Dan Dailey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Daniel James Dailey Jr. (born December 14, 1913; died October 16, 1978) was an American dancer and actor. Born in New York City, he appeared in a minstrel show when very young, and appeared in vaudeville before his Broadway debut in 1937 in Babes in Arms. In 1940 he was signed by MGM to make movies and, although his past career had been in musicals, he was initially cast as a Nazi in The Mortal Storm. In 1950 he starred in A Ticket to Tomahawk, often noted as the first screen appearance of Marilyn Monroe (in a very small part as a dance-hall girl).
The people at MGM realized their mistake immediately, however, and began casting him in a series of musical films. He served in the United States Army during World War II, then returned to more musicals. His performance in When My Baby Smiles at Me in 1948 garnered him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
As the musical genre began to wane in the mid-1950s, he moved on to various comedic and dramatic roles, including his television series, The Governor & J.J.. His sister is Another World actress Irene Dailey.
