Gray, Gilda (1901–1959)

views updated

Gray, Gilda (1901–1959)

Polish dancer and actress. Born Marianna Michalska, Oct 24, 1901, in Krakow, Poland; died of a heart attack in Dec 22, 1959, in Hollywood, California.

At 7, immigrated to America (1908); starred in a number of silents (1923–36); is credited with inventing the dance-craze, the shimmy; films include: Lawful Larceny (1923), Aloma of the South Seas (1926), Cabaret (1928), The Devil Dancer (1928), Piccadilly (U.K., 1929), Rose Marie (1936), and The Great Ziegfeld (1936).

More From encyclopedia.com