June Taylor, 86: TV Choreographer
Choreographer June Taylor, who won an Emmy for Jackie Gleason's television variety show, died Monday. She was 86.
She founded the June Taylor Dancers in 1942 and made her television debut in 1948 on The Toast of the Town, starring Ed Sullivan. Two years later, she joined Gleason's Cavalcade of Stars, winning an Emmy for her choreography in 1954.
In 1978, Taylor began working with the Miami Dolphin cheerleaders, and remained with the group until 1990. Accompanied by a brass band, her squad performed Broadway-style routines during Miami's home football games.
June Taylor was interviewed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation’s Archive of American Television on May 9, 2000. The entire 3 1/2 hour interview can be viewed at the Archive’s offices in North Hollywood. For more information call 818-509-2260.
On her dancing ambitions:
I came dancing out of my mother’s womb. I wanted to be another Eleanor Powell, another Ruby Keeler. I was going to outdo them. I had looked forward to dancing with Fred Astaire. That was my great ambition. But when I did finally get to be a dancer and I was in London performing, and I happened to say that to a producer that I was working for in London, he said, but you can’t dance with, Fred Astaire, you’re too tall. I think I was nineteen years old. But that was my ambition, to dance with Fred Astaire.
On the June Taylor Dancers appearing on Ed Sullivan’s The Toast of the Town:
Ed Sullivan had heard of the June Taylor Dancers because I had worked around New York, and the name was starting to be a little familiar. And Ed said, yeah, let them come in this week and we’ll try it. I went in and the girls did fine. He loved it and said, come back next week. I did at least four shows, four to six shows, with Ed Sullivan.
On The June Taylor Dancers’ appearance on Jackie Gleason’s variety series Cavalcade of America:
We always did a fast opening number. If you’re going to work with Jackie Gleason and open a show it’s got to be fast and it’s got to go and tear the house down. And that’s why all those opening numbers that I did, I would say, Radio City Music Hall, if you see one of their numbers, their numbers go on for, like, twelve minutes. And one day, sitting in the balcony, I was watching the Rockettes and I realized that the Rockettes could have done six different numbers with all the material I got in one number, the opening number, because my opening numbers used to have to be no longer than two and a half minutes. But I used so much material in one number, whether it’d be a tap number, a jazz number, or whatever, that the Rockettes only have about four or five combinations in one number. But because there are, it’s such a big group, by the time, just to take an entrance and get them all out and get them all into position, that’s half the number already. It used to amaze me how, how, I look at it now and wonder how I did it. I don’t know how I did it. I did it.
On Jackie Gleason’s decision to place a camera in the balcony:
For some reason or other, through our lifetime, I’ve always been opposite Jackie whenever something very important takes place. And then we had this big circle, we were outside sitting in the grass, like picnic style. I said, okay, well don’t forget, you all promised me now I’m going to have four boys and four girls. I’ve got eight dancers on the show. And Jackie said, what eight dancers. So I looked at him and I said, well, I understand the budget is big enough that I can now have eight dancers. And he said, four boys and four girls, oh no. And I just went oh no. I was so disappointed, I didn’t know. And he’s busy looking down, and all of the sudden these big eyes look up first, he looked at me, he said, I’ll tell you what, let’s have sixteen girls. And I said, sixteen. He said, yes, it’ll be great. I said, yeah, but how we going to photograph it. Oh. Well, we’ll put a camera in the balcony. Yeah, that’s great.
On working with the Miami Dolphin Cheerleaders:
Joe Robbie, who owned the Dolphins, decided he wanted big cheerleaders. They had cheerleaders but they were little school kids. And so I didn’t think I could work with amateurs. So we had a big call. Oh God, what a call that was. Girls came out in droves. The first group was, I had twenty-four girls. I gave them some numbers and they used to do a number at half-time and it worked out fine. I enjoyed it after awhile. And of course, my husband loved to go see the games on Sundays. And I became a real football fan then, too. You can’t help that.