Busby Berkeley

Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume One, 1890-1945". Pages 23-28. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1987.

At age 12 he enrolled in the Mohegan Lake Military Academy near Peekskill, NY. He graduated in 1914.

Busby Berkeley was one of the greatest choreographers of the US movie musical. He started his career in the US Army in 1918, as a lieutenant in the artillery conducting and directing parades. After the World War I cease-fire he was ordered to stage camp shows for the soldiers. Back in the US he became a stage actor and assistant director in smaller acting troupes. After being forced to take over the direction of the musical "Holka-Polka" he discovered his talent for staging extravagant dance routines, and he quickly became one of Broadway's top dance directors. Producer Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. called him to direct the dance routines for his production of "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court".

Eddie Cantor, who starred in the long-running Ziegfeld production "Whoopee!", suggested Berkley create the dance routines in the film version )Whoopee! (1930) and Ziegfeld agreed. At first in Hollywood Berkeley wasn't satisfied with the possibilities of his job--at the time, dance directors trained the dancers and staged the dances. The director chose camera positions and the editor chose which of the takes were shown to the audience. Berkeley wanted to direct the dances himself and convinced producer Samuel Goldwyn to let him try. One of the first chances he took was that he used only one camera in his films. He also showed close-ups of the chorus girls.

However, by the late 1930s the musical was in decline once again, and Berkeley had nothing to do as a choreographer.

Asked about this, he explained, "Well, we've got all the beautiful girls in the picture, why not let the public see them?" With the decline of musicals in 1931 and 1932, he was thinking of returning to Broadway when Darryl F.

Zanuck, chief producer at Warner Brothers, called him in to direct the musical numbers of Warners' newest project, the backstage drama 42nd Street (1933).

Berkeley created musical numbers for almost every great musical that Warner Brothers produced from 1933 to 1937. His overhead shots forced him to drill holes in the studio roofs, and he used more dancers with each succeeding picture.

The Gumm Sisters appeared during the 1934 Chicago World's Fair Exposition midway and at the Chicago Oriental Theater. Frances Gumm, , age 12, was featured as a solo act, a single entertainer on an eastern Vaudeville circuit with headliner George Jessel acting as an emcee. Jessel encouraged their mother Ethel to choose a more appealing name after "Gumm" was met with laughter from the audience. According to theater legend, their act was once erroneously billed at the Chicago Oriental Theater as "The Glum Sisters." Several stories persist regarding the origin of the name "Garland". One is that it was originated by Jessel after Carole Lombard's character Lily Garland in Twentieth Century (1934). which was then playing at the Chicago Oriental Theater; another is that the girls chose the surname after drama critic Robert Garland. Judy Garland's daughter Lorna Luft stated that their mother Ethel selected the name "Garland" when Jessel announced that the trio of sisters "looked prettier than a garland of flowers." Frances changed her name to Judy soon afterwards, after changing their headline vaudeville family's last name to the "Garland Sisters." In the early spring of 1935 MGM chief Louis B. Mayer asked songwriter Burton Lane and choreographer Busby Berkeley to go to the downtown Los Angeles's movie-vaudeville Broadway main street Orpheum Theater to watch the Garland Sisters' act and to report back to him. A few days later the sisters--Mary Jane Gumm (aka "Suzy/Suzanne", born in 1915), Virginia Gumm (aka Dorothy Virginia "Jimmie", born in 1917) and Francis Ethel "Judy" (born in 1922)--were brought for an impromptu audition at MGM's Culver City Studios. Judy Garland (13) performed solo "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart" and "Eli, Eli," a Yiddish song written in 1896, very popular in the sisters' vaudeville repertoire. The Garland Sisters' final on-screen appearance came in 1935, in an MGM short entitled La Fiesta de Santa Barbara (1935). The Gumm Sisters' screen credit now was listed as The Garland Sisters. The sister act broke up in August 1935 when Mary Jane (at age 20), flew to Reno, NV, and married musician Lee Kahn, a member of the Jimmie Davis Orchestra playing at Cal-Neva Lodge, Lake Tahoe. Mayer's instructions were that Berkeley supervise and stage any production number devised for Judy and Mickey Rooney in their film appearances.

