Berkeley, Busby

Berkeley, Busby
orig. William Berkeley Enos

born Nov. 29, 1895, Los Angeles, Calif., U.S.
died March 14, 1976, Palm Springs, Calif.

U.S. film director and choreographer.

The son of itinerant actors, he acted and danced in comedies from age five. After choreographing over 20 Broadway musicals, he was summoned to Hollywood to direct dance numbers for Whoopee (1930). His elaborate production numbers, innovative camera techniques, and opulent sets in such films as Gold Diggers of 1933 and Footlight Parade (1933) revolutionized the musical and offered escapist fare for moviegoers during the Great Depression. When rising production costs made such extravaganzas unfeasible, he directed less innovative but still popular films such as The Gang's All Here (1943).

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▪ American director
original name  William Berkeley Enos  
born Nov. 29, 1895, Los Angeles
died March 14, 1976, Palm Springs, Calif., U.S.

      American motion-picture director and choreographer who was noted for the elaborate dancing girl extravaganzas he created on film. Using innovative camera techniques (cinematography), he revolutionized the genre of the musical in the Depression era.

      Berkeley's parents were itinerant actors. He was on the stage at the age of five and eventually moved from comedy acting and dancing to directing plays and musicals. As a Broadway choreographer he directed the dancing in more than 20 musicals (musical). In 1930 Samuel Goldwyn, the film producer, brought him to Hollywood to do the dance numbers for the musical Whoopee (1930).

      During the following decade Berkeley directed for Warner Brothers and completed his most creative work. Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933) and Footlight Parade (1933) are representative in their subordination of plot to spectacle. Believing 20 dancers were better than one, Berkeley used huge chorus lines and new technical methods to create a mood of opulent prosperity. Berkeley's production trademarks are props such as mirrors and special lighting, coupled with a camera mounted on a monorail for easy movement. These movies have been called exhilarating, yet they are oddly surreal in the multiplication of images.

 In 1939 Berkeley began directing popular but less innovative films for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios. Rising production costs made further spectacles unfeasible, and with The Gang's All Here (1943) such films became far less extravagant.

      Critics agree that Berkeley liberated musicals from the traditional genre, giving viewers a sense of freedom and escape during the Great Depression. In the late 20th century Berkeley's films enjoyed a nostalgic revival, and in 1970 the New York Gallery of Modern Art presented a Berkeley retrospective. Berkeley himself returned briefly to Broadway to supervise a production of No No Nanette with Ruby Keeler in 1970.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Berkeley,Busby — Berkeley, Busby. 1895 1976. American choreographer and film director noted for lavish, synchronized dance routines in films such as 42nd Street (1933). * * * …   Universalium

  • Berkeley, Busby — (1895 1976)    Born Busby Berkeley William Enos in Los Angles, California, the film choreographer and director attended military school and was first employed in entertainment by the army in France during World War I. After the war, he worked as… …   Historical Dictionary of the Roosevelt–Truman Era

  • Berkeley, Busby — orig. William Berkeley Enos (29 nov. 1895, Los Ángeles, Cal., EE.UU.–14 mar. 1976, Palm Springs, Cal.). Director de cine y coreógrafo estadounidense. Hijo de actores itinerantes, actuó y bailó en rutinas teatrales desde los cinco años de edad.… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Berkeley, Busby — • БЕ РКЛИ (Berkeley) Басби (наст. имя и фам. Уильям Беркли Инос, Enos) (29.11.1895 14.3.1976)    амер. хореограф, режиссёр. Получил известность брод вейскими пост, мьюзиклов. В Голливуде с 1930 (хореограф). В 1933 дебютировал в режиссуре ф. Ей… …   Кино: Энциклопедический словарь

  • Berkeley, Busby —    см. Беркли, Басби …   Режиссерская энциклопедия. Кино США

  • Berkeley, Busby — Berke|ley, Bus|by [ bɜrkli, bʌzbi ] a U.S. movie director of the 1930s and 1940s. His movies are remembered for their impressive dances performed by large numbers of dancers …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • Berkeley, Busby —  (1895–1976) Hollywood choreographer …   Bryson’s dictionary for writers and editors

  • Busby Berkeley — [Busby Berkeley] (1895–1976) a US film and stage ↑director and ↑choreographer. He is best remembered for his grand music and dance sequences involving many actors, in such films as 42nd Street (1933) …   Useful english dictionary

  • Berkeley — puede referirse a: ● la ciudad de Berkeley, en el estado de California; ● la University of California, Berkeley localizada en la ciudad del mismo nombre. ● el filósofo y religioso británico George Berkeley, célebre representante de la escuela… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Busby Berkeley — Infobox actor name = Busby Berkeley imagesize = 200px caption = c.1935 birthdate = 29 November 1895 birthplace = Los Angeles, California U.S. deathdate = 14 March fy|1976 (age 80) deathplace = Palm Springs, California U.S. othername = occupation …   Wikipedia

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