Busby Berkeley Wiki: Ethnicity, Relationship, Salary, Parents

Known for movies

Short Info

Died	March 14, 1976, Palm Desert, California, United States
Spouse	Etta Judd, Claire James, Merna Kennedy, Esther Muir
Fact	His parents were members of the Tim Frawley Repertory Company. His father was the director. He was named after two people in the Tim Frawley Repetory Company: Amy Busby (a young English soubret who later became prominent on the London stage) and William Gillette who went on to become a Broadway star, performing in a Sherlock Holmes play he had written.

Busby Berkeley was one of the most innovative and influential filmmakers of the early Hollywood era. A master of the musical number, he is best known for his lavish, eye-popping productions featuring elaborate choreography, creative camera work, and beautiful showgirls.

Born in Los Angeles in 1895, Berkeley was the son of vaudeville performers. He made his stage debut at the age of five and toured with his parents’ act for several years. In the 1910s, he began working in film, first as an actor and then as a director.

Berkeley’s early films were shorts featuring comedy sketches and musical numbers. He quickly developed a reputation for his inventive camera work and creative use of editing to create dynamic visuals. In the 1920s, he began working on features, including the now-classic musicals “42nd Street” (1933) and “Gold Diggers of 1933” (1933).

Berkeley’s films were hugely popular with audiences and helped to establish the musical genre as a major force in Hollywood. His work was also highly influential on subsequent generations of filmmakers.

In the 1940s, Berkeley’s career began to decline, due in part to changing tastes in the film industry. He made a brief comeback in the 1950s with a series of successful television commercials. He died in 1976 at the age of 80.

Despite his relatively short career, Berkeley left a lasting legacy as one of Hollywood’s most important and influential filmmakers.

General Info

Full Name	Busby Berkeley
Died	March 14, 1976, Palm Desert, California, United States
Height	1.75 m
Profession	Actor, Film director, Television Director, Choreographer
Nationality	American

Family

Spouse	Etta Judd, Claire James, Merna Kennedy, Esther Muir
Parents	Gertrude Berkeley, William Enos
Siblings	George Enos

Accomplishments

Nominations	Academy Award for Best Dance Direction
Movies	Footlight Parade, Gold Diggers of 1933, Dames, Gold Diggers of 1935, The Gang's All Here, Babes on Broadway, Hollywood Hotel, For Me and My Gal, Take Me Out to the Ball Game, Strike Up the Band, Babes in Arms, They Made Me a Criminal, Wonder Bar, Girl Crazy, Fast and Furious, She Had to Say Yes, Cin...

Social profile links

IMDB	http://imdb.com/name/nm0000923

Quotes

#	Quote
1	In an era of breadlines, depression and wars, I tried to help people get away from all the misery...to turn their minds to something else. I wanted to make people happy, if only for an hour.

