John Cassavetes
American filmmaker and actor (1929–1989)
John Nicholas Cassavetes (December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American filmmaker and actor. He began as an actor in film and television before helping to pioneer modern American independent cinema as a writer and director, often self-financing, producing, and distributing his own films. He received nominations for three Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and an Emmy Award.
After studying at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Cassavetes started his career in television acting in numerous network dramas. From 1959 to 1960 he played the title role in the NBC detective series "Johnny Staccato". He acted in notable films, such as Martin Ritt's film noir "Edge of the City" (1957), Robert Aldrich's war film "The Dirty Dozen" (1967), Roman Polanski's horror film "Rosemary's Baby" (1968) and Elaine May's crime drama "Mikey and Nicky" (1976). For "The Dirty Dozen", he earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
As a director, Cassavetes became known for a string of critically acclaimed independent dramas including "Shadows" (1959), "Faces" (1968), "Husbands" (1970), "A Woman Under the Influence" (1974), "Opening Night" (1977), and "Love Streams" (1984). His films employed an actor-centered approach which prioritized raw character relationships and "small feelings" while rejecting traditional Hollywood storytelling, method acting, and stylization. His films became associated with an improvisational aesthetic and a cinéma vérité feel. He received Academy Award nominations for Best Original Screenplay ("Faces") and Best Director ("A Woman Under the Influence").
He frequently collaborated with American actress Gena Rowlands (to whom he was married from 1954 until his death in 1989) and friends Peter Falk, Ben Gazzara, and Seymour Cassel. Many of his films were shot and edited in his and Rowlands' own Los Angeles home.
He and Rowlands had a son named Nick and two daughters, named Alexandra and Zoe, all of whom followed them into acting and filmmaking.
Early life and education.
John Nicholas Cassavetes was born in New York City on December 9, 1929, the son of Greek-American actress Katherine Cassavetes (née Demetriou), who was later featured in some of his films, and Greek immigrant Nicholas John Cassavetes. His early years were spent with his family in Greece; when he returned to New York at the age of seven, he spoke no English. He was then raised on Long Island, where he attended Paul D. Schreiber Senior High School (then known as Port Washington High School) from 1945 to 1947 and participated in "Port Weekly" (the school paper), "Red Domino" (interclass play), football, and the "Port Light" (yearbook).
Cassavetes attended Blair Academy in New Jersey and spent a semester at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont, but was expelled due to his failing grades. He spent a few weeks hitchhiking to Florida and then transferred to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, encouraged by recently enrolled friends who told him the school was "packed with girls". He graduated in 1950 and met his future wife Gena Rowlands at her audition to enter the Academy in 1953. They were married four months later in 1954. He continued acting in the theater, took small parts in films, and began working on television in anthology series such as "Alcoa Theatre".
Career.
Acting workshop.
By 1956, Cassavetes had begun teaching an alternative to method acting in his own workshop—co-founded with friend Burt Lane in New York City—in which performance would be based on character creation rather than back-story or narrative requirements. Cassavetes particularly scorned Lee Strasberg's Method-based Actors Studio, and the Cassavetes-Lane approach held that acting should be an expression of creative joy rather than the "moody, broody anguish" associated with Strasberg's teaching.
Shortly after opening the workshop, Cassavetes was invited to audition at the Actors Studio, and he and Lane devised a prank: they claimed to be performing a scene from a recent stage production but in fact improvised a performance on the spot, fooling an impressed Strasberg. Cassavetes then fabricated a story about his financial troubles, prompting Strasberg to offer him a full scholarship to the Studio; Cassavetes immediately rejected it, feeling that Strasberg did not know anything about acting if he had been so easily fooled by the two ruses.
An improvisation exercise in the workshop inspired the idea for his writing and directorial debut, "Shadows" (1959; first version 1957). Cassavetes raised the funds for the production from friends and family, as well as listeners to Jean Shepherd's late-night radio talk-show "Night People". His stated purpose was to make a film about modest-income “little people”, unlike Hollywood studio productions, which focused on stories about wealthy people. Cassavetes was unable to gain American distribution of "Shadows", but it won the Critics Award at the Venice Film Festival. European distributors later released the movie in the United States as an import. Although the box-office returns of "Shadows" in the United States were slight, it did gain attention from the Hollywood studios.
Television and acting jobs.
Cassavetes played bit-parts in B pictures and in television serials, until gaining notoriety in 1955 as a vicious killer in "The Night Holds Terror," and as a juvenile delinquent in the live TV drama "Crime in the Streets". Cassavetes would repeat this performance credited as an “introducing” lead in the 1956 film version, which also included another future director, Mark Rydell, as his gang mate. His first starring role in a feature film was "Edge of the City" (1957), which co-starred Sidney Poitier. He was briefly under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and co-starred with Robert Taylor in the western "Saddle the Wind", written by Rod Serling. In the late 1950s, Cassavetes guest-starred in Beverly Garland's groundbreaking crime drama, "Decoy", about a New York City woman police undercover detective. Thereafter, he played Johnny Staccato, the title character in a television series about a jazz pianist who also worked as a private detective. In total he directed five episodes of the series, which also features a guest appearance by his wife Gena Rowlands. It was broadcast on NBC between September 1959 and March 1960, and then acquired by ABC; although critically acclaimed, the series was cancelled in September 1960. Cassavetes would appear on the NBC interview program, "Here's Hollywood".
1960s.
In 1961 Cassavetes signed a seven-year deal with Paramount. Cassavetes directed two movies for Hollywood in the early 1960s: "Too Late Blues" (1961); "A Child Is Waiting (1963)" starring Burt Lancaster and Judy Garland. He starred in the CBS western series "Rawhide" in the episode "Incident Near Gloomy River" (1961). In the 1963–1964 season he was cast in the ABC medical drama about psychiatry, "Breaking Point". In 1964, he again co-starred with his wife, this time in an episode of "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" anthology program, and in 1965, he appeared on ABC's western series, "The Legend of Jesse James". In the same year, he also guest-starred in the World War II series "Combat!", in the episode "S.I.W.", and as the insane nuclear scientist Everett Lang in "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea", season 2, episode "The Peacemaker".
With payment for his work on television, as well as a handful of film acting jobs, he was able to relocate to California and to make his subsequent films independent of any studio, as "Shadows" had been made. The films in which he acted with this intention include Don Siegel's "The Killers" (1964), the motorcycle gang movie "Devil's Angels" (1967), "The Dirty Dozen" (1967), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, the Guy Woodhouse lead (originally intended for Robert Redford) in Roman Polanski's "Rosemary's Baby" (1968), and "The Fury" (1978). Cassavetes portrayed the murderer in a 1972 episode of the TV crime series "Columbo", titled "Étude in Black". Cassavetes and series star Peter Falk had previously starred together in the 1969 mob action thriller "Machine Gun McCain". The two later starred in Elaine May's film "Mikey and Nicky" (1976).
"Faces" (1968) was the second film to be both directed and independently financed by Cassavetes. The film starred his wife Gena Rowlands—whom he had married during his struggling actor days—John Marley, Seymour Cassel and Val Avery, as well as several first-time actors, such as lead actress Lynn Carlin and industry fringies like Vince Barbi. It depicts the slow disintegration of a contemporary marriage. The film reportedly took three years to make, and was made largely in the Cassavetes home. "Faces" was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress. Around this time, Cassavetes formed "Faces International" as a distribution company to handle all of his films.
