# Dan Dailey
**Dan Dailey** (December 14, 1915 – October 16, 1978) was an American actor, singer, and dancer who rose from vaudeville to become a leading song-and-dance man in 20th Century Fox movie musicals, earning an Academy Award nomination for *When My Baby Smiles at Me* (1948) and a Golden Globe for the television series *The Governor & J.J.*[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0197314/bio/) • [2](https://goldenglobes.com/person/dan-dailey/) Most sources give his birth year as 1915, though some references list 1913.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0197314/bio/) • [3](https://www.nndb.com/people/286/000086028/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | December 14, 1915, New York City; October 16, 1978, Los Angeles (anemia)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0197314/bio/) |
| Birth name | Daniel James Dailey; height 6′ 3″ (1.91 m)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0197314/bio/) |
| Broadway debut | *Babes in Arms* (1937), Rodgers and Hart musical, as a member of "The Gang"[4](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/dan-dailey-37108) |
| Oscar nomination | Best Actor in a Leading Role for *When My Baby Smiles at Me* (1948)[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0197314/awards/) |
| Signature musicals | *Mother Wore Tights* (1947), *There's No Business Like Show Business* (1954), *It's Always Fair Weather* (1955)[2](https://goldenglobes.com/person/dan-dailey/) |
| Television | Gov. William Drinkwater in *The Governor & J.J.* (1969–1971, 39 episodes); Golden Globe winner 1970[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0197314/) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0197314/awards/) |
| Family | Sister Irene Dailey, an actress known for *Another World*[3](https://www.nndb.com/people/286/000086028/) |
## Early career on stage
Dailey grew up around show business; his father ran a hotel for performers on [Long Island](https://www.edgepedia.org/long-island). He began as a dancer in burlesque shows and played in a band on a tourist ship, often competing for work with [Gene Kelly](https://www.edgepedia.org/gene-kelly), and worked between jobs as a grocery clerk, a golf caddy, and a shoe salesman.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0197314/bio/) A 1948 *Modern Screen* profile described his apprenticeship on the "five-a-day circuits": burlesque, vaudeville, night clubs, marathon dances, carnivals, road shows, and summer stands in the Catskills.[7](https://www.otrr.org/FILES/Magz_pdf/Modern%20Screen/ModernScreen%204909.pdf)
His Broadway debut came in the original production of *Babes in Arms* (April to December 1937), followed by *Stars In Your Eyes* (1939). He was featured in the national tour of Rodgers and Hart's *I Married an Angel*, and MGM talent chief Billy Grady signed him after catching the tour at the Biltmore Theater in Los Angeles.[4](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/dan-dailey-37108) • [7](https://www.otrr.org/FILES/Magz_pdf/Modern%20Screen/ModernScreen%204909.pdf) His starting movie salary was $225 a week.[7](https://www.otrr.org/FILES/Magz_pdf/Modern%20Screen/ModernScreen%204909.pdf)
## Hollywood and the Fox musicals
MGM signed Dailey in 1940 but, despite his musical background, first cast him as a Nazi in *The Mortal Storm*; the studio recognized the mistake and moved him into musical films such as *Hullabaloo* (1940), *Ziegfeld Girl* (1941), and *Lady Be Good* (1941).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0197314/bio/) • [8](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/35086) His career was interrupted by service in the [United States Army during World War II](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-states-army-during-world-war-ii), where he first made training films, then served with the Cavalry at [Fort Riley](https://www.edgepedia.org/fort-riley), Kansas, teaching recruits to ride, and later with the 88th Infantry Regiment in northern Italy.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0197314/bio/)
After the war he signed with 20th Century Fox, where *Mother Wore Tights* (1947) opposite [Betty Grable](https://www.edgepedia.org/betty-grable) became a hit and the first of four films he made with her.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0197314/bio/) • [9](https://www.musicals101.com/who2c.htm) A run of musicals followed: *Give My Regards to Broadway* (1948), *You Were Meant for Me* (1948), *When My Baby Smiles at Me* (1948), *You're My Everything* (1949), *My Blue Heaven* (1950), *Call Me Mister* (1951), and *The Girl Next Door* (1953).[8](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/35086) • [9](https://www.musicals101.com/who2c.htm) His performance as vaudeville comedian "Skid" Johnson in *When My Baby Smiles at Me* brought an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role.[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0197314/awards/)
