Happy Birthday, Rita Hayworth: here's an excellent compilation of her dancing, set to Stayin' Alive

October 17th is the anniversary of the birth of superstar American movie actress and dancer Rita Hayworth (1918-1987) in Brooklyn. Born Margarita Carmen Cansino to two professional dancers, Hayworth started dance lessons at an early age and in 1927 moved with her family to Hollywood, where her father had hoped to land dancing parts in the movies. Finding minimal success, he formed a dance act with his daughter, and since she was too young to appear in night clubs in California, they performed across the border in Tijuana. 

This 1941 photograph of Rita Hayworth
became one of the most popular
pin-ups among U.S. servicemen during
 World War II. Life magazine, however,
 decided it was too risque to put
on their cover

Hayworth's career really took off in the early 1940s, and by 1944, when she appeared with Gene Kelly in Cover Girl, she was one of the hottest stars in Hollywood, and in Charles Vidor's erotic film noir, Gilda (1946), she established herself as a leading femme fatale. 

She was married and divorced five times, and counted among her husbands Orson Welles, Prince Aly Khan* (by whom she had two daughters), and Dick Haymes. Late in life, she suffered from alcoholism and died of Alzheimer's disease in New York City in 1987.

She was quoted in 1977 as saying, 

"Men fell in love with Gilda, but they wake up with me."

Dancing in Tijuana when I was 13 - that was my "summer camp." How else could I keep up with Fred Astaire when I was 19?

~ Rita Hayworth (New York Times, 25 October 1970)

This has been around for a while, and will make you feel like dancing all day.  Watch full screen:

Clips:

"Down to Earth": 0:00 / 1:03 / 2:46 / 4:20
"You'll Never Get Rich": 0:14 / 0:24 / 0:28 / 0:46 / 2:35 / 3:16 / 3:49
"Tonight and Every Night":  0:20 / 1:11 / 1:22 / 1:36 / 1:54 / 1:55
"Cover Girl": 0:34 / 0:38 / 1:13 / 1:48 / 2:13 / 3:07 / 3:29 / 3:31 / 3:54 / 4:06 / 4:31
"You Were Never Lovelier": 0:50 / 2:20 / 2:42 / 3:00 / 4:10 / 4:38
"Gilda":  1:17 / 2:04
"Miss Sadie Thompson": 1:38 / 1:46 / 4:28
"My Gal Sal": 1:42 / 3:23 / 3:35 
"Pal Joey": 2:00 / 3:20 / 3:41
"Affair in Trinidad": 2:05 / 2:52 / 3:04 

* N.B. A son of Aga Khan III, the head of the Ismaili Muslims, Aly Kahn (1911-1960) was a fabulously wealthy international socialite and playboy, who later served as Pakistan's representative to the United Nations. He was married to Rita Hayworth between 1949 and 1953).

Related:

Gene Kelly's birthday: here the famous "Singin' In The Rain" dance.

It's Fred Astaire's birthday - here are clips of some of his best dancing

video h/t ‏@GarySinise

Friday links

August 23rd is Gene Kelly's birthday: here's a brief bio and the famous Singin' In The Rain dance. Related, this excellent compilation of Rita Hayworth's dancing, set to Stayin' Alive

8 Unexpected Signs You're Smarter Than Average.

Why We Pour Milk on our Cereal.

August 24th is St. Bartholomew's Day - some history, the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre, a brief documentary, and Monty Python. Also this weekend, it's the anniversary of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and destruction of Pompeii in A.D. 79.

How a French Truck Manufacturer Sabotaged Nazi War Production.

The Afterlife of Royal Hair.

ICYMI, most recent links are here, and include the wild camels of the American west, comics published by the federal government, the weird journey of Dorothy Parker's ashes, and 50's and 60's visions of the everyday uses of nuclear explosions and radioactive isotopes.

Wednesday links

Interesting bit of history: the readers who entertained cigar factory workers in the early 20th century.

Teach Yourself to Echolocate - a beginner’s guide to navigating with sound.

A 16th-Century Guide to Pooping at King Henry VIII's Hampton Court Palace.

Happy Birthday, Rita Hayworth: here's an excellent compilation of her dancing, set to Stayin' Alive.

Patching Crumbling Walls with LEGOs.

Jet Engines on Trucks.

ICYMI, Friday's links are here, and include the anniversary of the 1066 Battle of Hastings, how police will solve murders on Mars, an instructional video from 1960 on how to build your own fallout shelter, and a timeline of Bigfoot searches.

Tuesday links

Happy Birthday, Rita Hayworth: here's an excellent compilation of her dancing, set to Stayin' Alive.

John Quincy Adams' Obsession with Weights and Measures.

How Will Martian Laws Differ From Earth's Laws?

Here's A Giant Drunk Puppet Roaming The Streets Of An Irish City. Related, an 1860s series of photos illustrating the '5 stages of inebriation'.

Nathan Straus and the Milk Stations That Saved the Lives of New York City Kids.

We ate the world's spiciest chip, cried for 45 minutes, then wrote this article about it.

ICYMI, Friday's links are here, and include the anniversary of the 1066 Battle of Hastings, a part-time monarch who's also a full-time auto mechanic, White House leaks from Abe Lincoln's presidency, and a joyful rock version of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy".

Monday links

Happy Birthday, Rita Hayworth: this excellent compilation of her dancing, set to Stayin' Alive, will brighten your day.

How to Track a Human.

Arsenic Pills and Lead Foundation: The History of Toxic Makeup.

Dave Barry's Halloween column from 1996: Night Of The Living Chocolate. And, from 1873: How to Make a Turnip Jack-o-Lantern, plus The Oracle of the Nuts.

Ships vs. Big Waves.

Sorry Kids, the 5-Second Rule is Bunk.

ICYMI, Friday's links are here, and include a coffee-beer hybrid, the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings, making raisins before seedless grapes, and where the Nazis hung out in occupied Paris.

It's Fred Astaire's birthday - here are clips of some of his best dancing

Today is the anniversary of the birth of the legendary American dancer extraordinaire, Fred Astaire (wiki) (1899-1987), in Omaha, Nebraska. Born Fred Austerlitz, Astaire made his vaudeville debut with his sister, Adele, at the age of five; by the 1920s, they were dancing on Broadway and in London.*

After Adele's marriage in 1932, his search for a new partner led him to Hollywood, where he teamed up with Ginger Rogers for ten classic song-and-dance films, including Top Hat (1935) and Shall We Dance? (1937). Cool, sophisticated, and rakishly elegant, Astaire gave the illusion of effortless ease to the most technically exacting routines, notably with subsequent partners like Cyd Charisse (in Band Wagon, 1953).  His remarkable potential was not always obvious - early in his Hollywood career, a casting director (who must have been drunk) famously wrote, 

“Balding. Can’t act. Can dance a little.”

Astaire fundamentally changed the way dance was portrayed on film. Utilizing extended takes, Astaire, whether solo or with a partner, performed uninterrupted, intricate dance sequences that kept audiences captivated for decades.

Top Hat (1935):

Swing Time (1936):

Too Hot To Handle:

Related: 

Here's an excellent compilation of Rita Hayworth dancing (much of the time with Astaire), set to Stayin' Alive:

*Fred and Adele: