Frances Charlotte Greenwood (June , â€" December , ) was an American
actress and dancer. Born in Philadelphia, Greenwood started in
vaudeville, and starred on Broadway, movies and radio. Standing around
six feet tall, she was best known for her long legs and high kicks.
She earned the unique praise of being, in her words, the "...only
woman in the world who could kick a giraffe in the eye."In , Oliver
Morosco cast her as Queen Ann Soforth of Oogaboo late in the run of L.
Frank Baum and Louis F. Gottschalk's The Tik-Tok Man of Oz (better
known in its novelization as Tik-Tok of Oz). In , Morosco commissioned
a successful star vehicle stage play titled So Long Letty. In Morosco
brought her back in the sequel Linger Longer Letty. This role made her
a star; she reprised it in the movie of the same name.She appeared
with such luminaries as Charles Ruggles, Betty Grable, Jimmy Durante,
Eddie Cantor, Buster Keaton, and Carmen Miranda. Most of Greenwood's
best work was done on the stage, and was lauded by such critics as
James Agate, Alexander Woollcott, and Claudia Cassidy. One of her most
successful roles was that of Juno in Cole Porter's Out of This World
in which she introduced the Porter classic "I Sleep Easier Now". She
had some discomforts with that play, as she had become a devout
Christian Scientist and feared the play was too risqué.
actress and dancer. Born in Philadelphia, Greenwood started in
vaudeville, and starred on Broadway, movies and radio. Standing around
six feet tall, she was best known for her long legs and high kicks.
She earned the unique praise of being, in her words, the "...only
woman in the world who could kick a giraffe in the eye."In , Oliver
Morosco cast her as Queen Ann Soforth of Oogaboo late in the run of L.
Frank Baum and Louis F. Gottschalk's The Tik-Tok Man of Oz (better
known in its novelization as Tik-Tok of Oz). In , Morosco commissioned
a successful star vehicle stage play titled So Long Letty. In Morosco
brought her back in the sequel Linger Longer Letty. This role made her
a star; she reprised it in the movie of the same name.She appeared
with such luminaries as Charles Ruggles, Betty Grable, Jimmy Durante,
Eddie Cantor, Buster Keaton, and Carmen Miranda. Most of Greenwood's
best work was done on the stage, and was lauded by such critics as
James Agate, Alexander Woollcott, and Claudia Cassidy. One of her most
successful roles was that of Juno in Cole Porter's Out of This World
in which she introduced the Porter classic "I Sleep Easier Now". She
had some discomforts with that play, as she had become a devout
Christian Scientist and feared the play was too risqué.
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