Re: OK, so who skated for Cary Grant?
Ellyn Kestnbaum
sure about the other characters.
Doria
>
> So...anyone know who the skating doubles were for this movie? Or have a
> clue as to who they might have been? Lord knows the credits for this movie
> were long (they even mention who the choir was), but the skaters never got
> credit.
-----------------------
No doubles for Cary Grant. I had the opportunity to ask him this
because we shared the same chiropractor years ago and were in the same
waiting room on a couple of occasions, talking about the Dodgers (he
was a big, big Dodger fan and had season tickets) and he told me he
was a gymnast when he was young, and did all his own skating in most
every scene in the Bishop's Wife (one of my favorits Grant movies).
He could also dance really well and roller skate. He also could do
prat falls because of his gymnastics background, like he did in
"Bringing in Baby" by K. Hepburn. He was a very nice old man when I
met him and I got his autograph too on one occasion. I don't know if
Loretta Young had a skate double or not in that movie. Occasionally
Grant and his wife Barbara would take Dr. Hexburg, the chiropractor we
shared, to the Dodger games, and I'd see them together there
sometimes.
Doria
Trudi Marrapodi
Braves...@hotmail.com (Doria) wrote:
> tru...@clarityconnect.competent (Trudi Marrapodi) wrote in message
news:<trudee-1506...@cci-209150248003.clarityconnect.net>...
> >
> > So...anyone know who the skating doubles were for this movie? Or have a
> > clue as to who they might have been? Lord knows the credits for this movie
> > were long (they even mention who the choir was), but the skaters never got
> > credit.
>
> -----------------------
>
> No doubles for Cary Grant. I had the opportunity to ask him this
> because we shared the same chiropractor years ago and were in the same
> waiting room on a couple of occasions, talking about the Dodgers (he
> was a big, big Dodger fan and had season tickets) and he told me he
> was a gymnast when he was young, and did all his own skating in most
> every scene in the Bishop's Wife (one of my favorits Grant movies).
Are you serious?? Cary Grant could do waltz jumps? What about Loretta
Young? Did he teach her to ice dance, or did she dance with a double, or
was that Cary and someone else?
> He could also dance really well and roller skate. He also could do
> prat falls because of his gymnastics background, like he did in
> "Bringing in Baby" by K. Hepburn. He was a very nice old man when I
> met him and I got his autograph too on one occasion. I don't know if
> Loretta Young had a skate double or not in that movie. Occasionally
> Grant and his wife Barbara would take Dr. Hexburg, the chiropractor we
> shared, to the Dodger games, and I'd see them together there
> sometimes.
Jeez, Doria. You had the same chiropractor as Cary Grant, and here was
Babs thinking SHE was a big deal because she has shopped in the same place
as Maria Shriver!
--
Trudi
"Cleveland rocks."--Ian Hunter
Tina Kramer
"Doria" <Braves...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:8d469b87.04061...@posting.google.com...
I remember reading when I was younger that he had been an acrobat -- which I
guess is similar to gymnast -- when he started out in show business so I
didn't think it would be completely out of the question for him to have done
his own skating.
But nice to see someone who can confirm it.
Tina
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Doria
> In article <8d469b87.04061...@posting.google.com>,
> Braves...@hotmail.com (Doria) wrote:
>
> > tru...@clarityconnect.competent (Trudi Marrapodi) wrote in message
> news:<trudee-1506...@cci-209150248003.clarityconnect.net>...
> > >
> > >
> >
> > because we shared the same chiropractor years ago and were in the same
> > waiting room on a couple of occasions, talking about the Dodgers (he
> > was a big, big Dodger fan and had season tickets) and he told me he
> > was a gymnast when he was young, and did all his own skating in most
> > every scene in the Bishop's Wife (one of my favorits Grant movies).
>
> Are you serious?? Cary Grant could do waltz jumps? What about Loretta
> Young? Did he teach her to ice dance, or did she dance with a double, or
> was that Cary and someone else?