Facts

#	Fact
1	The Gumm Sisters appeared during the 1934 Chicago World's Fair Exposition midway and at the Chicago Oriental Theater. Francis, now at age 12, was also featured as a solo act, a single entertainer on an eastern Vaudeville circuit with head-liner comedienne George Jessel acting as an emcee. Jessel encouraged their mother Ethel to choose a more appealing name after "Gumm" was met with laughter from the audience. According to theater legend, their act was once erroneously billed at the Chicago Oriental Theater as "The Glum Sisters." Several stories persist regarding the origin of the name "Garland". One is that it was originated by Jessel after Carole Lombard's character Lily Garland in the film "Twentieth Century," which was then playing at the Chicago Oriental Theater; another is that the girls chose the surname after drama critic Robert Garland. Judy Garland's daughter Lorna Luft stated that their mother Ethel selected the name "Garland" when Jessel announced that the trio of sisters "looked prettier than a garland of flowers." Francis changed her name to Judy soon afterwards, after changing their headline vaudeville family's last name to the "Garland Sisters." In the early spring of 1935, Louis B. Mayer asked songwriter Burton Lane and choreographer Busby Berkeley to go to the downtown Los Angeles's movie-vaudeville Broadway main street Orpheum Theater to watch the Garland Sisters' vaudeville act and to report back to him. A few days later the sisters, Mary Jane "Suzy/Suzanne" (born in 1915), Dorothy Virginia "Jimmie" (born in 1917), and Francis Ethel "Judy" (born in 1922), were brought for an impromptu audition at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Culver City Studios. Judy Garland (13) performed solo "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart" and "Eli, Eli," a Yiddish song written in 1896, very popular in the sister's vaudeville repertoire. The Garland Sisters' final on-screen appearance came in 1935, in an MGM short entitled "La Fiesta de Santa Barbara," The Gumm Sisters' screen credit now was listed as "The Garland Sisters." The sister act broke up in August 1935, when Mary Jane Suzanne (Gumm) Garland, (at age 20), flew to Reno, Nevada, and married musician Lee Kahn, a member of the Jimmy Davis orchestra playing at Cal-Neva Lodge, Lake Tahoe. Louis B. Mayer's instructions demanded that Busby Berkeley supervise and stage any production number devised for Judy and Mickey in their film appearances which occurred after they were teamed in their MGM filming movie schedule.
2	While under Jack Warner's Hollywood studio film contract, Broadway stage choreographer Busby Berkeley purchased a gated Spanish residence estate, 1800 Angelo Drive, built in 1926, facing the Jack L. Warner's gated estate (located across the street) on Angelo Drive, in Beverly Hills, California. Nestled behind private gates in prime Beverly Hills, North of Sunset Boulevard, a wonderful Spanish estate by one of Old Hollywood's most famous architects, Wallace Neff. Originally built in 1926, Neff showcased his unique blend of Spanish and Mexican architecture, which came to define the California style for which Wallace Neff became most famous. The home's subtle detailing included red Spanish Saltillo tile, hardwood floors, wrought iron railings, curved archways and classic tiling that echo from another era. Adding to the romantic architecture, the house is built against a hillside reminiscent of an Italian Villa on the Amalfi Coast. The interior features an expansive wood beam living room with a fireplace and a lounge with an abundance of natural light. A substantial and sleek chef's kitchen opens to a breakfast area and an indoor dining room with a patio. A private outdoor dining area with a BBQ grill and a fountain make it an entertainer's dream! The luxurious master suite, with sitting area and fireplace, opens to one of five private outdoor terraces. Natural light spills into a cozy family/media room. Three additional bedrooms complete the upstairs with individual access to a plant-lined walkway and patio. All of the closet interiors have been finished. Beyond the main residence, park-like gardens with fountains and pathways intricately weave around the property, providing intimate local lookouts and unimpeded views of the gorgeous Hollywood Hills. Further amenities include a swimmers pool with cabana, an oasis spa with a waterfall, an art studio, and a two-car garage and one-car motor court. The 1,778 sq.ft. property was listed in June, 2016, at the sale price of $7,980,000.00. In noting previous sale listings, the property was sold on October 8th, 2002 for $2,900,000 (at $646 sq.ft); previously sold on March 6th, 1998, for $1,330.000 (at $296 sq.ft.); the 2015 year property tax: $38,276.00, property tax assessment at $3,495,964.00; the 2014 year property tax: $38,276.00, property assessment at $3,427,484.00; the 2004 year property tax: $32.524.00, property assessment at $2,955,160.00.
3	Ex-brother-in-law of Lois James.
4	He was not the first person who used the famous overhead shot, a shot that looks like you're looking through a kaleidescope, with the dancers in a circle(s) in interesting patterns. (i.e A minor example of this technique precedes his work in Dancing Lady (1933).) But he did make the grandiose, kaleidoscopic overhead-shooting of musical extravaganzas his own unmistakable artistic style by expanding the concept to its limits and then beyond affordability.
5	On his way home from a party thrown by William Koenig to celebrate the completion of In Caliente (1935), Busby hit two vehicles, killing three people in the second car: William von Brieson, his mother, and sister-in-law. Tried for murder, Berkeley, represented by Jerry Giesler, was acquitted in a third trial after the previous two ended in hung juries.
6	Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume One, 1890-1945". Pages 23-28. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1987.
7	His brother George (ten years Busby's senior) graduated from Culver Military Academy where he was an accomplished athlete and captain of the Culver Black Horse Troop. Years later, as a result of drug abuse, George was found dead on a park bench in Plattsburgh, New York, U.S.A.
8	In his early days, he worked for a shoe company in Athol, Massachusetts for three years. In his spare time he played semi-pro baseball, organized a dance band and played in local shows.
9	His parents were members of the Tim Frawley Repertory Company. His father was the director. He was named after two people in the Tim Frawley Repetory Company: Amy Busby (a young English soubret who later became prominent on the London stage) and William Gillette who went on to become a Broadway star, performing in a Sherlock Holmes play he had written.
10	At age 12 he enrolled in the Mohegan Lake Military Academy near Peekskill. He graduated in 1914.
11	Son of actress Gertrude Berkeley.
12	Inspired the song "Busby Berkeley Dreams" by The Magnetic Fields.

