SUNNY O'DEA OF THE DANCING FEET

Radio Record, Volume XIII, Issue 11, 21 August 1939, Page 13

SUNNY O'DEA OF THE DANCING FEET

She Would Like To Dance For Hitler, But She’d Throw His Flowers Right Back At Him

Bv

J. GIFFORD

MALE

@ Sunny O’Dea, of the dancing feet, who passed through Auckland on the Monterey the other Friday to join a Frank Neil show in Australia, is like her namebright, vivid, sunny. To heighten the comparison she has an unruly mane of true platinum-blond hair, and a flashing, direct smile. ® Her personality is bright and vivid, too. No half-tones. She likes a thing, or she doesn’t, and that’s the end of it. Hollywood’s one thing she doesn’t like. ®@ She worked there, had parts in a number of films, has a home in San Fernando Valley, out where Spencer Tracy lives. But she heartily disliked working in pictures. "Those people . An. expressive shrug of the shoulders that spoke volumes. SUNNY O’DEA is a Pittsburg girl, and she took up daneing because when she was a tot she had two years in hospital, and she had to build herself up orelse... So she danced and danced, "and today she’s healthy and strapping enough to add lustre to the cover of a physical culture magazine, Her style of dancing? Ballettap. That’s how she described it, and I gathered it’s an ingenious combination of both styles. She learned from the very best teachers in the U.S. Ballet vat the American School of Ballet; tap from Bill Robinson himself. The ballet came first, a strenuous programme of five hours’ dancing a day, endless exercise, endless practice.

She took part in the usual ballet performances given by the school; danced in ‘Prince Igor’? among other ballets. Then to Bill Robinson, who, at the age of 65, is still acknowledged the greatest teacher of tap and the greatest tap dancer in the US. He himself says, ruefully, that he’s slowing up some, but according to stop-watch he’s still the fastest tapper in a country full of lively dancers. Bill’s 64th birthday was celebrated at a party given by Shirley Temple, who has danced in several pictures with the lovable old negro. The birthday cake was decorated with solid gold tap shoes.

IS year, just toe prove there’s life in the old limbs yet, Bill Robinson celébrated by tapping a frenzied routine right down Broadway. Traffic stopped for him, Press eameras clicked. Bill Robinson, says Sunny O’Dea, is a grand teacher. Difficult steps which are second nature to him, he will explain simply and painstakingly. It’s impossible not to be enthused by him. At the present time Mr. Robinson is laid aside. He had an engagement at the famous

Cotton Club, and one night he got to fooling with a gun. and shot himself in the leg. Miss.O’Dea’s first break in the show business was at the Capitol Theatre, New York. From there to a number of big shows-Harl Carroll’s Sketch Book’’ and George White’s ‘‘Scandals’’-among them. Then she got a yen to travel. A eontract at London’s Hotel, Dorchester, gave her the opportunity. She enjoyed herself, but was a little seandalised by the actions of some othe American showgirls, who made a certain very superior place. of entertainment too hot to hold them.

To Paris ‘‘just to have a look at the place,’’ and then back to New York to appear with Beatrice Lillie in ‘‘At Home and Abroad."’ Her dancing in this show attracted a film talent scout, and next thing she knew she was in Hollywood under contract to appear in Sam Goldwyn’s ‘‘Strike Me Pink.’’ You may remember her dancing a spectacular number on a great black floor. She also had a small part in ‘‘Showboat,’’ and starred in an M.G.M. feature, ‘‘Dancing Co-ed."’

01 "Silly People

BUT, as I said, she doesn’t like Hollywood, and the reason she lives away out in San Fernando Valley, is to get away from ‘‘all those silly people.’’ Travel is her big ambition in life, and for that reason she is supremely elated about her present trip to Australia. She will be appearing for five weeks at Melbourne, and after that she may move on to Sydney and, later, New Zealand, or she may visit India. **T want to see India, Bombay and the Taj Mahal, and

maharajas with emeralds in their foreheads. 2 She also intends to visit Germany, ‘‘just to see what is happening there.’’ "But wouldn’t you like to dance for Hitler? Look at the grand publicity that other American dancer got."’ "Sure, I’d like to, but let me tell you, I’d throw his flowers right back at him.’’ Auckland, I am afraid, provided a rather unnerving ex-

perience for Miss O’Dea. ‘She took a walk up Queen Street by herself, and she found she was the centre of a frightening amount of attention. It was probably due to her sheer platinum blond -hair and the black furs she was wearing. ‘*Gosh, do you know I’ve never attracted so much attention in my life,’’ she told me. ‘‘One man turned round and stared at me so hard I thought he was going to throw a fit.’’

RANK NEIL continues to recruit ‘U.S. vaudeville ‘stars for his Tivoli Circuit in increasing numbers. On the Monterey, when she passed through Auckland recently, was a whole group of "acts", and reports said that the ships concert, given in midPacific, was the equal of a Broadway show. Topline acts on board were Nick Lucas, of "Tip-Toe Through the Tulips" fame; Sunny O’Dea and radio singer Edith Griffith.