1970s.
In 1970, Cassavetes directed and acted in "Husbands", with actors Peter Falk and Ben Gazzara. They played a trio of married men on a spree in New York and London after the funeral of one of their best friends. Cassavetes stated that this was a personal film for him; his elder brother had died at the age of 30.
"Minnie and Moskowitz" (1971), about two unlikely lovers, featured Rowlands and Cassel. "A Woman Under the Influence" (1974) stars Rowlands as an increasingly troubled housewife. Rowlands received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, while Cassavetes was nominated for Best Director. In "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie" (1976), Gazzara plays a small-time strip-club owner with an out-of-control gambling habit, pressured by mobsters to commit a murder to pay off his debt.
In "Opening Night" (1977), Rowlands plays the lead alongside Cassavetes; the film also stars Gazzara and Joan Blondell. Rowlands portrays an aging film star named Myrtle Gordon, who is working in the theater and suffering a personal crisis. Alone and unloved by her colleagues, afraid of aging and always removed from others due to her stardom, she succumbs to alcohol and hallucinations after witnessing a young fan accidentally die. Ultimately, Gordon fights through it all, delivering the performance of her life in a play. Rowlands won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 28th Berlin International Film Festival for her performance.
1980s.
Cassavetes directed the film "Gloria" (1980), featuring Rowlands as a Mob moll who tries to protect an orphan boy whom the Mob wants to kill, which earned her another Best Actress nomination. In 1982, Cassavetes starred in Paul Mazursky's "Tempest," which co-starred Rowlands, Susan Sarandon, Molly Ringwald, Raúl Juliá and Vittorio Gassman.
Cassavetes penned the stage play "Knives", the earliest version of which he allowed to be published in the 1978 premiere issue of "On Stage", the quarterly magazine of the American Community Theatre Association, a division of the American Theatre Association. The play was produced and directed as one of his "Three Plays of Love and Hate" at Hollywood, California's Center Theater in 1981. The trio of plays included versions of Canadian playwright Ted Allan's "The Third Day Comes" and "Love Streams," the latter of which served as the blueprint for Cassavetes' 1984 film of the same name.
Cassavetes made the Cannon Films-financed "Love Streams" (1984), which featured him as an aging playboy who suffers the overbearing affection of his recently divorced sister. It was entered into the 34th Berlin International Film Festival where it won the Golden Bear. The film is often considered Cassavetes' "last film" in that it brought together many aspects of his previous films. He despised the film "Big Trouble" (1986), which he took over during filming from Andrew Bergman, who wrote the original screenplay. Cassavetes came to refer to the film as "The aptly titled 'Big Trouble,'" since the studio vetoed many of his decisions for the film and eventually edited most of it in a way with which Cassavetes disagreed.
In January 1987, Cassavetes was facing health problems, but he wrote the three-act play "Woman of Mystery" and brought it to the stage in May and June at the Court Theatre, Los Angeles.
Cassavetes worked during the last year of his life to produce a last film that was to be titled "She's Delovely". He was in talks with Sean Penn to star, though legal and financial hurdles proved insurmountable and the project was forgotten about until after Cassavetes' death, when his son Nick finally directed it as "She's So Lovely" (1997).
Filmmaking style.
Cassavetes spent the majority of his directing career working 'off the grid' and in a communal atmosphere "unfettered by the commercial concerns of Hollywood." His films aim to capture "small feelings" often repressed by Hollywood filmmaking, emphasizing intimate character examination and relationships rather than plot, backstory, or stylization. He often presented difficult characters whose behaviors were not easily understood, rejecting simplistic psychological or narrative explanations for their actions. Cassavetes also disregarded the "impressionistic cinematography, linear editing, and star-centred scene making" fashionable in Hollywood and art films. Often unable to interest Hollywood studios in financing his work, Cassavetes typically worked with small but dedicated crew of friends and technicians. He said: "The hardest thing for a film-maker, or a person like me, is to find people … who really want to do something."
Cassavetes worked to create a comfortable and informal environment where actors could freely experiment with their performances and go beyond acting clichés or "programmed behaviors." He dismissed Method acting as "more a form of psychotherapy than of acting" which resulted in sentimental cliches and self-indulgent emotion. Instead, he held that acting should be an expression of creative joy and exuberance, with emphasis put on the character's creation of "masks" in the process of interacting with other people. Cassavetes also said that he strove "to put [actors] in a position where they may make asses of themselves without feeling they're revealing things that will eventually be used against them." He frequently filmed scenes in long, uninterrupted takes, explaining that:The drama of the scenes comes naturally from the real passage of time lived by the actors [...] The camera isn't content to just follow the characters' words and actions. I focus in on specific gestures and mannerisms. It's from focusing on these little things—the moods, silences, pauses, or anxious moments—that the form arises.
Cassavetes also rejected the dominance of the director's singular vision, instead believing each character must be the actor's "individual creation" and refusing to explain the characters to his actors in any significant detail. He claimed that "stylistic unity drains the humanity out of a text [...] The stories of many different and potentially inarticulate people are more interesting than a contrived narrative that exists only in one articulate man's imagination." The manner in which Cassavetes employed improvisation is frequently misunderstood: with the exception of the original version of "Shadows", his films were tightly scripted. However, he allowed actors to interpret characters in their own way, and often rewrote scripts based on the results of rehearsals and performances. He explained that "I believe in improvising on the basis of the written word and not on undisciplined creativity."
Cassavetes worked with jazz musicians Charles Mingus and Shafi Hadi to provide the score for "Shadows". Mingus's friend, Diane Dorr-Dorynek, described Cassavetes' approach to film-making in jazz terms:
The script formed the skeleton around which the actors might change or ad lib lines according to their response to the situation at the moment, so that each performance was slightly different. A jazz musician works in this way, using a given musical skeleton and creating out of it, building a musical whole related to a particular moment by listening to and interacting with his fellow musicians. Jazz musicians working with actors could conceivably provide audiences with some of the most moving and alive theater they have ever experienced.
When asked by André S. Labarthe during the making of "Faces" whether he had the desire to make a musical film, Cassavetes responded he wanted to make only one musical, Dostoyevsky's "Crime and Punishment". Cassavetes was passionate about a wide range of music, from jazz to classical to rock, saying "I like all music. It makes you feel like living. Silence is death."
Cassavetes worked with composer Bo Harwood from 1970 to 1984 on six films in several different capacities, even though Harwood had initially only signed on to do "a little editing" for "Husbands", and "a little sound editing" for "Minnie and Moskowitz". Harwood composed poignant music for Cassavetes' following three films, and was also credited as "Sound" for two of them. During these projects Harwood wrote several songs, some with Cassavetes contributing lyrics and rudimentary tunes. During his work with Cassavetes, Harwood claimed the notoriously unpredictable director preferred to use the "scratch track" version of his compositions, rather than to let Harwood refine and re-record them with an orchestra. Some of these scratch tracks were recorded in Cassavetes' office, with piano or guitar, as demos, and then eventually ended up in the final film. While this matched the raw, unpolished feel that marks most of Cassavetes' films, Harwood was sometimes surprised and embarrassed.