>
I honestly don't know about Loretta Young. Although, Grant did say
he did "most" of the skating scenes, probably had someone else for a
couple of them. But he said he had skated quite frequently when he
was younger and I think, (and I could be wrong about this because I
haven't thought about this in years and my memory on it has faded a
bit) he said that the skating scene was an added scene (not in the
first version of the script but added later on) because the parties
wanted to do a scene on skates. Pretty funny, huh? This would
suggest that Loretta Young had some skating ability too and is wasn't
all a double for her either, or that other guy in the scene with them
(cab driver). This was a conversation we had in between talking about
the Dodgers, his favorite topic...and mine since I am a big baseball
fan too.
Some of the old time actors from the 30s could do lots of other
stuff besides act...sing, dance, roller skate, figure skate,
gymnastics, etc., some came from the world of athletics...Esther
Williams for example. Grant had been a circus performer when he was
young...hence the gynmastics stuff he could do, like back and front
flips.
Doria
Poodle Fan
MarcnNY
saw this movie knew that Cary Grant did not do the freestyle moves (jumps and
spins). The skating credits appeared at the very end of the movie.
Trudi Marrapodi
(MarcnNY) wrote:
There WERE no skating credits at the end of the movie. I said so in the
previous post. Honest. There were none.
I too am a bit skeptical that Cary did all his own skating, even if he was
pretty good on skates. And I disagree that it would be the same as "Esther
Williams doing her own swimming." I mean, her swimming was the reason
Williams HAD a career, just as her skating was the reason Sonja Henie had
a movie career. Obviously, Cary Grant did not earn a career in the movies
because he was a crack figure skater, even if he was better at doing
stunts than the average actor. Besides, on most movies, they don't really
want actors doing all their own physical stunts, for fear they'll be
injured and the shooting schedule will be thrown off. I'm sure that was as
true in the '40s as it is today.
So: While I'm willing to believe that Cary Grant was better at skating
than I gave him credit for, I still find it hard to believe he did the
waltz jumps.
Doria
> There WERE no skating credits at the end of the movie. I said so in the
> previous post. Honest. There were none.
>
> So: While I'm willing to believe that Cary Grant was better at skating
> than I gave him credit for, I still find it hard to believe he did the
> waltz jumps.
----------------------
Can't remember all of the conversation that day, it's been too many
years now. I think he said he did most of his skating scenes, but
that's doesn't mean the director didn't use a double for the same
scenes. Then the film editor/director would edit the most realistic
shots, no matter who skated them, I would imagine.
It was so cool talking to him that day, I would never have
challenged his memory of the film and I didn't care much either
whether he was accurate or not. And my back was hurting, which was
why I was in the chiropractic's office anyway. That's all I remember.
Doria
MarcnNY
I have seen this movie several times. I was particularly interested to find
out who did the skating for Grant so I waited for the credits. It was a long
time into the credits before the name of the skater for Grant appeared. It was
a well known skater of the time; e.g., Hayes Alan Jenkins. I do not remember
any other skating credits, however. It could be that the movie you saw omitted
the credits. Where is Dick Button when we really need him?
John Lincoln
MarcnNY wrote:
Hayes Alan Jenkins?? He was 1956 Olympic champion; couldn't have been
much older than 22 at the time; THE BISHOP'S WIFE was a 1947 title
which would have made him about 12 or 13 at the making of the film.
Neither of the Jenkins brothers were very tall; elite skaters tend not
to be tall, Elvis is about 5-5. At 12/13, Hayes Jenkins would not be
much of a double for Cary Grant. I will have to dig out the tape and
see if any skater credit appears in my copy; I don't recall any.
-jl John
--Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, three times is enemy action
Ellyn Kestnbaum
A little over a year ago, Eugene Turner (1940 and 41 US champ) had a
website at http://www.eturnerbooks.com to promote a novel he had
written. IIRC, his bio there stated that he had done the skating for
Grant in this movie. That website now longer seems to exist, so I
can't verify my memory.
The closest I can find now is this
http://www.lafsc.org/history.htm
It doesn't specify which movie but does say he doubled for Cary Grant.
John Lincoln
Ellyn Kestnbaum wrote:
Gene Turner, that sounds a lot more reasonable that Hayes Jenkins.
