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Charles Walters was a Hollywood
directorA film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and choreographer most noted for his work in MGM musicals and comedies in from the 1940s to the 1960s.
He was born in
PasadenaPasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
,
CaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and educated at the
University of Southern CaliforniaThe University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
,
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
He is notable for directing
Esther WilliamsEsther Jane Williams is a retired American competitive swimmer and MGM movie star.Williams set multiple national and regional swimming records in her late teens as part of the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team...
' musicals involving underwater swimming and diving sequences, such as
Dangerous When WetDangerous When Wet is an Technicolor Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical starring Esther Williams, Fernando Lamas, and Jack Carson, directed by Charles Walters, and featuring an animated swimming sequence starring Williams with the famous cat-and-mouse duo, Tom and Jerry.-Plot summary:Katie Higgins is...
, as well as several musicals starring
Leslie CaronLeslie Claire Margaret Caron is a French film actress and dancer, who appeared in 45 films between 1951 and 2003. In 2006, her performance in Law and Order: Special Victims Unit won her an Emmy for guest actress in a drama series...
, such as
GigiGigi is a 1958 musical film directed by Vincente Minnelli. The screenplay by Alan Jay Lerner is based on the 1944 novella of the same name by Colette...
(for which he is uncredited) and
LiliLili is an American film. An MGM release, it stars Leslie Caron as a touchingly naïve French girl, whose emotional relationship with a carnival puppeteer is conducted through the medium of four puppets...
. He has also directed musical remakes, including
High Society, a remake of
The Philadelphia Story (1940), and
Bundle of Joy, a remake of
Bachelor MotherBachelor Mother is an American comedy film directed by Garson Kanin, and starring Ginger Rogers , David Niven, and Charles Coburn. The screenplay was written by Norman Krasna based on a Academy Award nominated story by Felix Jackson...
(1939). Walters also directed the last pairing of
Fred AstaireFred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
and
Ginger RogersGinger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....
,
The Barkleys of BroadwayThe Barkleys of Broadway is a 1949 musical film from the Arthur Freed unit at MGM that reunited Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers after ten years apart...
, as well as
Cary GrantArchibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
in the actor's last film
Walk, Don't Run.
Walters died from
lung cancerLung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
at the age of 71.
According to
William J. MannWilliam J. Mann is an American novelist, biographer, and Hollywood historian best known for his 2006 biography of Katharine Hepburn, Kate: The Woman Who Was Hepburn...
's book, "Behind the Screen", Walters was gay.
Filmography as director
- Ziegfeld Follies
The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
(1946)
- Good News
Good News is the title of two American MGM musical films based on the 1927 stage production of the same name.The first, released in 1930, was directed by Nick Grinde. The cast included Bessie Love, Cliff Edwards and Penny Singleton. The film was shot in black-and-white, although the finale was in...
(1947)
- Easter Parade (1948)
- The Barkleys of Broadway
The Barkleys of Broadway is a 1949 musical film from the Arthur Freed unit at MGM that reunited Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers after ten years apart...
(1949)
- Annie Get Your Gun
Annie Get Your Gun is a 1950 American musical comedy film loosely based on the life of sharpshooter Annie Oakley. The Metro Goldwyn Mayer release, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin and a screenplay by Sidney Sheldon based on the 1946 stage musical of the same name, was directed by George Sidney...
(1950), uncredited
- Summer Stock
For the article about the theatre genre, see Summer stock theatre.Summer Stock is a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical made in 1950. The film was directed by Charles Walters and stars Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Eddie Bracken, Gloria DeHaven, Marjorie Main, and Phil Silvers...
(1950)
- Three Guys Named Mike
Three Guys Named Mike is a 1951 American black-and-white film by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by Charles Walters.Described as a "lighthearted and lightweight story" by Turner Classic Movies, Three Guys Named Mike chronicles the story of a flight attendant and three men.-Production:The credits...
(1951)
- Texas Carnival
Texas Carnival is a 1951 musical film directed by Charles Walters. It stars Esther Williams, Red Skelton and Howard Keel.-Cast:*Esther Williams as Debbie Telford*Red Skelton as Cornie Quinell*Howard Keel as Slim Shelby*Ann Miller as Sunshine Jackson...