The relationship between Harwood and Cassavetes ended amicably. When asked by documentarian Michael Ventura during the making of Cassavetes' last film "Love Streams", what he had learned from working with Cassavetes, Harwood replied:
I learned a lot through John. I've done a lot of editing for him. Picture editing, sound editing, music editing, shot sound, composed score, and I've learned a lot about integrity ... I think you know what I mean. You know, thirty years from now, I can say I rode with Billy the Kid.
Personal life.
Marriage.
Cassavetes was married to American actress Gena Rowlands from 1954 until his death in 1989. Many of his films were shot and edited in his and Rowlands' own Los Angeles home. He and Rowlands had a son named Nick and two daughters named Alexandra and Zoe, all of whom followed them into acting and filmmaking.
Death.
A long-time alcoholic, Cassavetes died in Los Angeles from complications of cirrhosis at the age of 59 on February 3, 1989. He is buried at Westwood Village Memorial Park cemetery in Los Angeles.
At the time of his death, Cassavetes had amassed a collection of more than 40 unproduced screenplays, as well as a novel, "Husbands". He also left three unproduced plays: "Sweet Talk", "Entrances and Exits", and "Begin the Beguine", the last of which, in German translation, was co-produced by Needcompany of Belgium and Burgtheater of Vienna, and premiered on stage at Vienna's Akademietheater in 2014.
Legacy and reception.
Cassavetes is the subject of several biographies. "Cassavetes on Cassavetes" is a collection of interviews collected or conducted by Boston University film scholar Ray Carney, in which the filmmaker recalled his experiences, influences, and outlook on the film industry. In the 2005 Hollywood issue of "Vanity Fair", one article features a tribute to Cassavetes by three members of his stock company, Rowlands, Gazzara, and Falk.
Many of Cassavetes' films are owned by Faces Distribution, a company overseen by Gena Rowlands and Julian Schlossberg, distributed by Jumer Films (Schlossberg's own company), with additional sales and distribution by Janus Films. In September 2004, The Criterion Collection produced a Region 1 DVD box set of his five independent films: "Shadows", "Faces", "A Woman Under the Influence", "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie" and "Opening Night". Also featured in the set is a documentary about the life and works of Cassavetes, "A Constant Forge", a booklet featuring critical assessments of the director's work and tributes by old friends. Criterion released a Blu-ray version of the set in October 2013. In 2005, a box set of the same films was released in Region 2 by Optimum Releasing. The Optimum DVD of "Shadows" has a voice-over commentary by Seymour Cassel. Then, in 2014, the Faces/Jumer library became the property of Shout! Factory, which acquired the films' holding parent company, Westchester Films.
Cassavetes' son Nick followed in his father's footsteps as an actor and director, adapting the "She's Delovely" screenplay his father had written into the 1997 film "She's So Lovely", which starred Sean Penn, as John Cassavetes had wanted. Alexandra Cassavetes directed the documentary "" in 2004, and in 2006 served as 2nd Unit Director on her brother Nick's film, "Alpha Dog". Cassavetes' younger daughter Zoe wrote and directed the 2007 film "Broken English", featuring Rowlands and Parker Posey.
"The New Yorker" wrote that Cassavetes "may be the most influential American director of the last half century"—this in announcing that all the films he directed, plus others he acted in, were being screened in a retrospective tribute at the Brooklyn Academy of Music throughout July 2013. AllMovie called Cassavetes "an iconoclastic maverick".
The Independent Spirit Awards named one of their categories after Cassavetes, the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award. A one-person show about John Cassavetes titled "Independent" premiered at Essential Theatre in Atlanta in August 2017. The play was written by John D. Babcock III and starred actor Dan Triandiflou as Cassavetes. The song "What's Yr Take on Cassavetes?" by the band Le Tigre is about misogynistic themes within John Cassavetes' films and whether they can still be praised after those themes are identified. The song "Cassavetes" by the band Fugazi parallels John Cassavetes' independence from the film industry with the band's own independence from the record industry. In concert, singer Guy Picciotto introduced it as "a song about making your own road."
Filmography.
As director
Awards and nominations.
As a filmmaker, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for "Faces" (1968) and the Academy Award for Best Director for "A Woman Under the Influence" (1974). The Independent Spirit Awards named the John Cassavetes Award in his honor.
References.
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
External links.
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

Minnie and Moskowitz
1971 film by John Cassavetes
Minnie and Moskowitz is a 1971 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by John Cassavetes and starring his wife Gena Rowlands and Seymour Cassel in the title roles of Minnie and Moskowitz, respectively.
Plot.
Seymour Moskowitz is an eccentric and uncouth parking attendant who has just moved from New York City to Los Angeles. Minnie Moore is a museum curator in an abusive relationship with a married man named Jim. Following their fight, she becomes disillusioned with love and meaningful relationships. Minnie talks with her co-worker and friend Florence about getting older and her chances of finding the right man.
The next day, Florence sets Minnie up on a blind date with a bitter and loudmouthed widower, Zelmo. The date goes badly and ends with Zelmo chasing her out of the restaurant. Seymour, working the parking lot, witnesses the commotion and engages in a physical altercation with Zelmo. Seymour wins the fight, bloodying Zelmo's face, and Zelmo drives away crying, stranding Minnie. Seymour offers to give her a ride, which she refuses, but he pursues her in his truck and forces her inside. He drives her to her workplace, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Jim is waiting inside with his son and ends the relationship, revealing that his wife has attempted suicide. Infuriated and hurt, Minnie slaps Jim.
Seymour appears at Minnie's house to confront her about costing him his job at the parking lot. He takes her to a bar for a drink and then proclaims his love for her at a hot-dog stand. He berates her for taking herself too seriously when she does not return his affections. After leaving Minnie, Seymour brings a woman to his apartment who stays overnight.
Seymour takes Minnie to an ice-cream parlor and a country-and-western bar. In the parking lot, they dance to the music and kiss. When Minnie fails to introduce Seymour to her wealthy friends on the way into the bar, he angrily drives away and strands her, just as Zelmo had done. A wealthy male friend drives her home, where Seymour is waiting. The men fight, injuring Minnie in the process.
Seymour brings Minnie inside to recover, where she admits that she does not see a future with Seymour. Insisting that they are meant for each other, he threatens to kill himself and then cuts his walrus moustache in a frenzy. Minnie finally agrees to marry him and tells her mother about the news. Minnie and Seymour go to dinner with their mothers, who are hesitant and dubious about the marriage. Seymour's mother calls him a "bum" and tells Minnie that she could do much better than her son. Minnie's mother is overwhelmed and nearly speechless at the abruptness of the news and Seymour's appearance and personality.
Minnie and Seymour marry, laughing as the minister forgets his lines and fumbles for his notes. A flashforward shows a sunny backyard birthday party, possibly for their own child.
Cast.
<templatestyles src="Div col/styles.css"/>* Gena Rowlands as Minnie Moore
Production.
"Minnie and Moskowitz" is among a small number of low-budget (less than $1 million) films bankrolled by Universal Studios in the early 1970s in an attempt to copy the success of "Easy Rider". Several months after the film's release, Universal Studios shortened the film's running time by excising a scene near the beginning of the film, but doing so violated the studio's contract with Cassavetes. All releases (including the DVD) since that time are missing this scene.
Principal photography took place from late March to mid-Jun 1971 in Los Angeles and New York City.
