The Original Dancing
with the Stars
by Phil Seyer,
Ballroom Dance Instructor, Serving San Francisco, Bay Area, Roseville, Sacramento
For Private dance lessons, call Phil at 925-888-4392
or 916-786-5858.
1956. Some think that Dancing with the Stars started with a TV show in England a few years ago. Actually, it got started started in 1956 when Arthur Murray invited famous prize fighters, ball players, and fat men to particiate in a dance contest. In this article, I provide a lot of links for your convenience so you can read up on the various stars of yesteryear.who had the courage to step out onto the dance floor and compete against their peers.
It all started when Maxie Rosenbloom, Rocky Graziano, Jake Lamotta, and Max Baer danced up a storm and "slugged it out" on the dance floor instead of in the ring.
1957. In 1957 Athur continued to work on getting famous stars to participate in his dance contests.It was tough to find stars willing to participate at first. Helen Hayes was the first star that agreed to participate in 1957. Polio disease was still a threat in those days. Mary MacArthur, the 19-year-old daughter of actress Helen Hayes and Charles MacArthur died of polio in 1949. Arthur Murray agreed to donate $5,000 to the Mary Murry Polio Fund and to appeal to the public for donations if Helen Hayes would agree to participate. Hlen agreed.
Once Arthur got Helen Hayes to agree, he was able to quickly find others. Melvyn Douglas, Sam Levinson, and Don Ameche agreed to participate on the same night.
One big difference in the Arthur Murray "Dancing with the Stars" show was that each of the stars danced with an amateur of his or her choice. In the 21st century version, the stars dance with professional dance teachers who work with them for several week and train them to be pretty good ballroom dancers. . In the "1950's Dancing with the Stars" there were no judges and the studio audience chose the winner. There wasn't a continuation from week to week. A new group of stars would compete each week. After several weeks there was a final competition.
Other stars who participated in the dance contests in the 1950's included baseball star Mickey Mantle, Mickey Rooney, and Farley Granger.
Mantle didn't do well in the contest, but baseball fans lined up for his autograph after the show. Mickey Rooney was quite famous as a dancer, and apparently didn't practice at all before the show. He came on "cold" dancing with a partner he just met. Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney earlier had become a successful song and dance team. Judy Garland appeared with Rooney in a string of successful musicals, including the Oscar nominated Babes in Arms (1939). Like Mantle, Mickey didn't do well in the dance contest and looked really disappointed when he didn't win. In contrast, Farley Granger practiced daily for 4 hours a day in the Arthur Murray studio and he won.
Many other stars participated in these early TV contests. I'll add more details later. Check back for an update.
Thanks for your interest in.
Dancing with the Stars |