Nita Bieber
Encyclopedia
Nita Bieber is an American
film and stage actress and dancer, born in 1926.
, and then joined the Jack Cole Dancers for a 9-month tour of the U.S., during which she became very prolific in both dancing and cooking. When she was 24, Nita was diagnosed with Polio in 1950. The doctors all said she would never walk again. But with the help of her mother, she was healed from the disease and within a year was back on stage dancing, and acting.
, most notably Rhythm and Weep
with the Three Stooges
. In 1947, Nita appeared in three more films for Columbia, and also went to Monogram
for a couple of flicks, most notably as Mame in the Bowery Boys
movie News Hounds
. Nita was featured with a full-page photo on the cover of Life
magazine, November 28, 1949. The article talked about her 7-year contract with MGM, and Nita's big dance number in the new movie musical in production, Nancy Goes to Rio
; but her dance was not in the end, included in the final release (it does however appear in the home video
DVD
version). Nita appeared in movies for MGM and Universal
until 1955: she appeared in Summer Stock
as the character Sarah Higgins, starring Judy Garland
and Gene Kelly
.
Kismet (1955 film)
was her last movie for MGM
under her 7-year contract. Off the movie set, Nita was the creator of her own dance group, The Nita Bieber Dancers, which gave short performances produced in 1951-1952 for local television stations needing "filler" programming. Collaborations included: Jerry Gray
and the Band of Today (1950), Don Cornell Sings (1952), and The Colgate Comedy Hour
(1954) with Dean Martin
and Jerry Lewis
. Their repertoire included: "Swing Low, Sweet Clarinet" and "Dance of the Peacock" and "Mondongo." They also obtained headlines in Las Vegas
(El Rancho Vegas, 1951, with Benny Goodman); and in 1952, were showcased at the Frontier. Other acts in the Frontier at that time were the Marx Brothers
, Benny Goodman
, Frank Sinatra
, Sammy Davis Jr., Josephine Baker
and April Stevens
.
Nita Bieber worked with stars as Tony Curtis
(The Prince Who Was a Thief), Hedy Lamar (A Lady Without Passport
), (Judy Garland
) Summer Sotck
, Billy Benedict (News Hounds), and Larry Fine
(Rhythm and weep)
. Her final movie before retiring was Kismet
(1955) with Howard Keel
and Vic Damone
. Nita appeared in movies for MGM
, Universal Studios
, Columbia Studios
until 1955.
, whom she met on a steamer
in 1949. They had two children — Miles "Rocky" Wall, and Ivy Faulkner. She now lives on Avalon, California
.
On February 17, 2007, there was a reunion of the women that appeared with the Three Stooges at the Hollywood Collectors Show in Burbank, California
, and also included Gloria Patrice, a close friend whom Nita had not seen since 1946. That day, Nita also did an interview for the Three Stooges Compilation DVD produce by Sony Pictures.
Nita Bieber one of the most loved stars from the 40s and 50s. She was and she still is remembered. Fans for all over the world send her letters of admiration and respect. Beautiful, talented, Nita Bieber has captivated her fans for generations and will be for more to come. Though Nita is now retired from show business, her fans have fond memories of her and her great dancing and acting.
: "All of us are watching it!"
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film and stage actress and dancer, born in 1926.
Early life
Dancer and actress Nita Bieber was born in July 1926; her father was an accomplished piano player, and her mother Callie was a great dancer. Her younger brother Rodney and her 3 younger sisters all became accomplished dancers; too, with Linda doing ballet, Wanda playing the harp and Wilda Taylor continues to act and is a comedian even today. Nita started performing in public at age 5, when she did a decorous fan dance in a long, pink dress. After her graduation from Hollywood High School, Nita traveled as a dancer with a USO troupeUnited Service Organizations
The United Service Organizations Inc. is a private, nonprofit organization that provides morale and recreational services to members of the U.S. military, with programs in 160 centers worldwide. Since 1941, it has worked in partnership with the Department of Defense , and has provided support and...
, and then joined the Jack Cole Dancers for a 9-month tour of the U.S., during which she became very prolific in both dancing and cooking. When she was 24, Nita was diagnosed with Polio in 1950. The doctors all said she would never walk again. But with the help of her mother, she was healed from the disease and within a year was back on stage dancing, and acting.