Reception.
The film received generally positive reviews. In 1973, Cassavetes was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 82% based on 17 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10.
In other media.
The characters Big John and Little John spend Halloween night smoking marijuana and watching "Minnie and Moskowitz" in the 2021 horror film "Halloween Kills".
References.
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

Terri Minsky
American television writer and producer
Terri Minsky (born August 27, 1957) is an American television writer and producer who created "The Geena Davis Show", "Lizzie McGuire", "Less Than Perfect", and "Andi Mack".
Early and personal life.
Minsky grew up in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania. A mother of two, Minsky published a reflection, "The Mother Load," on balancing time between her work and family in "Literary Mama". Minsky is Jewish.
Career.
Minsky was a writer for "The Wall Street Journal", "The Boston Globe", the "New York Daily News", "Premiere", "New York", and "Esquire".
Minsky's first writing credits were for episodes of "Doctor Doctor" in 1989 and "Flying Blind" in 1992–1993. Minsky was the executive producer of "Sherri", a Lifetime series that ran for one season in 2009. In 2014, Minsky co-wrote the pilot for MTV's "Finding Carter", which debuted on July 8, 2014, and was the show's executive producer for its first season.
Minsky created and executive produced the GLAAD Award-winning Disney Channel series, "Andi Mack", which began development in 2015, production in 2016, and aired from 2017 to 2019. It was also her second TV series for the Disney Channel following 2001's "Lizzie McGuire".
Following the end of "Andi Mack", in August 2019, it was announced that Minsky had signed a deal to create future series and films for Disney Channel and the upcoming Disney+ streaming service, as her first project under this deal being a revival of "Lizzie McGuire". Minsky exited her role as showrunner of the revival on January 9, 2020, after the first two episodes of the series had been filmed due to creative differences with Disney, and the revival has since been cancelled.
References.
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

Minnie Mouse
Disney cartoon character
Minerva "Minnie" Mouse is an American cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company. As the longtime sweetheart of Mickey Mouse, she is an anthropomorphic mouse with white gloves, a red or pink bow, blue (or pink or red) polka-dotted dress, white bloomers and yellow low-heeled shoes occasionally with ribbons on them.
The comic strip story "Mr. Slicker and the Egg Robbers" (published September 22 – December 26, 1930) introduced her father Marcus Mouse and her unnamed mother, both farmers. The same story featured photographs of Minnie's uncle Milton Mouse with his family and her grandparents Marvel Mouse and Matilda Mouse. Her best-known relatives, however, remain her uncle Mortimer Mouse (Mortimer was almost the name of Mickey) and her twin nieces, Millie and Melody Mouse, though most often a single niece, Melody, appears. In many appearances, Minnie is presented as the girlfriend of Mickey Mouse, best friend of Daisy Duck and a friend to Clarabelle Cow.
In honor of her 90th anniversary, on January 22, 2018, she joined the ranks of other animated celebrities by receiving her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She was the sixth Disney character to receive this honor. Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Winnie the Pooh, Tinker Bell and Snow White have already received this distinction.
As of January 1, 2024, Minnie Mouse as depicted in her first shorts entered the public domain.
History.
Origins of the character.
Minnie was initially created to be the love interest of Mickey Mouse, concept art for Mickey showed a female mouse alongside him.
Minnie was designed in the fashion of a flapper girl. Her main outfit consisted of a short flapper girl dress that often revealed her distinctive patched knickers. In the 1929 cartoon "The Karnival Kid", it was also revealed that she wears black stockings which were also fashionable among flapper girls. Her shoes are probably her most distinctive article of clothing. For comedic effect, she wears oversized high heeled pumps that are too big for her feet. Her heels often slip out of her shoes and she even loses her shoes completely in "The Gallopin' Gaucho". When she walked or danced, the clip clop of her large pumps was usually heard clearly and often went with the rhythm of the music that was played in the background. Along with Mickey, she was redesigned in 1940. Her hat was replaced with a large bow and bows were added to her shoes as well. Her eyes were also given more detail. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, her look and personality became more conservative. Minnie almost always wears red or pink, but in her early appearances, she could be seen wearing a combination of blue, black or green (when not depicted in black and white).
Minnie's early personality is cute, playful, musical and flirtatious. She often portrays an entertainer like a dancer or a musician whose affection Mickey is trying to win. Part of the comedy of these early shorts is the varying degree of success Mickey has in wooing Minnie. Unlike later cartoons after the redesign, Minnie often becomes a damsel in distress whom Mickey tries to rescue. She is also subject to a lot of slapstick and rubber hose animation gags. Over the course of the 1930s, Minnie's and Mickey's relationship solidified and they eventually became a steady couple.
Minnie was first seen in a test screening of the cartoon short "Plane Crazy". Minnie is invited to join Mickey in the first flight of his aircraft. She accepts the invitation but not his request for a kiss in mid-flight. Mickey eventually forces Minnie into a kiss, but this only results in her parachuting out of the plane. This first film depicted Minnie as somewhat resistant to the demanding affection of her potential boyfriend and capable of escaping his grasp.
Their debut, however, featured the couple already familiar to each other. The next film featuring them was "The Gallopin' Gaucho". The film was the second of their series to be produced, but the third to be released and was released on December 30, 1928. We find Minnie employed at the "Cantina Argentina", a bar and restaurant established in the Pampas of Argentina. She performs the Tango for Mickey the gaucho and Black Pete the outlaw. Both flirt with her, but the latter intends to abduct her while the former obliges in saving the Damsel in Distress from the villain. All three characters acted as strangers first being introduced to each other.
But it was their third cartoon that established the definitive early look and personality of both Mickey and Minnie, as well as Pete. "Steamboat Willie" was the third short of the series to be produced, but was released first, on November 18, 1928. Pete was featured as the Captain of the steamboat, Mickey as a crew of one and Minnie as their single passenger. The two anthropomorphic mice first star in a sound film and spend most of its duration playing music to the tune of "Turkey in the Straw".
Minnie's Yoo-Hoo.
Her next appearance was arguably more significant. "Mickey's Follies" (August 28, 1929), featured the first performance of the song "Minnie's Yoo-Hoo". "The guy they call little Mickey Mouse" for the first time addresses an audience to explain that he has "got a sweetie" who is "neither fat nor skinny" and proudly proclaims that "she's my little Minnie Mouse". Mickey then proceeds to explain his reaction to Minnie's call. The song firmly establishes Mickey and Minnie as a couple and expresses the importance Minnie holds for her male partner.
Damsel in distress.
Her final appearance for the year was in "Wild Waves", carried by a wave into the sea. She panics terribly and seems to start drowning. Mickey uses a rowboat to rescue her and return her to the shore, but Minnie is still visibly shaken from the experience. Mickey starts singing the tune of "Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep", a maritime ballad, in an apparent effort to cheer her up. Minnie cheers up and the short ends. This is the second time Minnie is placed in danger and then saved by her new boyfriend. It wouldn't be the last.
In fact, this was the case with her next appearance in "The Cactus Kid" (May 10, 1930). As the title implies, the short was intended as a Western movie parody, but it is considered to be more or less a remake of "The Gallopin' Gaucho" set in Mexico instead of Argentina. Minnie was again cast as the local tavern dancer who is abducted by Peg-Leg Pedro (Black Pete in his first appearance with a peg-leg). Mickey again comes to the rescue. The short is considered significant for being the last short featuring Mickey and Minnie to be animated by Ub Iwerks.
