Dan Dailey

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Dan Dailey

Born	Daniel James Dailey December 14, 1913(1913-12-14) New York, New York, USA
Died	October 16, 1978 (aged 64) Los Angeles, California, USA
Spouse(s)	Esther Rodier (?-1941) Gwen Carter O Connor'(?-?) Elizabeth Hofert (1942-1951)

Daniel James Dailey Jr. (December 14, 1913 – October 16, 1978) was an American dancer and actor.

[edit] Biography

Born in New York City, he appeared in a minstrel show when very young, and appeared in vaudeville before his Broadway debut in 1937 in Babes in Arms. In 1940, he was signed by MGM to make movies and, although his past career had been in musicals, he was initially cast as a Nazi in The Mortal Storm. However, the people at MGM realized their mistake quickly and cast him in a series of musical films.

He served in the United States Army during World War II, then returned to more musicals. His performance in When My Baby Smiles at Me in 1948 garnered him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. In 1950, he starred in A Ticket to Tomahawk, often noted as one of the first screen appearances of Marilyn Monroe, in a very small part as a dance-hall girl. One of his notable roles was in There's No Business Like Show Business (1954) which featured Irving Berlin's music and also starred Ethel Merman, Marilyn Monroe, Donald O'Connor, and Johnnie Ray.

As the musical genre began to wane in the mid-1950s, he moved on to various comedic and dramatic roles, including his television series, The Governor & J.J. and the NBC Mystery Movie series "Faraday & Company". His sister is Another World actress Irene Dailey.