Professional career
In 1946, Nita appeared in a couple of films for Columbia PicturesColumbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
, most notably Rhythm and Weep
Rhythm and Weep
Rhythm and Weep is the 95th short subject film starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.-Plot:...
with the Three Stooges
Three Stooges
The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy act of the early to mid–20th century best known for their numerous short subject films. Their hallmark was physical farce and extreme slapstick. In films, the Stooges were commonly known by their first names: "Moe, Larry, and Curly" and "Moe,...
. In 1947, Nita appeared in three more films for Columbia, and also went to Monogram
Monogram
A monogram is a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other graphemes to form one symbol. Monograms are often made by combining the initials of an individual or a company, used as recognizable symbols or logos. A series of uncombined initials is properly referred to as a...
for a couple of flicks, most notably as Mame in the Bowery Boys
Bowery Boys
The Bowery Boys were a nativist, anti-Catholic, and anti-Irish gang based north of the Five Points district of New York City in the mid-19th century. They were primarily stationed in the Bowery section of New York, which was, at the time, extended north of the Five Points...
movie News Hounds
News Hounds
News Hounds is a 1947 film starring the comedy team of The Bowery Boys. It is the seventh film in the series.-Plot:Slip is a copy boy for a newspaper, but dreams of having his own byline. Sach is an aspiring photographer for the same paper. The two of them come across a plot to fix sporting...
. Nita was featured with a full-page photo on the cover of Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
magazine, November 28, 1949. The article talked about her 7-year contract with MGM, and Nita's big dance number in the new movie musical in production, Nancy Goes to Rio
Nancy Goes to Rio
Nancy Goes to Rio is a musical comedy film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1950. It was directed by Robert Z. Leonard and produced by Joe Pasternak from a screenplay by Sidney Sheldon, based on a story by Ralph Block, Frederick Kohner and Jane Hall...
; but her dance was not in the end, included in the final release (it does however appear in the home video
Home video
Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...
DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
version). Nita appeared in movies for MGM and Universal
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
until 1955: she appeared in 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...
as the character Sarah Higgins, starring Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
and Gene Kelly
Gene Kelly
Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer...
.
Kismet (1955 film)
Kismet (1955 film)
Kismet is an American musical film in Cinemascope and Eastman Color released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It is the fourth movie version of Kismet—the first was released in 1920 and the second in 1930 by Warner Brothers—and the second released by MGM...
was her last movie for MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
under her 7-year contract. Off the movie set, Nita was the creator of her own dance group, The Nita Bieber Dancers, which gave short performances produced in 1951-1952 for local television stations needing "filler" programming. Collaborations included: Jerry Gray
Jerry Gray
Jerry Don Gray is a former American Football cornerback who played for the Los Angeles Rams from 1985 to 1991, the Houston Oilers in 1992, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1993. He is currently the defensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans.-Playing career:Jerry Gray was a two-time All American...
and the Band of Today (1950), Don Cornell Sings (1952), and The Colgate Comedy Hour
The Colgate Comedy Hour
The Colgate Comedy Hour is an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show stars many notable comedians and entertainers of the era, including Eddie Cantor, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Fred Allen, Donald O'Connor, Bud Abbott and Lou...
(1954) with Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
and Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
. Their repertoire included: "Swing Low, Sweet Clarinet" and "Dance of the Peacock" and "Mondongo." They also obtained headlines in Las Vegas
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
(El Rancho Vegas, 1951, with Benny Goodman); and in 1952, were showcased at the Frontier. Other acts in the Frontier at that time were the Marx Brothers
Marx Brothers
The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act, originally from New York City, that enjoyed success in Vaudeville, Broadway, and motion pictures from the early 1900s to around 1950...
, Benny Goodman
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...
, Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Sammy Davis Jr., Josephine Baker
Josephine Baker
Josephine Baker was an American dancer, singer, and actress who found fame in her adopted homeland of France. She was given such nicknames as the "Bronze Venus", the "Black Pearl", and the "Créole Goddess"....
and April Stevens
April Stevens
April Stevens is an American singer.She has recorded since she was 15 years old. Her most popular solo recording was her RCA Victor recording of "I'm in Love Again" . Accompanied by an orchestra arranged and conducted by Henri René, Stevens' recording peaked at No...
.
Nita Bieber worked with stars as Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama...
(The Prince Who Was a Thief), Hedy Lamar (A Lady Without Passport
A Lady Without Passport
A Lady Without Passport is a suspense film directed by Joseph H. Lewis. Shot in semidocumentary style, it is considered film noir.-Plot:...
