Gilda Gray
Encyclopedia
Gilda Gray was a Polish born American
actress and dancer who became famous in the US for popularizing a dance called the "shimmy
" which became fashionable in 1920s films and theater productions.
. She had one sibling, Josephine Michalska, Mrs. Sielecki.
When Marianna was 14 or 15 years old she married John Gorecki, a concert violinist. The couple, who divorced in 1923, had one son, Martin Gorecki, who became a bandleader under the name Martin Gray. An obituary published in Time magazine claimed that Gilda Gray was reportedly married at 11 and became a mother at 12.
Although the shimmy
is said to have been introduced to American audiences by Gray in New York
in 1919, other sources say that her shimmy was born one night when she was singing the Star Spangled Banner and forgot some of the lyrics. She covered up her embarrassment by shaking her shoulders and hips. Although the shimmy was already a well-known dance move, Marianna appropriated it as her own when she was asked about her dancing style, she replied in a heavy Polish accent; "I'm shaking my chemise
," which sounded to the English-speaking audience like shimmy.
where she was noticed by a talent agent, Frank Westphal, who took her to New York
and introduced her to his wife, singer Sophie Tucker
. It was Tucker who prompted her to change her first name name to Gilda, a reference to her golden hair. By 1919, she was appearing in a J.J. Shubert show, The Gaieties of 1919. By 1920, Gilda had found a new manager, Gaillard T. "Gil" Boag (d. 1959). After being seen by Florenz Ziegfeld
, she appeared in the 1922 Ziegfeld Follies
where she was enormously popular with the public.
After her divorce from her first husband, in 1923 she married Gil Boag and took her successful vaudeville
to Hollywood, California; they divorced four years later. She quickly abandoned vaudeville to become a film star, and between 1919 and 1936 Gray made several movies, in all of which she performed her famous shimmy. Her second role was a small part in Girl with the Jazz Heart.
Jesse Lasky signed her to a contract with Famous Players-Lasky
, which released films through Paramount Pictures
. With him she made Aloma of the South Seas
(1926), which grossed $3,000,000 in its first three months. The success of this Paramount film was enhanced by Gilda's personal appearances doing the shimmy as a promotion. In 1927, she made two more films, The Devil Dancer and Cabaret.
in New York. In future years she attempted comebacks but was hindered by poor health from regaining her status as a star. By now her second marriage had failed due to the stresses of financial problems complicated by her affair with her stage manager, C.D. Krepps.
. In 1932, Gray announced her engagement to singer Art Jarrett
, but abandoned their marriage plans when it became clear that the five-day waiting period between filing a marriage license and the actual ceremony could not be waived. On 23 May 1933, she married a Venezuela
n diplomat, Hector Briceño de Saa. The couple separated two years later and divorced in 1938.
, Gray worked for Poland including raising money. In 1953, Ralph Edwards
did her life story on his television show, This Is Your Life
. He portrayed her courage in bringing six Polish citizens to America during the Cold War
era. Gray also subsidized their education. She was decorated by Poland "for her interest and help to her countrymen and her country".
According to an obituary published in The New York Times
, she had lived there with Antonio Raio, a fire captain for Warner Brothers, and his wife for the past six years. Gray had suffered an attack of food poisoning five days prior to her death and was under the treatment of a physician. The Motion Picture Relief Fund paid for her funeral. Pierce Brothers mortuary supervised her funeral proceedings.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress and dancer who became famous in the US for popularizing a dance called the "shimmy
Shimmy
A shimmy is a dance move in which the body is held still, except for the shoulders, which are alternated back and forth. When the right shoulder goes back, the left one comes forward. It may help to hold the arms out slightly bent at the elbow, and when the shoulders are moved, keep the hands in...
" which became fashionable in 1920s films and theater productions.
Early life and 'The Shimmy'
Gilda Gray was born as Marianna Michalska in Kraków, Poland on 24 October 1901 to Max and Wanda Michalski, who emigrated to the United States in 1909 and settled in Milwaukee, WisconsinMilwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
. She had one sibling, Josephine Michalska, Mrs. Sielecki.
When Marianna was 14 or 15 years old she married John Gorecki, a concert violinist. The couple, who divorced in 1923, had one son, Martin Gorecki, who became a bandleader under the name Martin Gray. An obituary published in Time magazine claimed that Gilda Gray was reportedly married at 11 and became a mother at 12.
Although the shimmy
Shimmy
A shimmy is a dance move in which the body is held still, except for the shoulders, which are alternated back and forth. When the right shoulder goes back, the left one comes forward. It may help to hold the arms out slightly bent at the elbow, and when the shoulders are moved, keep the hands in...
is said to have been introduced to American audiences by Gray in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in 1919, other sources say that her shimmy was born one night when she was singing the Star Spangled Banner and forgot some of the lyrics. She covered up her embarrassment by shaking her shoulders and hips. Although the shimmy was already a well-known dance move, Marianna appropriated it as her own when she was asked about her dancing style, she replied in a heavy Polish accent; "I'm shaking my chemise
Chemise
The term chemise or shift can refer to the classic smock, or else can refer to certain modern types of women's undergarments and dresses...
," which sounded to the English-speaking audience like shimmy.
Career
Her desire to continue her burgeoning career, she used the professional name Mary Gray for a while, and her faltering relationship with her husband prompted her to relocate to ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
where she was noticed by a talent agent, Frank Westphal, who took her to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and introduced her to his wife, singer Sophie Tucker
Sophie Tucker
Sophie Tucker was a Russian/Ukrainian-born American singer and actress. Known for her stentorian delivery of comical and risqué songs, she was one of the most popular entertainers in America during the first half of the 20th century...