"The Shindig" (July 11, 1930) featured Minnie joining Mickey, Horace and Clarabelle in a barn dance. Among them, Clarabelle seems to be the actual star of the short. Director Burt Gillett turned in another enjoyable entry in the series, proving that production could go on without Iwerks. This was arguably the first time Minnie was upstaged by a female co-star.
In "The Fire Fighters" (June 20, 1930), Minnie is trapped in a hotel during a fire. She spends the duration of the short in mortal peril but is rescued by firefighters under Chief Mickey Mouse. Horace Horsecollar is among the firefighters. An unnamed cow in the background is possibly Clarabelle making a cameo. The music of the short was, appropriately, the tune of "There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight".
The next entry in the series is considered curious: "The Gorilla Mystery" (October 1, 1930). The short starts with Beppo the Gorilla escaping from a zoo. Mickey learns of it and terribly panics. He phones Minnie to warn her about the dangerous gorilla wandering about. Minnie is unconcerned and plays tunes on her piano for Mickey to hear over the phone and know she isn't afraid. Her tunes are interrupted by her scream and Mickey rushes to her house to save her. Meanwhile, Beppo has wrapped up Minnie in rope and holds her hostage. Mickey confronts the gorilla and once again rescues the damsel in distress.
Introduction of a pet.
In "The Picnic" (1930), Minnie introduces her boyfriend to her new pet dog, Rover. This is actually Pluto making his first appearance as an individual character. Two unnamed bloodhound guard dogs strikingly similar to him had previously appeared in "The Chain Gang" (August 18, 1930) which featured Mickey incarcerated in prison without Minnie at his side. Otherwise, the short features a typical picnic excursion harassed by forest animals and brought to a premature end by a sudden rain.
The final appearance of Minnie during the year was "Pioneer Days" (November 20, 1930). The short featured Minnie and her mate as pioneer settlers heading to the American Old West driving a covered wagon in a wagon train. They are unsurprisingly attacked by Native Americans on their way, this was a stock plot of Western movies at the time. While their fellows are either subjected to scalping or running for their lives, Minnie is captured by the attackers. Mickey attempts to rescue her, only to be captured himself. In a reversal of their usual roles, Minnie escapes her captors and rescues her mate. They then dress as soldiers of the United States Army. Their mere appearance proves sufficient to have the entire tribe running for the hills. The Mouse couple stands triumphant at the end. The short has been criticized for its unflattering depiction of Native Americans as rather bestial predators. The finale has been edited out in recent viewings for depicting the "braves" submitting to cowardice.
In several shorts, comics and TV shows, Minnie owns a black and white kitten named Figaro, who had originated in the Disney animated feature "Pinocchio".
Waning years.
During the second half of the 1930s, Minnie didn't appear as often in Mickey cartoons. This was mainly due to the growth in popularity of Mickey's new sidekicks, Goofy, Donald Duck and Pluto, whose appearances in Mickey cartoons had more or less replaced Minnie's role. Minnie's appearances in Mickey cartoons thus became less numerous, but she did have a few major roles in some Pluto and Figaro cartoons during the 1940s. Minnie made a sort of comeback in the 1980s when she was re-introduced in "Mickey's Christmas Carol" and then got her own starring role in "Totally Minnie".
Contemporary appearances.
On January 1, 2024, the copyrights of the first three animated Mickey Mouse cartoons and their portrayal of Mickey and Minnie Mouse expired, and they entered the public domain. They are the silent versions of the cartoons "Plane Crazy" and "The Gallopin' Gaucho", and the sound cartoon "Steamboat Willie". Newer versions of Minnie Mouse remained copyright protected. On January 1, 2025, the sound versions mentioned above, and another twelve cartoons and their depictions of Minnie become public domain.
Television.
In "Mickey Mouse Works", she appeared in her own segments. Occasionally, she starred in "Maestro Minnie" shorts, in which she conducts an orchestra of living instruments that she usually has to tame.
In "House of Mouse", Minnie is in charge of running the nightclub, while Mickey primarily serves as the host. In one episode of House of Mouse, "Clarabelle's Big Secret", Minnie reveals that she has gone to the movies with Mortimer Mouse, although it isn't a date.
She appears in two children's shows on Disney Jr.: the full-length educational "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" and the spin-off series of shorts "Minnie's Bow-Toons", where she runs a "bow-tique" selling bows like the ones she and Daisy wear. In season 2 of "Bow-Toons", she displays high physical strength and balance at least twice, able to balance her entire bodyweight in a 1-finger handstand.
In the 2013 "Mickey Mouse" television series and its 2020 spinoff "The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse", she exhibits the ability to survive her head coming off, doing a 360 degree flip and re-attaching itself, which can happen when she feels surprised.
In 2017, as part of the launch of "Mickey and the Roadster Racers", Minnie's Happy Helpers adventures appear in the second half of every new episode.
Minnie as a queen and princess.
Minnie has had several appearances as a princess throughout the ages, including the "Mickey Mouse" short films "Ye Olden Days" (1933) and "Brave Little Tailor" (1938).
"Kingdom Hearts" series.
Minnie appears in the "Kingdom Hearts" game series as the queen of Disney Castle, with Mickey serving as the king and her husband. She, at the suggestion of a letter left by the missing King, sends Donald Duck and Goofy on their mission to find Mickey and the Keyblade Master, Sora. During "Kingdom Hearts II", when Pete's tampering of the past causes the Heartless to appear in Disney Castle, Minnie is forced to fall back to the library up until Sora and company arrive. While Donald and Goofy head out to get the other residents to safety, Sora serves as the Queen's bodyguard to get her to the Cornerstone of Light. During this time, Minnie shows powers as a sorceress of white magic, casting a holy light on the Heartless that attack. In the prequel "Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep", she oversees the annually held Dream Festival in Disney Town, where Pete causes mischief up until she banishes him to another dimension as a punishment. She appears in ' in a role mirroring that in the film ', where she is referred to as Princess Minnie and rules a world called the Country of the Musketeers. By this, it is inferred that she, not Mickey, is the rightful ruler of Disney Castle, which is why he leaves her in charge. She makes a brief appearance in "Kingdom Hearts III", welcoming Mickey, Donald and Goofy back to Disney Castle.
"Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers".
In the 2004 direct-to-video film "", Minnie plays the role of the princess of France, who continually daydreams about her true love, Mickey. She is also the only monarch getting in the way of the plans of Pete, who can't take over the kingdom if he can't get rid of her. For this particular film, Minnie is drawn with hair bangs, which do not appear in any later cartoons.
"Wizards of Mickey".
In the fantasy comic series "Wizards of Mickey", Minnie is the sorceress princess of the kingdom of Dolmen whose people have been turned to stone, leading her to seek a magical Crystal to restore them. In her quest, she partners with her friends Daisy and Clarabelle as team Diamond Moon and eventually meets up with Mickey, the Supreme Sorcerer of Dolmen, and his group.
Voice actors.
Minnie Mouse was first voiced by Walt Disney, who was also the original voice of Mickey Mouse.
