Funny Girl, which she choreographed. The cause of death was pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
, complicated by diabetes and alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
.