Joan mccracken cause of death

Joan mccracken illness
Patricia marshall
Jack dunphy

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The Girl Who Fell Down: A Biography of Joan McCracken

Lisa Jo Sagolla. Northeastern University Press, $35 (304pp) ISBN 978-1-55553-573-5

While biographies of great cultural icons abound, the greatest stories are often those of the tragic also-rans, the unheralded power behind the throne. Simultaneously the tale of a genuine innovator and an all-but-forgotten minor celebrity, dance historian and choreographer, Sagolla's biography of the dancer and actor Joan McCracken is a kind of literary rescue mission, an attempt to save her from the dreaded fate of cultural anonymity. An accomplished ballet dancer and the originator of the""Girl who Falls Down"" role in the premiere run of Oklahoma! on Broadway, McCracken helped to define a new type of stage icon: the dancer-comedienne. From there she proceeded to develop a successful stage career, sign a film contract with MGM, marry the famed choreographer Bob Fosse and become an early television personality, an inaugural member of the Actors Studio and one of Truman Capote's inspirations for the protagonist of Breakfast at Tiffany's. Yet

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If ever there was a natural-born star it was Joan McCracken. If ever a performer lived up to their early promise, first in ballet, then a spectacular debut on Broadway, it was Joan McCracken. And if ever a life played out in a way that would break the hardest of hearts it was Joan McCracken's.

Born in Philadelphia on New Year's Eve 1917, it was soon apparent that Joan had every gift, including magnetism and charisma, characteristics she inherited from her much-loved father, sportswriter Frank McCracken. Her childhood was made idyllic by the unreserved love and encouragement she received from her father and her four-years-younger brother, Frank Jr. (Buddy).

A talented gymnast as a child, by the age of eleven she had won a scholarship to attend a gymnastics school that trained students to Olympic level. But that same year her aunt took her to a ballet and Joan's future was set - it would be dance, not athletics.

Joan trained at The Catherine Littlefield Ballet school in Philadelphia and was a standout who was noticed from her first recitals. At the age of sixteen s

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Celebrity history- Joan McCracken

Broadway showgirl Peggy Fears with actor Zachary Scott and his wife Ruth ( above). Below celebrities like Heddy LaMarr, Herschel Benardi, Richard Burton,Troy Donahue, Judy Holiday, and Jerome Robbins were just a few who visited and some bought in the Pines during the 50’s.

Over the years many people have called Fire Island their home. Among the most intriguing was a woman who rose to fame as ” The girl who fell down” in the original production of “Oklahoma!, and went on to inspire the careers of countless dancers and choreographers, most notably Bob Fosse (her second husband). She also inspired Truman Capote, who is said to have modeled the iconic Holly Golightly from “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” on this fallen star.

Joan Hume McCracken was born on December 31, 1917. Her mother was Mary Humes, and her father was Franklin T. McCraken, a noted sportswriter for the Philadelphia Public Ledger.McCracken started dancing at an early age, at a time when youth ballet was far from popular activity it is today.