Pictures

Movies

Miscellaneous

Title	Year	Status
Billy Rose's Jumbo	1962	choreographer - uncredited
Easy to Love	1953	choreographer
Small Town Girl	1953	choreographer
Million Dollar Mermaid	1952	choreographer
Two Tickets to Broadway	1951	choreographer - uncredited / musical numbers created and directed by
The Blue Veil	1951	dance director - uncredited
Call Me Mister	1951	choreographer
Two Weeks with Love	1950	choreographer
Annie Get Your Gun	1950	director: some scenes - deleted from final print, uncredited
Romance on the High Seas	1948	choreographer
The Gang's All Here	1943	dance director
Three Cheers for the Girls	1943	Short director: archive footage - uncredited
Calling All Girls	1942	Short choreographer
The Wizard of Oz	1939	choreographer: scarecrow's dance - deleted from final print, uncredited
Broadway Serenade	1939	creator: finale number / director: finale number
Gold Diggers in Paris	1938	dance numbers created and directed by
Hollywood Hotel	1937	dances created and directed by - uncredited
Varsity Show	1937	creator: finale / director: finale
The Singing Marine	1937	musical numbers created and directed by
Gold Diggers of 1937	1936	dance director
Changing of the Guard	1936	Short coach to Sybil Jason
Stars Over Broadway	1935	numbers staged and directed by
I Live for Love	1935	choreographer - uncredited
In Caliente	1935	numbers created and directed by
Gold Diggers of 1935	1935	dances created and staged by
Dames	1934	numbers created and directed by
Wonder Bar	1934	numbers created and directed by
Roman Scandals	1933	production numbers director
Plane Nuts	1933	Short choreographer - uncredited
Footlight Parade	1933	numbers created and directed by
Gold Diggers of 1933	1933	numbers created and directed by
42nd Street	1933	creator: dances and ensembles / stager: dances and ensembles
The Kid from Spain	1932	numbers created and directed by
Bird of Paradise	1932	choreographer - uncredited
Night World	1932	choreographer
Girl Crazy	1932	choreographer - uncredited
Sky Devils	1932	choreographer
Flying High	1931	dances created by
Palmy Days	1931	dances and ensembles
Kiki	1931	dances staged by
Whoopee!	1930	dances and ensembles staged by

Director

Title	Year	Status
Big Town	1954-1955	TV Series 4 episodes
The Blue Veil	1951	uncredited
Annie Get Your Gun	1950	almost all footage scrapped and reshot, uncredited
Take Me Out to the Ball Game	1949
Romance on the High Seas	1948	musical scenes
Cinderella Jones	1946
The Gang's All Here	1943
Girl Crazy	1943	"I Got Rhythm" number
Cabin in the Sky	1943	director: "Shine" sequence - uncredited
For Me and My Gal	1942
Babes on Broadway	1941
Lady Be Good	1941	musical numbers, uncredited
Ziegfeld Girl	1941	musical numbers directed by
Blonde Inspiration	1941
Strike Up the Band	1940
Forty Little Mothers	1940
Fast and Furious	1939
Babes in Arms	1939
They Made Me a Criminal	1939
Comet Over Broadway	1938
Garden of the Moon	1938
Men Are Such Fools	1938
Hollywood Hotel	1937
The Go Getter	1937
Stage Struck	1936
The Singing Kid	1936	uncredited
I Live for Love	1935
Bright Lights	1935
Gold Diggers of 1935	1935
Dames	1934	musical numbers
She Had to Say Yes	1933

Music Department

Title	Year	Status
Rose Marie	1954	stager: musical numbers
Romance on the High Seas	1948	musical numbers creator and director
All Star Musical Revue	1945	Short director: musical numbers
Three Cheers for the Girls	1943	Short creator of musical numbers
Born to Sing	1942	director of musical numbers: finale
Calling All Girls	1942	Short creator and director of musical numbers
Lady Be Good	1941	director: musical numbers
Gold Diggers of 1937	1936	musical numbers created and directed by
Fashions of 1934	1934	musical numbers creator and director

Actor

Title	Year	Character
The Phynx	1970	Busby Berkeley
Footlight Parade	1933	Drugstore Clerk (uncredited)
Gold Diggers of 1933	1933	Call Boy (uncredited)
Palmy Days	1931	Fortune Teller (uncredited)

Assistant Director

Title	Year	Status	Character
Billy Rose's Jumbo	1962	second unit director

Costume Department

Title	Year	Status	Character
The Danny Thomas Hour	1967	TV Series costumer - 1 episode

Soundtrack

Title	Year	Status	Character
Plane Nuts	1933	Short "We'll Dance Until the Dawn", "I'll Make A Happy Landing The Lucky Day I Land You", uncredited

Thanks

Title	Year	Status	Character
That's Entertainment, Part II	1976	Documentary acknowledgement: the special style and content of the musical sequences were created by

Self

Title	Year	Status	Character
Cinéastes de notre temps	1971	TV Series documentary	Himself
The Movie Crazy Years	1971	TV Movie documentary	Himself
New York, New York	1971	TV Series	Himself
The Mike Douglas Show	1971	TV Series	Himself - Director / Producer
The David Frost Show	1970	TV Series	Himself
The Joey Bishop Show	1969	TV Series	Himself
We Must Have Music	1942	Short	Himself
A Trip Thru a Hollywood Studio	1935	Short documentary	Himself (uncredited)
Things You Never See on the Screen	1935	Short	Himself
And She Learned About Dames	1934	Short	Himself (uncredited)
Hollywood Newsreel	1934	Short	Himself (uncredited)

Archive Footage

Title	Year	Status	Character
American Masters	2008	TV Series documentary	Himself - Interviewee
Ziegfeld Girl Intro	2004	Video documentary short	Himself
The Canadians	1998	TV Series	Himself
Busby Berkeley: Going Through the Roof	1998	TV Movie documentary	Himself
Great Performances	1996	TV Series	Himself
That's Dancing!	1985	Documentary	Himself
Brother Can You Spare a Dime	1975	Documentary	Himself
Hollywood and the Stars	1963	TV Series	Himself

Awards

Won Awards

Year	Award	Ceremony	Nomination	Movie
2012	OFTA Film Hall of Fame	Online Film & Television Association	Behind the Scenes	Choreography
1971	UNICRIT Statuette	Berlin International Film Festival

Nominated Awards

Year	Award	Ceremony	Nomination	Movie
1938	Oscar	Academy Awards, USA	Best Dance Direction	Varsity Show (1937)
1937	Oscar	Academy Awards, USA	Best Dance Direction	Gold Diggers of 1937 (1936)
1936	Oscar	Academy Awards, USA	Best Dance Direction	Gold Diggers of 1935 (1935)