Marjorie Ralston, a Disney inker who joined the animation team as Disney's thirteenth employee, voiced her in the 1929 short "Wild Waves", but didn't further pursue the role out of shyness. Then, from 1930 up until 1941, Minnie was voiced by Marcellite Garner. Then, from 1941 to 1942 and on the radio program, "The Mickey Mouse Theater of the Air", she was voiced by Thelma Boardman. Boardman also voiced her in the short "Mickey's Birthday Party" in 1942. Shirley Reed voiced Minnie in "Two-Gun Mickey" expect the end. Following this, from 1944 to 1952, Ruth Clifford provided the character's voice. Janet Waldo voiced Minnie in the 1974 Disneyland record album, "An Adaptation of Dickens' Christmas Carol, Performed by The Walt Disney Players".
Minnie would go without any spoken dialogue up until 1986, when Russi Taylor inherited the role, which she performed up until her death in 2019 (her husband, Wayne Allwine, voiced Mickey from 1977 up until his death in 2009), Taylor's voice is used in various TV series and theme parks via archival and posthumous dialogue. Kaitlyn Robrock officially took over as the new voice of Minnie, beginning with two Disney Jr. stop-motion Mickey Mouse shorts, "Mickey Mouse and the Magical Snowy Holiday" and "Mickey Mouse and the Magical Holiday Bag", both released in November 2019.
Robrock continues voicing Minnie in "The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse" on Disney+ and onward.
Appearances in cartoon shorts.
<templatestyles src="Div col/styles.css"/>
References.
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

Vincente Minnelli
American stage and film director (1903–1986)
Vincente Minnelli (; born Lester Anthony Minnelli; February 28, 1903 – July 25, 1986) was an American stage director and film director. For a career spanning over half a century, he is best known for his sophisticated innovation and artistry in musical films. As of 2024[ [update]], six of his films have been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
Minnelli made his stage debut as an actor in a production of "East Lynne", staged by the Minnelli Brothers' Tent Theater (co-founded by his father and paternal uncle). After graduating from high school, he worked as an apprentice window designer at Marshall Field's department store in Chicago. There, he attended the Art Institute of Chicago and became a costume designer for the Balaban and Katz theater chain. By the early 1930s, he moved to New York City and served as the art director for the Radio City Music Hall.
In 1935, Minnelli became a theatre director with "At Home Abroad" (1935), starring Beatrice Lillie and Eleanor Powell. In 1937, Minnelli moved to Hollywood and served a brief stint at Paramount Pictures before returning to Broadway. In 1940, Minnelli was hired by Arthur Freed to work for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where he directed sequences in "Babes on Broadway" (1941) and "Panama Hattie" (1942). He made his directorial film debut with "Cabin in the Sky" (1943). A year later, Minnelli directed "Meet Me in St. Louis" (1944) starring Judy Garland. He married Garland a year later, and their daughter Liza was born in 1946. He subsequently directed Garland in "The Clock" (1945), "Ziegfeld Follies" (1945) and "The Pirate" (1948). He divorced Garland in 1951.
Throughout the 1950s, Minnelli directed numerous comedies, dramas and musicals, including "Father of the Bride" (1950), "An American in Paris" (1951), "The Bad and the Beautiful" (1952), "Lust for Life" (1956) and "Gigi" (1958). "An American in Paris" and "Gigi" respectively both won the Academy Award for Best Picture, with Minnelli winning the Best Director for the latter film. For over 26 years, Minnelli became the longest-tenured film director for MGM.
By 1962, Minnelli's relationship with MGM worsened due to the commercial failures of "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" and "Two Weeks in Another Town". He formed his production company called Venice Productions, partnering with MGM and 20th Century Fox on "The Courtship of Eddie's Father" (1963) and "Goodbye Charlie" (1964). He directed his final film "A Matter of Time" (1976), starring his daughter Liza. Ten years later, in 1986, Minnelli died at his Beverly Hills residence, at age 83.
Early life.
Lester Anthony Minnelli was born on February 28, 1903, to Marie Émilie Odile Lebeau and Vincent Charles Minnelli. He was baptized in Chicago, and was the youngest of four known sons, only two of whom survived to adulthood. His mother, whose stage name was Mina Gennell, was born in Chicago. She was of French-Canadian descent, and there is a likelihood of Anishinaabe lineage through her mother, who was born on Mackinac Island, Michigan. His father co-founded the Minnelli Brothers' Tent Theater, serving as the musical conductor. Both had met each other at a musical revue; although they initially argued over her accompaniment, they grew closer and were married in November 1894. Following the marriage, she joined the Minnelli Brothers troupe.
His paternal grandfather, Vincenzo Minnelli, and grand-uncle, Domenico Minnelli, both Sicilian revolutionaries, were forced to leave Sicily after the collapse of the provisional Sicilian government that arose from the 1848 revolution against Ferdinand II and Bourbon rule. Domenico Minnelli had been Vice-Chancellor of the Gran Corte Civile in Palermo at the time he helped organize the January 12, 1848, uprising there. After the Bourbon return to power Vincenzo reportedly hid in the catacombs of Palermo for 18 months before being successfully smuggled onto a New York-bound fruit steamer.
At three years old, Minnelli made his debut stage performance portraying Little Willie in "East Lynne", alongside his mother performing dual roles as Lady Isabel and Madame Vine. During the performance, Minnelli broke character when his character was supposed to have died. His family moved to Delaware, Ohio, where he spent the first three years of high school at St. Mary's. Since St. Mary's had no twelfth grade, he spent his last year at Willis High School  in Delaware, graduating at 16 years of age. There, he appeared in a school production of "H.M.S. Pinafore" and starred in "The Fortune Hunter" at the Delaware Opera House.
Career.
1919–1936: Theatre career.
Following his high school graduation, Minnelli moved to Chicago, where he lived briefly with his maternal grandmother Le Beau and his aunt Amy. In search for a job, Minnelli took his portfolio of watercolor paintings to the Marshall Field's department store. Arthur Valair Fraser, the store's display director, reviewed his portfolio and hired him immediately as an apprentice window dresser. There, the store windows were changed four times a year with elaborate themes matched to each corresponding season. Minnelli was first assigned to design the men's store, but he instead asked to design windows on Wabash Avenue where furniture and decorative antique items were frequently rearranged. Meanwhile, Minnelli enrolled in the Art Institute of Chicago with personal ambitions to become a painter. However, he dropped out due to his work schedule and lack of interest in the curriculum.
While working at Marshall Field's, a blind female customer arrived to rent stage props for the Radical Playhouse. She asked Minnelli to join their acting group where they were performing one-act plays by Eugene O'Neill. Minnelli agreed, and read for the part of a retired sea captain in O'Neill's "Where the Cross is Made". He disliked this acting job, but Minnelli remained a frequent attendee of Chicago's theatre district. In his spare time, he painted watercolor sketches of contemporary theatre actors, including Ina Claire and Mary Nash. Encouraged by his friends, he sold his paintings backstage, and earned enough money to live on his own. One night, while selling his artwork backstage, he was approached by Paul Stone, who admired Minnelli's pictorial composition. "If you can do this sort of thing, you can become a fine photographer," Stone told him.
