DOLORES GRAY
Dolores Gray had a voice described as "a freight-train slathered in honey". The daughter of vaudeville performers, she grew up in the mean streets of Chicago where she was shot in the chest in her early teens, the bullet was never removed but apparently never hindered her ability to sing. Her mother, who soon earned a reputation as an overbearing stage mother, recognized Dolores' talent and the two moved to Hollywood. Dolores was soon "discovered" by Rudy Valee who frequently featured the teenager on his show.
Dolores made uncredited appearances in
Lady For A Night and
Mr. Skeffington. At 21 she had her own radio program. She then headed to Broadway to pursue roles in musicals. Dolores was Ethel Merman's understudy for the Irving Berlin musical
Annie Get Your Gun but when it came time to cast the London production, producers Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein thought Dolores was ill-suited. Mary Martin urged Rodgers and Hammerstein to let Dolores audition a second time; she won them over and was cast in the role which she played for three years. While in London, Dolores attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. Dolores continued to perform in the West End and on Broadway before returning to Hollywood in the mid 1950s.
In 1955 Dolores played smarmily insincere TV host Madeline in
It's Always Fair Weather. The movie was originally intended to be a sequel to
On The Town but was retooled when MGM head Dore Shary refused to hire Frank Sinatra and Jules Munshin to recreate their
On The Town roles. Despite Gene Kelly (who co-directed with Stanley Donen) and Cyd Charisse performing some of their best dance numbers the film didn't do well at the box office, possibly due to its downbeat subject matter: three former G.I.s are reunited ten years after the war only to discover they have little in common. I think Dolores is the best part of the movie.
Kismet was also released in 1955, Dolores costarred with Howard Keel and Ann Blyth.
Kismet lost money at the box office which gave Dore Shary another reason to oppose the production of more musicals. Sorry the picture quality is poor, at least the sound is good.
Stanley Donen, pleased with Dolores' performance in
It's Always Fair Weather, offered her the role of Maggie, the Diana Vreeland inspired magazine editor in
Funny Face with Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire but Dolores turned him down in favor of a larger role: Sylvia in
The Opposite Sex. The Opposite Sex is MGM's 1956 technicolor remake of 1939's
The Women with the addition of male cast members (including a very young Leslie Nielsen). The movie (also under Dore Shary's reign at MGM) can't seem to make up its mind whether or not its a musical. Grace Kelly (who left Hollywood for Monaco prior to production), Esther Williams and Eleanor Parker were all offered the lead role (with Williams going on suspension and ultimately leaving MGM out of opposition to being cast) before June Allyson was cast. June Allyson (lip-synching in at least one instance) is given some of the main song & dance numbers while Dolores, a much better singer, only sings the title song over the credits. Ann Miller is in the cast but doesn't perform in any of the musical numbers! Rosalind Russell was uncomfortable playing a bitch in
The Women and was encouraged by director George Cukor to play Sylvia broadly, for laughs. Dolores' Sylvia bears her "Jungle Red" claws making her the film's real antagonist, reducing Joan Collins' Crystal (played by Joan Crawford in
The Women) to a mere conniving opportunist. Despite a cast that also included Ann Sheridan, Agnes Moorehead, Joan Blondell with Carolyn Jones and Juanita Moore in bit parts
The Opposite Sex was yet another musical that lost money for MGM. This is the movie where June Allyson didn't pull her slap but instead hit Joan Collins hard enough to knock off her earring and (according to Collins) cause ringing in her ears.
Dolores' last film was 1957's
Designing Woman with Lauren Bacall and Gregory Peck. Bacall is a fashion designer wed to sports writer Peck. Dolores plays Peck's old flame, an entertainer for whom Bacall is hired to design costumes. Despite not being a musical Dolores' character is seen in a dress rehearsal for a TV show. Sorry for poor picture quality, again, but this also sounds good.
In addition to appearing on several cast recordings and a few soundtracks (she sings Marilyn Monroe's part on the soundtrack to
There's No Business Like Show Business) Dolores released several songs as singles. Unfortunately, like Rosemary Clooney at the time, Dolores was given many cutesy novelty songs. Dolores recorded one full-length album,
Warm Brandy; instead of her signature belting Dolores coos and purrs her way through an assortment of romantic ballads.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r63kcLbUSIE
Dolores appeared on several TV variety shows like
The Bell Telephone Hour throughout the 50s before returning to Broadway and London's West End where her career thrived. Dolores won a Best Lead Actress in a Musical Tony for her lead role in
Carnival In Flanders despite the show closing after only six performances. In
Carnival In Flanders Dolores introduced what would become her signature song: "Here's That Rainy Day". Unfortunately there's no cast recording, this is a 1977 TV performance.
Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.
www.youtube.com
Dolores performed until 1988 appearing on stage in
Destry Rides Again, Gypsy,
42nd Street and
Follies among others. One of Dolores' last performances was in a 1988 episode of
Dr. Who's Silver Nemesis serial. Here's a performance of "I'm Still Here" from
Follies taped for television in 1987:
Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.
www.youtube.com
Dolores later donated her musical arrangements from some of her live shows to the Library of Congress. Performer John Epperson has said he based his drag character Lipsynka largely on Dolores; the two met in 1995 and Dolores saw Lipsynka off-Broadway, she was very flattered and entertained. Dolores passed away of heart disease in 2002 at the age of 78.
