Nora Kaye
Encyclopedia
Nora Kaye was an American
ballerina
called the Duse of Dance after acclaimed actress Eleonora Duse
. She also worked in film
s as a choreographer and producer
.
Kaye was born Nora Koreff in Brooklyn, New York to emigrant parents from Tsarist Russia, but later Americanized her surname. In 1936, she joined the American Ballet
, directed by George Balanchine
. She later became a member of the Radio City Music Hall
corps de ballet
and danced in several Broadway
productions, including Giselle
(1941), Antony Tudor
's Pillar of Fire (1946), and Two's Company (1952), a revue
starring Bette Davis
. She worked as an assistant on the musicals I Can Get It for You Wholesale
(1962), Tovarich
(1963), and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
(1965).
Kaye's November 1948 marriage to Isaac Stern
ended in divorce the following year. She married Herbert Ross
in August 1959. The couple collaborated on several screen projects, including Goodbye, Mr. Chips
(1969), The Last of Sheila
(1973), Funny Lady
and The Sunshine Boys
(both 1975), and The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
(1976). Playwright and screenwriter Arthur Laurents
claimed in his autobiography Original Story By (2000) that he and Kaye had an on-again, off-again romantic relationship after he was discharged from the U.S. Army in 1946.
Kaye's producing credits include The Turning Point
(1977), Nijinsky
(1980), Pennies from Heaven
(1981), and The Secret of My Succe$s
(1987).
Kaye died from cancer in Los Angeles
at age 67, and is buried with her husband film director, producer, choreographer and actor Herbert Ross
, in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
in Los Angeles
. Their gravestone is inscribed -They Loved Each Other.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
ballerina
Ballerina
A ballerina is a title used to describe a principal female professional ballet dancer in a large company; the male equivalent to this title is danseur or ballerino...
called the Duse of Dance after acclaimed actress Eleonora Duse
Eleonora Duse
-Life and career:Duse was born in Vigevano, Lombardy, and began acting as a child. Both her father and her grandfather were actors, and she joined the troupe at age four. Due to poverty, she initially worked continually, traveling from city to city with whichever troupe her family was currently...
. She also worked in film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s as a choreographer and producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
.
Kaye was born Nora Koreff in Brooklyn, New York to emigrant parents from Tsarist Russia, but later Americanized her surname. In 1936, she joined the American Ballet
American Ballet
The American Ballet was the first professional ballet company George Balanchine created in the United States. The company was founded with the help of Lincoln Kirstein and Edward Mortimer Morris Warburg, managed by Alexander Merovitch and populated by students of Kirstein and Balanchine's School of...
, directed by George Balanchine
George Balanchine
George Balanchine , born Giorgi Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to a Georgian father and a Russian mother, was one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States, co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet...
. She later became a member of the Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
corps de ballet
Corps de ballet
In ballet, the corps de ballet is the group of dancers who are not soloists. They are a permanent part of the ballet company and often work as a backdrop for the principal dancers. A corps de ballet works as one, with synchronized movements and corresponding positioning on the stage...
and danced in several Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
productions, including Giselle
Giselle
Giselle is a ballet in two acts with a libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Théophile Gautier, music by Adolphe Adam, and choreography by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot. The librettist took his inspiration from a poem by Heinrich Heine...
(1941), Antony Tudor
Antony Tudor
Antony Tudor was an English ballet choreographer, teacher and dancer.-Biography:Tudor, born William Cook, discovered dance accidentally. He began dancing professionally with Marie Rambert in 1928, becoming general assistant for her Ballet Club the next year...
's Pillar of Fire (1946), and Two's Company (1952), a revue
Revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
starring Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
. She worked as an assistant on the musicals I Can Get It for You Wholesale
I Can Get It for You Wholesale
I Can Get It for You Wholesale is a musical with music and lyrics by Harold Rome and a book by Jerome Weidman based on his 1937 novel of the same title. It marked the Broadway debut of 19-year-old Barbra Streisand, who was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in...
(1962), Tovarich
Tovarich (musical)
Tovarich is a 1963 musical play in two acts with book by David Shaw; music by Lee Pockriss and lyrics by Anne Croswell; based on the comedy by Jacques Deval and Robert E...
(1963), and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever is a musical with music by Burton Lane and a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner based loosely on Berkeley Square, written in 1929 by John L. Balderston. It concerns a woman who has ESP and has been reincarnated...
(1965).