. It was Tucker who prompted her to change her first name name to Gilda, a reference to her golden hair. By 1919, she was appearing in a J.J. Shubert show, The Gaieties of 1919. By 1920, Gilda had found a new manager, Gaillard T. "Gil" Boag (d. 1959). After being seen by Florenz Ziegfeld
Florenz Ziegfeld
Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. , , was an American Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the Ziegfeld Follies , inspired by the Folies Bergère of Paris. He also produced the musical Show Boat...
, she appeared in the 1922 Ziegfeld Follies
Ziegfeld Follies
The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
where she was enormously popular with the public.
After her divorce from her first husband, in 1923 she married Gil Boag and took her successful vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
to Hollywood, California; they divorced four years later. She quickly abandoned vaudeville to become a film star, and between 1919 and 1936 Gray made several movies, in all of which she performed her famous shimmy. Her second role was a small part in Girl with the Jazz Heart.
Jesse Lasky signed her to a contract with Famous Players-Lasky
Famous Players-Lasky
Famous Players-Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company created on July 19, 1916 from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company -- originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays -- and Jesse L...
, which released films through Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
. With him she made Aloma of the South Seas
Aloma of the South Seas
Aloma of the South Seas can refer to:* Aloma of the South Seas , a 1926 silent film* Aloma of the South Seas , a 1941 film nominated for two Academy Awards. See ]...
(1926), which grossed $3,000,000 in its first three months. The success of this Paramount film was enhanced by Gilda's personal appearances doing the shimmy as a promotion. In 1927, she made two more films, The Devil Dancer and Cabaret.
1929 stock market crash
When the stock market crashed in 1929, Gilda Gray lost most of her financial assets, but she managed to get a job dancing at the Palace TheaterPalace Theatre, New York
The Palace Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 1564 Broadway in midtown-Manhattan.-History:Designed by architects Kirchoff & Rose, the theatre was built by Martin Beck a California vaudeville entrepreneur and Broadway impresario. The project experienced a number of business problems before...
in New York. In future years she attempted comebacks but was hindered by poor health from regaining her status as a star. By now her second marriage had failed due to the stresses of financial problems complicated by her affair with her stage manager, C.D. Krepps.
Post-crash life
In 1931 she suffered a heart attackMyocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
. In 1932, Gray announced her engagement to singer Art Jarrett
Art Jarrett
Arthur L. Jarrett, Jr. born to stage actor and playwright Arthur L. Jarrett, Sr. . Art Jr...
, but abandoned their marriage plans when it became clear that the five-day waiting period between filing a marriage license and the actual ceremony could not be waived. On 23 May 1933, she married a Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
n diplomat, Hector Briceño de Saa. The couple separated two years later and divorced in 1938.
Polish patriot
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Gray worked for Poland including raising money. In 1953, Ralph Edwards
Ralph Edwards
Ralph Livingstone Edwards was an American radio and television host and television producer.-Early career:Born in Merino, Colorado , Edwards worked for KROW-AM in Oakland, California while he was still in high school...
did her life story on his television show, This Is Your Life
This Is Your Life
This Is Your Life is an American television documentary series broadcast on NBC, originally hosted by its producer, Ralph Edwards from 1952 to 1961. In the show, the host surprises a guest, and proceeds to take them through their life in front of an audience including friends and family.Edwards...
. He portrayed her courage in bringing six Polish citizens to America during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
era. Gray also subsidized their education. She was decorated by Poland "for her interest and help to her countrymen and her country".
Death
By the time of her death at the age of 58 from a second heart attack, on December 22, 1959, Gilda Gray was again in financial trouble.According to an obituary published in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, she had lived there with Antonio Raio, a fire captain for Warner Brothers, and his wife for the past six years. Gray had suffered an attack of food poisoning five days prior to her death and was under the treatment of a physician. The Motion Picture Relief Fund paid for her funeral. Pierce Brothers mortuary supervised her funeral proceedings.
Sources
- The Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, Shimmy Dancer Gilda Gray Dies, December 23, 1959, page 2. - The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, "Gilda Gray Dead on Coast at 58; Creator of Shimmy Was Singer", December 23, 1959, page 27.
Filmography
- Virtuous Vamp (1919)
- Girl with the Jazz Heart (1923)
- Lawful Larceny (1925)
- Aloma of the South SeasAloma of the South Seas (1926 film)Aloma of the South Seas is a 1926 silent film starring Gilda Gray as an erotic dancer. It was filmed in Puerto Rico and Bermuda. It was based on a 1925 play of the same title by John B. Hymer and LeRoy Clemens. Grossing US$3 million in the US alone, it was the most successful film of 1926 and the...
(1926) - CabaretCabaretCabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
(1927) - The Devil Dancer (1929)
- Piccadilly (1929)
- The Great ZiegfeldThe Great ZiegfeldThe Great Ziegfeld is a 1936 musical film produced by MGM. A fictionalized biography of Florenz Ziegfeld from his show business beginnings to his death, it showcases a series of spectacular musical productions. The film includes original music by Walter Donaldson and Irving Berlin...
(1936) - Rose-Marie (1936)
Plays
- Music Box Revue (1921)
- Ziegfeld FolliesZiegfeld FolliesThe Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
(1922) - Devil Dancer Play (1927)
External links
- Gilda Gray at the Dance History Archives