On his way home from a party thrown by William Koenig to celebrate the completion of In Caliente (1935), Berkeley hit two vehicles, killing three people in the second car: William von Brieson, his mother and sister-in-law. Tried for murder, Berkeley--represented by Jerry Giesler--was acquitted in a third trial after the previous two ended in hung juries.

He directed two non-musical pictures for Warner Brothers then went to MGM, where he choreographed the final number from Broadway Serenade (1939) with Jeanette MacDonald. As a director and choreographer he worked on four pictures with teenage stars Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney.

He also choreographed the "Fascinatin' Rhythm" finale for MGM's reigning tapping star, Eleanor Powell in Lady Be Good (1941).

Berkeley accepted and directed great numbers like "Shuffle Off To Buffalo", "Young and Healthy" and the grandiose story of urban life, the finale "42nd Street". The film was a smash hit, and Warner Brothers knew who made it such an extraordinary success--Berkeley, as well as composer Harry Warren and lyricist Al Dubin, got seven-year contracts.

He directed Gene Kelly in his first picture, For Me and My Gal (1942). Kelly, who choreographed his own numbers, learned a lot from Berkeley.

Berkeley worked for 20th Century-Fox in The Gang's All Here (1943) with its surrealistic number "The Lady in the Tutti-Frutti Hat".

In 1949 he directed his last picture, Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949), but this time the choreography was by Gene Kelly.

Berkeley did a few numbers in the early 1950s but, by the end of the decade, he was all but forgotten.

A revival of his films in the late 1960s brought him some popularity and he was asked to return to Broadway and supervise the dance direction in the revival of a Vincent Youmans musical comedy from 1925. One of the actresses in this production was Ruby Keeler, one of his leading ladies in Warner musicals.

While under contract to Warner Bros., Berkeley purchased a gated Spanish residence estate at 1800 Angelo Dr., facing Jack L. Warner's gated estate (located across the street) in Beverly Hills, CA. Nestled behind private gates in a prime location, north of Sunset Blvd., the Spanish-style estate was designed by one of Old Hollywood's most famous architects, Wallace Neff. Built in 1926, the estate showcased Neffs unique blend of Spanish and Mexican architecture, which came to define the California style for which he became most famous. The home's subtle detailing included red Spanish Saltillo tile, hardwood floors, wrought iron railings, curved archways and classic tiling that echo from another era. Adding to the romantic architecture, the house is built against a hillside reminiscent of an Italian villa on the Amalfi coast. The interior features an expansive wood beam living room with a fireplace and a lounge with an abundance of natural light. A substantial and sleek chef's kitchen opens to a breakfast area and an indoor dining room with a patio. A private outdoor dining area with a BBQ grill and a fountain make it an entertainer's dream! The luxurious master suite, with sitting area and fireplace, opens to one of five private outdoor terraces. Natural light spills into a cozy family/media room. Three additional bedrooms complete the upstairs with individual access to a plant-lined walkway and patio. All of the closet interiors have been finished. Beyond the main residence, park-like gardens with fountains and pathways intricately weave around the property, providing intimate local lookouts and unimpeded views of the gorgeous Hollywood Hills. Further amenities include a swimmers pool with cabana, an oasis spa with a waterfall, an art studio, and a two-car garage and one-car motor court. The 1,778-sq.-ft. property was listed in June 2016 at $7,980,000.00. It had been sold on October 8, 2002. for $2.9 million (at $646 per sq. ft), on March 6, 1998, for $1.33 million (at $296 sq.ft.). In 2015 the property tax was $38,276.00 at an assessment of $3,495,964.00; the 2014 property tax was $38,276.00 on an assessment of $3,427,484.00; the 2004 property tax was $32.524.00 on an assessment of $2,955,160.00.