-jl John
--Think you used enough dynamite there, Butch? -- Sundance
John Lincoln
Doria wrote:
Loretta Young, or at least her character, also skated in THE FARMER'S
DAUGHTER. This was also a 1947 title; it appeared that she did most or
all of her skating in that scene. Fred Astaire and Vera-Ellen can be
seen ice skating in THE BELLE OF NEW YORK. That title was shown
recently on Turner Classic Movies. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
roller skating in SHALL WE DANCE or SWING TIME, I can never remember
which one, Gene Kelly roller skating in IT'S ALWAYS FAIR WEATHER. If
you think back, you might recall David Nelson (of Ozzie and Harriet
fame) doing a trapeze act in 'Circus of the Stars' on the telly; late
60s or early 70s. Both David Nelson and brother Rick Nelson were fairly
good ice skaters; up to at least single axels..
-jl John
--Extent and goal of current public education: "Ya want fries with that?"
Trudi Marrapodi
Lincoln <linc...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> Ellyn Kestnbaum wrote:
>
> >To specify...
> >
> >A little over a year ago, Eugene Turner (1940 and 41 US champ) had a
> >website at http://www.eturnerbooks.com to promote a novel he had
> >written. IIRC, his bio there stated that he had done the skating for
> >Grant in this movie. That website now longer seems to exist, so I
> >can't verify my memory.
> >
> >The closest I can find now is this
> >
> >http://www.lafsc.org/history.htm
> >
> >It doesn't specify which movie but does say he doubled for Cary Grant.
> >
> Gene Turner, that sounds a lot more reasonable that Hayes Jenkins.
I agree. And for the record, Turner Classic Movies is not in the habit of
"trimming credits" from a movie. These credits looked like the original
ones that traditionally appeared at the end of every film of the era.
Granted, there were often credits at the beginning of such movies, too,
and I didn't see those. But if a stunt person is going to be credited
anywhere in a movie, it would be more likely to be at the end than at the
beginning. After all, telling everyone who did the stunts at the beginning
of the movie doesn't do much to help the audience suspend its disbelief.
("Disclaimer: Cary Grant is not really an angel. Repeat: Cary Grant is NOT
AN ANGEL. This is ONLY A MOVIE. Repeat: This is ONLY A MOVIE...")
MarcnNY
I was making is that someone did double for Grant and that it was a well known
skater of the times, such as Hayes A. Jenkins.
Janice Schnell
>
>I agree.
Didn't the movie have children skating, too? It's been a while since I've seen
it. I was just thinking that it is possible for Hayes Jenkins to be in the
closing credits as a skater in the movie, just not Grant's double.
Janice
"Alias" Fan - Spydaddy rocks!
"Kwan uses her body as a form of communication that links her to the music, the
audience and the ice." Elaine Anderson, Reno Gazette-Journal 7/25/02
Rex
able to transfer his natural grace onto the ice.
kwebs...@yahoo.com
>
> No doubles for Cary Grant. I had the opportunity to ask him this
> because we shared the same chiropractor years ago and were in the same
> waiting room on a couple of occasions, talking about the Dodgers (he
> was a big, big Dodger fan and had season tickets) and he told me he
> was a gymnast when he was young, and did all his own skating in most
> every scene in the Bishop's Wife (one of my favorits Grant movies).
> He could also dance really well and roller skate. He also could do
> prat falls because of his gymnastics background, like he did in
> "Bringing in Baby" by K. Hepburn. He was a very nice old man when I
> met him and I got his autograph too on one occasion. I don't know if
> Loretta Young had a skate double or not in that movie. Occasionally
> Grant and his wife Barbara would take Dr. Hexburg, the chiropractor we
> shared, to the Dodger games, and I'd see them together there
> sometimes.>
> Doria
typow...@gmail.com
> I believe Eugene Turner was the skating double for Grant here. Not
> sure about the other characters.
Alyssa Franco
Turner partnered with Sonja Henie during her tour and in Iceland in 1942. He also performed as a skating double for Cary Grant in The Bishop's Wife in 1948, and for Patric Knowles in the Abbott & Costello comedy, Hit the Ice in 1943.