**Beyond the musical.** Dailey also took straight dramatic parts, most notably a well-received turn as baseball pitcher [Dizzy Dean](https://www.edgepedia.org/dizzy-dean) in *The Pride of St. Louis* (1952), and he appeared in [John Ford](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-ford)'s *What Price Glory?* (1952) and John Ford's *The Wings of Eagles* (1957).[9](https://www.musicals101.com/who2c.htm) • [2](https://goldenglobes.com/person/dan-dailey/) As the Hollywood musical declined in the mid-1950s, he worked with Gene Kelly and [Stanley Donen](https://www.edgepedia.org/stanley-donen) on MGM's *It's Always Fair Weather* (1955), playing Doug Hallerton, one of three veterans whose reunion dissolves into disillusionment; the film's trash-can-lid dance sequence became one of its signature numbers.[10](https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/itsalwaysfairweather/) Later film credits included *Meet Me in Las Vegas* (1956), *The Best Things in Life Are Free* (1956), *Pepe* (1960), and a supporting role as Clyde Tolson in *The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover* (1977).[2](https://goldenglobes.com/person/dan-dailey/) • [11](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/dan_dailey_jr)
## Television and later stage work
Dailey moved into television as the musical film faded. He starred as Tim Collier in the series *The Four Just Men* (1959–60) and won the 1970 Golden Globe for Best TV Actor, Comedy or Musical, as widowed Governor William Drinkwater in the CBS sitcom *The Governor & J.J.* (1969–1971), opposite [Julie Sommars](https://www.edgepedia.org/julie-sommars).[3](https://www.nndb.com/people/286/000086028/) • [2](https://goldenglobes.com/person/dan-dailey/) • [12](https://ctva.biz/US/Comedy/GovernorAndJJ.htm) He also directed episodes of *The Governor & J.J.*, *The Sandy Duncan Show*, *Koska and His Family*, and *The Odd Couple*.[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0197314/)
On Broadway he appeared as Oscar Madison in [Neil Simon](https://www.edgepedia.org/neil-simon)'s *The Odd Couple* (1965–1967) and starred in *Catch Me if You Can* (1965) and *Plaza Suite* (1968–1970).[4](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/dan-dailey-37108) In later years he lectured on the college circuit about dance, motion, and the relationship between acting and dancing.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0197314/bio/)
## Personal life and death
Dailey married four times: Esther Claire Rodier (1937–1941), Elizabeth Jane Hofert (1942–1951, one child), Gwen Carter (1955–1962), and Carol F. Warner (1968–1972).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0197314/bio/) His son Dan Dailey III died in 1975.[3](https://www.nndb.com/people/286/000086028/) By the early 1950s the strain of his career had caught up with him; in 1951 he checked himself into the Menninger Clinic for five months and afterward spoke frankly to [Hedda Hopper](https://www.edgepedia.org/hedda-hopper) and other reporters about having "cracked up."[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0197314/bio/)
In 1977 he broke his hip in a fall while performing in *The Odd Couple* in [Chapel Hill, North Carolina](https://www.edgepedia.org/chapel-hill-north-carolina), and had an artificial replacement put in; the new hip became infected, and he died of anemia at his Los Angeles home on October 16, 1978, at age 62.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0197314/bio/) • [3](https://www.nndb.com/people/286/000086028/) According to a 2001 *Classic Images* article by Frances Ingram, he was buried in his favorite pink hunting jacket, and the singer John Raitt, a longtime friend, sang at his funeral.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0197314/bio/)
## References
1. [Dan Dailey – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0197314/bio/)
2. [Dan Dailey – Golden Globes Awards Database](https://goldenglobes.com/person/dan-dailey/)
3. [Dan Dailey – NNDB](https://www.nndb.com/people/286/000086028/)
4. [Dan Dailey – Broadway Cast & Staff, IBDB](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/dan-dailey-37108)
5. [Dan Dailey – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0197314/awards/)
6. [Dan Dailey – IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0197314/)
7. [Modern Screen, December 1948 – October 1949 issue](https://www.otrr.org/FILES/Magz_pdf/Modern%20Screen/ModernScreen%204909.pdf)
8. [Dan Dailey – AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/35086)
9. [Dailey, Dan – Who's Who in Musicals, John Kenrick, Musicals101](https://www.musicals101.com/who2c.htm)
10. [It's Always Fair Weather – Dennis Schwartz Reviews](https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/itsalwaysfairweather/)
11. [Dan Dailey – Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/dan_dailey_jr)
12. [The Governor and J.J. – Classic TV Archive](https://ctva.biz/US/Comedy/GovernorAndJJ.htm)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1940s to 1960s › Surnames D to E*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license