Charles Walters

From the trolley scene in Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers's last dance on the silver screen ( The Barkleys of Broadway, 1949) to Judy Garland's timeless, tuxedo-clad performance of "Get Happy" ( Summer Stock, 1950), Charles Walters staged the iconic musical sequences of Hollywood's golden age. During his career, this Academy Award--nominated director and choreographer showcased the talents of stars such as Gene Kelly, Doris Day, Debbie Reynolds, and Frank Sinatra. However, despite his many critical and commercial triumphs, Walters's name often goes unrecognized today.In the first full-length biography of Walters, Brent Phillips chronicles the artist's career, from his days as a featured Broadway performer and protégé of theater legend Robert Alton to his successes at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He takes readers behind the scenes of many of the studio's most beloved musicals, including Easter Parade (1948), Lili (1953), High Society (1956), and T he Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964). In addition, Phillips recounts Walters's associations with Lucille Ball, Joan Crawford, and Gloria Swanson, examines the director's uncredited work on several films, including the blockbuster Gigi (1958), and discusses his contributions to musical theater and American popular culture.This revealing book also considers Walters's personal life and explores how he navigated the industry as an openly gay man. Drawing on unpublished oral histories, correspondence, and new interviews, this biography offers an entertaining and important new look at an exciting era in Hollywood history.

"It's a treat that readers (like me) will have the opportunity to discover the underrated director-choreographer who created some of the most defining screen numbers for Garland, Astaire, Kelly, Crosby, Sinatra, and others. "Get Happy," "We're a Couple of Swells", "Well Did you Evah?" The numbers in his films have been some of my favorites since I was a teenager--this book is for anyone who loves Broadway and Hollywood musicals." -- Casey Nicholaw, Tony Award-winning Broadway director-choreographer of The Drowsy Chaperone, The Book of Mormon, and Disney's Aladdin, "A superb retelling of Walters's life. This work is an example of the best usage of oral history. Without interviews, Charles Walters would be a lesser book, lacking the rich detail and personal connections that oral histories provide. For those interested in Hollywood's Golden Age, this book is a must-read." -- Oral History Review, "As Brent Phillips reveals in his lively biography, Walters was an unremarkable man with remarkable abilities. Charles Walters: The Director Who Made Hollywood Dance is really a backstager, opening a curtain on a veritable musical factory, where the workers were all experts and the product a lesson in self-confidence. This is the story of a time in American culture when our life coaches were singers and dancers, because they made happy endings look easy, even deserved. Forget your troubles and just get happy." -- Wall Street Journal, "Despite a career of several decades directing and choreographing an impressive number of famed Hollywood movies, Charles Walters hasn't received the recognition of his peers.That's now been resolved by Brent Phillips' film-devouring, sexually knowing Charles Walters." -- Bay Area Reporter, "This excellent biography looks at the life and work of Charles Walters, who started out as a dancer, became a choreographer for both stage and film, and then directed many notable movies at MGM and elsewhere. Well-researched and bolstered with interviews, this bio has amusing behind-the-scenes anecdotes a-plenty, and also explores Walters' approach.to "cine-dance" -- dance in the movies." -- Great Old Movies

Brent Phillips is a former Joffrey Ballet soloist. He currently serves as media archivist at New York University, USA, preserving various dance, theater, and cinema collections.