Our beautiful Ipomoea multifida
Having had a bit of a long lie-in, I awake to find glorious sunshine bathing us again, and the gardens here at Dolores Delargo Towers are saying "thank you".
As I get my arse in gear to actually get out there, however, let us raise a glass in honour of the
98th birthday today [yes! She is still with us] of the lovely Marge Champion, who, with her former husband Gower [they divorced in 1973; he died in 1980], revitalised the world of dancing in the Technicolor age in such films as
Show Boat,
Bye Bye Birdie and
Hello Dolly, and this one...
Lovely to Look At, indeed!
Facts:
- Miss Champion was the model for Walt Disney’s original Snow White.
- Lovely to Look At is a remake of the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movie Roberta; Marge and Gower were originally asked to do a series of colour remakes of Fred and Ginger's classics, but they turned down the proposal.
- Among many others who got their first break in Marge and Gower's sumptuously choreographed shows was none other than Miss Carol Channing, who Marge "discovered" in 1940.
- In 2009, at age 90, Marge was still dancing - as featured in a television documentary on her friendship with dance partner Donald Saddler [watch it here].
Marjorie Celeste "Marge" Champion (born Marjorie Belcher, 2nd September 1919)