Minnelli left his Marshall Field's job, and worked for Stone as an assistant photographer. Stone specialized in photographing actors and socialites from Chicago's theater district at theatrical luminaries, society matrons and wedding parties. At Stone's Raymor studio, Minnelli photographed numerous celebrities, including Ina Claire, where he coaxed them into capturing their best angles. Minnelli reflected, "Stone's photography was soft, but in sharp focus, so that it could reproduce on the printed page. This taught me a way of creating mood." Months later, Stone suffered a nervous breakdown, and Minnelli assumed his photography duties. Feeling photography was not his suited profession, Minnelli grew dissatisfied and began reading Elizabeth and Joseph Pennell's 1911 biography of James McNeill Whistler, an American painter. Inspired by Whistler's art techniques, Minnelli immersed himself in impressionist and surrealist painters, such as Henri Matisse, Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst and Salvador Dalí. He also admired the experimental films of Jean Cocteau and Luis Buñuel, and the writings of Sigmund Freud. Around this time, Minnelli dropped Lester from his name, replacing it with "Vincente"; the final "e" was added in order to seem more sophisticated and elegant.
One day, Minnelli approached Frank Cambria, who headed the Chicago Theatre, which was a part of the Balaban and Katz theater chain. He told Cambria that he should open his own costume department, and allow him to run it. Cambria took Minnelli to A. J. Balaban's office, where he was hired as a costume and set designer. Assigned to give the stage productions "a custom touch", Minnelli was shocked the costume department operated on meager budgets. At the time, theatre productions ran one week at the Chicago Theatre where the sets and costumes were disassembled and reused at the Tivoli and Uptown Theatre.
In 1931, Balaban and Katz merged with the Paramount-Publix theater chain, and Minnelli was asked to work on New York stage productions for $150 a week. He left Chicago and rented a tiny Greenwich Village apartment. At Paramount, Minnelli worked exclusively in costumes, and was restricted from designing sets because he wasn't in the set designers' union. He was eventually accepted into the union membership thanks to sponsorship from J. Woodman Thompson, a prominent stage designer. His first Broadway assignment was designing the show curtain for Earl Carroll's 1931 edition of the "Vanities" musical revue. Taking inspiration from Léon Bakst's designs for the Ballets Russes, Minnelli fashioned a –tall green and silver curtain to accompany the Art Deco theatrical style. Impressed, Carroll rehired Minnelli as a costume and set designer for the 1932 "Vanities".
By this time, Grace Moore asked Minnelli to supervise the art direction for the operetta, "The Dubarry". During rehearsals, Minnelli and Moore had creative differences but remained cordial. The operetta had tryouts in Boston, and premiered in New York in November 1932 where it ran for 87 performances. Based on his success, Paramount executives selected him for costume and set design for the 1933 edition of "Ziegfeld Follies". However, by 1933, Paramount-Publix filed for bankruptcy protection, in which Adolph Zukor fired B. P. Schulberg as the studio's head of production and began a corporate restructuring. Paramount's East Coast studios were relocated to Astoria, New York, but it was decided their touring theatre unit was no longer profitable and was closed down in favor of touring big bands.
Minnelli was eventually employed as a set designer at Radio City Music Hall, after it opened in December 1932. During rehearsals, theatre businessman Samuel "Roxy" Rothafel harshly criticized Minnelli, art director Clark Robinson, and dance director Russell Markert. Following another heated discussion, Robinson immediately resigned, to which Minnelli assumed Robinson's former position. In July 1933, Minnelli's first art direction assignment was designing a "Water Lily" ballet, a Cuban potpourri illustrated with a backdrop of fighting cocks, a Big Top interior for a circus number, and a Rue de la Paix dress shop to display the Roxettes. In December 1933, Minnelli art-directed a production of the "Scheherazade" suite by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. His efforts were applauded in the mainstream press, including "The New York Times" and "New York Herald Tribune".
Despite this, Rothafel was later fired and was replaced by W. G. Van Schmus. In 1934, Schmus selected Minnelli to produce his first stage show titled "Coast to Coast", which opened on October 25. Accompanied with music from E. Y. Harburg and Duke Ellington, the show displayed several sets,
illustrating the French Riviera, the British Gold Coast, Ivory Coast and the Barbary Coast. Backstage, Minnelli was offered a directing job by Lee Shubert for his stage company. Despite the offer, Minnelli continued working for Radio City Music Hall until he left in April 1935. After months of considering, he joined Shubert's organization, signing a contract to produce three musical shows over eighteen months.
Minnelli was handed his first directorial project titled "At Home Abroad", with music composed by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz. Starring Beatrice Lillie, Ethel Waters, and Eleanor Powell, the Broadway musical centered on a married couple who flee the United States, and travel across Europe, Africa, Japan, and the West Indies. The musical had a try-out in Boston and opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on September 19, 1935. In his "New York Times" review, Brooks Atkinson praised Minnelli's efforts, writing: "Without resorting to opulence he has filled the stage with rich, glowing colors that give the whole work an extraordinary loveliness. Nothing quite so exhilarating as this has borne the Shubert seal before."
While "At Home Aboard" continued its Broadway run, Minnelli returned to costume and scenic design for the "Ziegfeld Follies of 1936", starring Fannie Brice. John Murray Anderson was the director, but during rehearsals, he transferred directing duties to Minnelli. To update the look, Minnelli used the 1880s as inspiration for the hair styles and elegant costumes. Opening on January 30, 1936, the "Ziegfeld Follies" was a commercial success, running for five months and reopened for another five months after a summer hiatus. Minnelli was not involved in the revival, but instead chose to direct a musical revue titled "The Show Must Go". Minnelli devised an original story, featuring new songs from a team of Tin Pan Alley lyricists. The show premiered on Christmas Day 1936 and ran for 237 performances during its initial run. A reprise opened in September 1937 and played for two weeks.
1937: Brief stint at Paramount Pictures.
Based on his Broadway success, Hollywood had taken notice of Minnelli as a rising director. Samuel Goldwyn tentatively approached Minnelli to direct "The Goldwyn Follies" (1938), and in 1937, Paramount Pictures offered him a contract to produce and direct films. Although he was initially reluctant, Minnelli accepted the offer and was paid $2,500 a week. His first project was "Times Squares", a mystery film set on Broadway. Leo Birinski was hired to write the script, with the plot detailing characters venturing throughout various musical numbers from Broadway shows to piece together vital clues. Minnelli also proposed a surrealist ballet featuring Paramount's contract actors, and held conversations with Kurt Weill about a potential musical film. Minnelli discussed the project with Adolph Zukor, the head of Paramount, but he was uninterested; discussions with William LeBaron, the studio's head of production, did not move the project forward.
Meanwhile, Minnelli proposed the title "Shall We Dance" (1937) to the Fred Astaire–Ginger Rogers film. He consulted on Raoul Walsh's 1937 film "Artists and Models" devising the "Public Melody No. 1" number, featuring Louis Armstrong and Martha Raye.
1937–1939: Return to Broadway.
After six months of negotiating, Minnelli was released from his contract and returned to Broadway. Lee Shubert offered him the musical "Hooray for What!", which starred Ed Wynn and featured music and lyrics by Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harburg. Minnelli was given only three months for preparation before its premiere on December 1, 1937. The musical was well-received, with "Life" magazine calling it "the funniest show of the year." "Time" magazine also applauded: "Sharing credit with Wynn for the show's success is able Vincente Minnelli, trained in the hard school of movie stage-shows, who directed it and designed the scenery."