(1951)
- The Belle of New York
The Belle of New York is a 1952 Hollywood musical comedy film set in New York circa 1900 and stars Fred Astaire, Vera-Ellen, Alice Pearce, Marjorie Main and Keenan Wynn, with music by Harry Warren and lyrics by Johnny Mercer...
(1952)
- Lili
Lili is an American film. An MGM release, it stars Leslie Caron as a touchingly naïve French girl, whose emotional relationship with a carnival puppeteer is conducted through the medium of four puppets...
(1953)
- Dangerous When Wet
Dangerous When Wet is an Technicolor Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical starring Esther Williams, Fernando Lamas, and Jack Carson, directed by Charles Walters, and featuring an animated swimming sequence starring Williams with the famous cat-and-mouse duo, Tom and Jerry.-Plot summary:Katie Higgins is...
(1953)
- Torch Song
Torch Song is a 1953 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer feature film starring Joan Crawford and Michael Wilding in a story about a Broadway star and her rehearsal pianist. The screenplay by John Michael Hayes and Jan Lustig was based upon the story "Why Should I Cry?" by I.A.R. Wylie...
(1953)
- Easy to Love
Easy to Love is a 1953 musical film directed by Charles Walters. It stars Esther Williams and Van Johnson.-Cast:*Esther Williams as Julie Hallerton*Van Johnson as Ray Lloyd*Tony Martin as Barry Gordton*John Bromfield as Hank...
(1953)
- The Glass Slipper
The Glass Slipper is a musical film adaptation of Cinderella, made by MGM, directed by Charles Walters and produced by Edwin H. Knopf from a screenplay by Helen Deutsch. The music score is by Bronislau Kaper, the cinematography by Arthur E. Arling, the art direction by Daniel B...
(1955)
- The Tender Trap (1955)
- High Society (1956)
- Don't Go Near the Water
Don't Go Near the Water is a 1957 comedy film about a U.S. Navy public relations unit stationed on an island in the Pacific Ocean during World War II. It is an adaptation of the 1956 novel of the same name by William Brinkley. Glenn Ford and Gia Scala starred...
(1957)
- Gigi
Gigi is a 1958 musical film directed by Vincente Minnelli. The screenplay by Alan Jay Lerner is based on the 1944 novella of the same name by Colette...
(1958), uncredited
- Ask Any Girl
Ask Any Girl is a 1959 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer romantic comedy film starring David Niven, Shirley MacLaine and Gig Young.-Plot:A wide-eyed Meg Wheeler comes to New York City and takes a job in market research for a large firm...
(1959)
- Please Don't Eat the Daisies
Please Don't Eat the Daisies is a comedy film starring Doris Day and David Niven, made by Euterpe Inc., and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer...
(1960)
- Cimarron
Cimarron is a 1960 western film based on the Edna Ferber novel Cimarron, featuring Glenn Ford and Maria Schell. It was directed by Anthony Mann, known for his westerns and film noirs....
(1960), uncredited
- Go Naked in the World
Go Naked in the World is a 1961 American drama film starring Gina Lollobrigida, Ernest Borgnine and Anthony Franciosa.The son of a wealthy Greek immigrant Nick Stratton is attempting to find his own way in the world...
(1961), uncredited
- Two Loves
Two Loves is a 1961 American drama film directed by Charles Walters. It was entered into the 11th Berlin International Film Festival.-Cast:* Shirley MacLaine - Anna Vorontosov* Laurence Harvey - Paul Lathrope* Jack Hawkins - Abercrombie...
(1961)
- Billy Rose's Jumbo
Billy Rose's Jumbo is an American musical film produced by MGM in Panavision and Metrocolor, and starring Jimmy Durante, Doris Day, Martha Raye, and Stephen Boyd. The film was directed by Charles Walters and featured Busby Berkeley's choreography...
(1962)
- The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964)
- Walk Don't Run
Walk, Don't Run is a 1966 comedy film set in Tokyo during the Olympic Games in 1964. The movie marked the last appearance by Cary Grant in a feature film, and is a remake of the 1943 film The More the Merrier.-Plot:...
(1966)
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