Kaye's November 1948 marriage to Isaac Stern
Isaac Stern
Isaac Stern was a Ukrainian-born violinist. He was renowned for his recordings and for discovering new musical talent.-Biography:Isaac Stern was born into a Jewish family in Kremenets, Ukraine. He was fourteen months old when his family moved to San Francisco...
ended in divorce the following year. She married Herbert Ross
Herbert Ross
Herbert Ross was an American film director, producer, choreographer and actor.-Early life and career:Born Herbert David Ross in Brooklyn, New York, he made his stage debut as Third Witch with a touring company of Macbeth in 1942...
in August 1959. The couple collaborated on several screen projects, including Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969 film)
Goodbye, Mr. Chips is a 1969 American musical film directed by Herbert Ross. The screenplay by Terence Rattigan is based on James Hilton's 1934 novella of the same name, which originally was adapted for the screen in 1939.-Plot:...
(1969), The Last of Sheila
The Last of Sheila
The Last of Sheila is a 1973 mystery film directed by Herbert Ross, written by Anthony Perkins and Stephen Sondheim, It stars Richard Benjamin, Dyan Cannon, James Coburn, James Mason, Ian McShane, Joan Hackett, and Raquel Welch....
(1973), Funny Lady
Funny Lady
Funny Lady is a 1975 film starring Barbra Streisand, James Caan, Omar Sharif, Roddy McDowall, and Ben Vereen.A sequel to the 1968 film Funny Girl, it is a highly fictionalized account of the later life and career of comedienne Fanny Brice and her marriage to songwriter and empresario Billy Rose...
and The Sunshine Boys
The Sunshine Boys
The Sunshine Boys is a play by Neil Simon that was produced on Broadway in 1972 and later adapted for film and television.-Plot:The play focuses on aging Al Lewis and Willy Clark, a one-time vaudevillian team known as "Lewis and Clark" who, over the course of forty-odd years, not only grew to hate...
(both 1975), and The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution: Being a Reprint from the Reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D. is a 1974 novel by American writer Nicholas Meyer. It is written as a pastiche of a Sherlock Holmes adventure, and was made into a film of the same name in 1976....
(1976). Playwright and screenwriter Arthur Laurents
Arthur Laurents
Arthur Laurents was an American playwright, stage director and screenwriter.After writing scripts for radio shows after college and then training films for the U.S...
claimed in his autobiography Original Story By (2000) that he and Kaye had an on-again, off-again romantic relationship after he was discharged from the U.S. Army in 1946.
Kaye's producing credits include The Turning Point
The Turning Point (1977 film)
The Turning Point is a 1977 film written by Arthur Laurents and directed by Herbert Ross. In starring roles were Shirley MacLaine, Anne Bancroft, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Leslie Browne, Tom Skerritt, Martha Scott, Anthony Zerbe, Marshall Thompson and James Mitchell.-Plot:This film tells the story of...
(1977), Nijinsky
Nijinsky (film)
Nijinsky is a 1980 American biographical film directed by Herbert Ross. Hugh Wheeler, whose screenplay centers on the later life and career of Vaslav Nijinsky, used the legendary dancer's personal diaries and his wife's 1933 book Life of Nijinsky as his primary source materials.-Synopsis:The film...
(1980), Pennies from Heaven
Pennies from Heaven (1981 film)
Pennies from Heaven is a 1981 musical film. The film was based on a 1978 BBC television drama. In 1981, Dennis Potter adapted his own screenplay for a film of the same name for American audiences, with its setting changed to Depression era Chicago. Potter was nominated for the 1981 Academy Award...
(1981), and The Secret of My Succe$s
The Secret of My Succe$s
The Secret of My Success is a 1987 American comedy film starring Michael J. Fox and Helen Slater, produced and directed by Herbert Ross . The screenplay is written by Jim Cash, who previously co-scripted Top Gun.-Plot:Brantley Foster The Secret of My Success (sometimes stylized as The Secret of My...
(1987).
Kaye died from cancer in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
at age 67, and is buried with her husband film director, producer, choreographer and actor Herbert Ross
Herbert Ross
Herbert Ross was an American film director, producer, choreographer and actor.-Early life and career:Born Herbert David Ross in Brooklyn, New York, he made his stage debut as Third Witch with a touring company of Macbeth in 1942...
, in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
The Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery is a cemetery in the Westwood Village area of Los Angeles, California. It is located at 1218 Glendon Avenue in Westwood....
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Their gravestone is inscribed -They Loved Each Other.
External links
- Kaye's picture
- Nora Kaye (1920-1987)
- NY Times obituary, March 1, 1987
- http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE3DE163EF932A35750C0A961948260NY Times article by Jack AndersonJack Anderson (dance critic)Jack Anderson is an American dance critic and author. Since 1978, he has been a contributor of dance reviews and other articles in The New York Times...
, January 5, 1988]