Inspired by the musicals "Pins and Needles" and "Four Saints in Three Acts", Minnelli began developing a surrealist fantasy titled "The Light Fantastic", with Beatrice Lillie in mind to star. He offered her four musical numbers and four sketches outlining his vision, but Lillie, then in England, had not responded in time. He then shifted to a musicalization of S. N. Behrman's play "Serena Blandish", wanting to feature Black American actors. Cole Porter was hired to write the musical score. Sid Perelman wrote the libretto, while Lena Horne read for the title role. After six months of development, Minnelli abandoned the project. Exhausted, Minnelli took a sabbatical break until producer Max Gordon offered him to direct "Very Warm for May". Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern were hired to write the lyrics and compose the musical score, respectively. Pleased with the musical's first act, Minnelli unsuccessfully tried to rearrange the second act. The musical opened at the Alvin Theatre on November 17, 1939, with musical critic Brooks Atkinson writing in his review that Minnelli had not "solved the confusion of the story."
Adjacent of this time, William Saroyan's play "The Time of Your Life" had opened three weeks before and was well-regarded. Minnelli became friends with Saroyan and they partnered on a black surrealist musical comedy, with Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart composing the score. Both men collaborated with David Freeman on the script, but Saroyan exited the project. During the spring of 1940, Harburg brought Arthur Freed into Minnelli's studio on East 54th Street. Minnelli remembered, "Then Arthur Freed came to see me at my studio and convinced me to come to MGM to do the kind of thing that I liked, you know?" After a discussion, Minnelli agreed to be paid $300 a week.
1940–1949: Early MGM films.
On April 2, 1940, Minnelli began working for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In 1941, he did minor consulting work, which included critiquing Norman Z. McLeod's "Lady Be Good" (1941) and advising Pandro Berman to change the beginning of "Rio Rita" (1942). Sometime later, McLeod had filmed "Panama Hattie" (1942) but received lackluster responses during test screenings. In reaction, Freed hired Roy Del Ruth to film reshoots and Minnelli to direct the musical numbers featuring Lena Horne.
Meanwhile, Minnelli visited the set for "Strike Up the Band" (1940), starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland. Freed mentioned they needed a musical number for a scene where Rooney's character aspires to be like Paul Whiteman, a bandleader. Minnelli suggested using a bowl of fruits, having spotted one on set. Freed liked the idea and hired Henry Fox to create a tabletop, while George Pal provided the stop motion animation of the musicians made of fruit. During filming, Minnelli met Garland, who had just turned 18 years old, for the first time. Minnelli subsequently worked on Busby Berkeley's "Babes on Broadway" (1941), which also starred Rooney and Garland, for the "Ghost Theater" sequence. Minnelli suggested they imitate veteran Broadway stars, but Berkeley rejected the idea.
"Cabin in the Sky".
In 1942, Minnelli was called to Freed's office where he was offered to direct "Cabin in the Sky" (1943). Minnelli accepted, writing he "interpreted the assignment, with more freedom than I'd dreamed possible, as just reward for past contributions." Based on the 1940 musical by Vernon Duke and John La Touche, "Cabin in the Sky" tells the story of Petunia (Ethel Waters), a devout woman, who prays for the soul of her gambler-husband "Little" Joe Jackson (Eddie "Rochester" Anderson).
Filming began in August 1942, with only Waters and Rex Ingram reprising their Broadway roles. Lena Horne was cast as Georgia Brown, a seductive woman who tempts Jackson. During production, Minnelli had shot a musical number "Ain't It the Truth," featuring Horne in a bubble bath. Joseph Breen of the Motion Picture Production Code objected to the scene, which was then excised from the film. Modestly budgeted at $679,260 (in 1942 dollars), "Cabin in the Sky" earned $1.6 million at the box office.
"I Dood It".
Three weeks after he finished filming "Cabin in the Sky", Minnelli was assigned to direct "I Dood It" (1943), starring Red Skelton and Eleanor Powell. Del Ruth was the film's original director but he had been drafted into the United States Army, leaving the film unfinished, and MGM dissatisfied with his cut. The film's producer Jack Cummings hoped Minnelli would inject his style into the film. Onboard as director, Minnelli hired Sig Herzig and Fred Saidy to rewrite the script. A loose remake of "Spite Marriage" (1929), Skelton plays Joseph Renolds, a tailor's assistant, who becomes enamored with Constance Shaw (Powell), a Broadway star, and attends every performance of her Civil War melodrama. Shaw impulsively marries Renolds to spite her lover (Richard Ainley). Herzig and Saidy updated the plot by having Skelton's character reveal John Hodiak's character to be a spy for the Axis powers.
Between projects, Minnelli directed Lena Horne in her "Honeysuckle Rose" segment in "Thousands Cheer" (1943).
Films with Judy Garland.
For "Meet Me in St. Louis" (1944), Freed again hired Minnelli to direct. Framed around the four seasons, the film tells of the Smith family and their conflicts, with the conclusion focused on the family's celebration of the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. Judy Garland was cast as Esther Smith, though she felt her role would be overshadowed by Margaret O'Brien, who was portraying Tootie. Principal photography began on December 7, 1943 though continued filming was frequently delayed by Garland's tardiness and claims of illness. Determined to have Garland's physical beauty showcased, he requested make-up artist Dorothy Ponedel be assigned to Garland. Ponedel refined her appearance, which included extending and reshaping her eyebrows, changing her hairline, modifying her lip line and removing her nose discs and dental caps. Filming wrapped on April 7, 1944. During filming, Garland and Minnelli had some creative differences, though Garland grew closer to him after watching the dailies. At the time, Garland was married to David Rose, but after they divorced, she began dating Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Premiering in November 1944, the film received universal critical acclaim and exceeded box office expectations, earning $7.56 million worldwide during its initial run.
Meanwhile, the 1945 musical "Ziegfeld Follies" was in production with George Sidney as the film's initial director. The film featured several musical numbers from the Ziegfeld Follies musical revues, starring many of MGM's contracted talents. Midway through filming, Sidney asked to leave the production and Minnelli was hired to finish filming. Garland's segment was shot in July 1944, with principal photography concluding in August. Minnelli directed a total of ten segments, with the remaining four directed by Sidney, Lemuel Ayers, Roy Del Ruth, and Robert Lewis.
"The Clock" (1945) was Garland's first straight dramatic film after starring in several musical films. Fred Zinnemann was initially hired to direct the film. By August 1944, he was removed at Garland's request after they could not get along and the dailes proved disappointing. When Freed asked who she wanted to replace him, Garland requested Minnelli to direct. Minnelli accepted the assignment on two conditions: Zinnemann would not object to his hiring and he would have creative control over Garland. Zinnemann's footage was discarded aside from exterior shots of New York. The Pennsylvania Station was recreated on the MGM soundstage while local New York sites were filmed using rear projection. On January 9, 1945, before Garland was to film "The Harvey Girls" (1946), Minnelli and Garland were engaged to be married. The two married on June 15, inside Garland's mother's house in Wilshire, Los Angeles.
Minnelli's next film was "Yolanda and the Thief" (1945) starring Fred Astaire and Lucille Bremer. Before he was hired for "The Clock", "Yolanda and the Thief" was intended to be Minnelli's next film. Adapted from the 1943 magazine short story by Ludwig Bemelmans and Jacques Théry, the film tells of two con men (Astaire and