), (Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
) Summer Sotck
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...
, Billy Benedict (News Hounds), and Larry Fine
Larry Fine
Louis Feinberg , known professionally as Larry Fine, was an American comedian and actor, who is best known as a member of the comedy act The Three Stooges.-Early life:...
(Rhythm and weep)
Rhythm and Weep
Rhythm and Weep is the 95th short subject film starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.-Plot:...
. Her final movie before retiring was Kismet
Kismet (1955 film)
Kismet is an American musical film in Cinemascope and Eastman Color released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It is the fourth movie version of Kismet—the first was released in 1920 and the second in 1930 by Warner Brothers—and the second released by MGM...
(1955) with Howard Keel
Howard Keel
Harold Clifford Keel , known professionally as Howard Keel, was an American actor and singer. He starred in many film musicals of the 1950s...
and Vic Damone
Vic Damone
Vic Damone is an American singer and entertainer.- Early life :Damone was born Vito Rocco Farinola in Brooklyn, New York to French-Italian immigrants based in Bari, Italy—Rocco and Mamie Farinola. His father was an electrician; and his mother taught piano. His cousin was the actress and singer...
. Nita appeared in movies for MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
, Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
, Columbia Studios
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
until 1955.
Personal life
Nita Bieber married Dr. Jack Wall, a dentist and an active member of the University of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, whom she met on a steamer
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
in 1949. They had two children — Miles "Rocky" Wall, and Ivy Faulkner. She now lives on Avalon, California
Avalon, California
Avalon, or Avalon Bay, is the only incorporated city on Santa Catalina Island of the California Channel Islands, and the southernmost city in Los Angeles County. Besides Avalon, the only other center of population on the island is the small unincorporated town of Two Harbors...
.
On February 17, 2007, there was a reunion of the women that appeared with the Three Stooges at the Hollywood Collectors Show in Burbank, California
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
, and also included Gloria Patrice, a close friend whom Nita had not seen since 1946. That day, Nita also did an interview for the Three Stooges Compilation DVD produce by Sony Pictures.
Sony Pictures Studios
The Sony Pictures Studios are a television and film studio complex located in Culver City, California at 10202 West Washington Boulevard and bounded by Culver Boulevard , Washington Boulevard , Overland Avenue and Madison Avenue...
Nita Bieber one of the most loved stars from the 40s and 50s. She was and she still is remembered. Fans for all over the world send her letters of admiration and respect. Beautiful, talented, Nita Bieber has captivated her fans for generations and will be for more to come. Though Nita is now retired from show business, her fans have fond memories of her and her great dancing and acting.
Personal quotes
Nita (striking a cute pose): "I have to watch my figure." Leo GorceyLeo Gorcey
Leo Bernard Gorcey was an American stage and movie actor who became famous for portraying on film the leader of the group of young hooligans known variously as the Dead End Kids, The East Side Kids and The Bowery Boys. Always the most pugnacious member of the gangs he participated in, young Leo...
: "All of us are watching it!"
Films
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1946 | Talk About A Lady | Herself Dancer |
| 1946 | Rhythm and Weep | Hilda |
| 1947 | The Lone Wolf in Mexico | Cute Hotel Maid |
| 1947 | Little Miss Broadway | Herself Dancer |
| 1947 | News Hounds | Mame |
| 1950 | A Lady Without Passport | Cuban Dancer |
| 1950 | Summer Stock | Sarah Higgins |
| 1950 | Jerry Gray and the Band of Today | The Nita Bieber Dancers |
| 1951 | The Prince Who Was a Thief | Cahena |
| 1952 | Don Cornell Sings | Herself Dancer |
| 1955 | Kismet | Herself Dancer |
Television
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1954 | The Colgate Comedy Hour (episode #44) | The Nita Bieber Dancers |
| 1954 | The Colgate Comedy Hour (episode #45) | The Nita Bieber Dancers |
Magazines
| Year | Magazine | Cover/Article |
|---|---|---|
| May 1944 | American Photography Magazine | Nita Bieber |
| May 1949 | Monee Magazine | Nita Bieber |
| November 1949 | Life Magazine Movie | Nita Bieber in the Cover |
| March 1950 | Studio Spotlight | Nita Bieber |
| May 1950 | Pageant Magazine | Inside Article " What is Love" |
| June 1950 | Pace Magazine | Nita Bieber MGM Discovery |
| April 1957 | Los Angeles Examiner | The Sun Bright Herself |