Theatre Register

Charles Walters

Shows · Charles Walters

ChoreographerActor 1911–1982 On stage 19251939

Charles Powell Walters (November 17, 1911 – August 13, 1982) was an American dancer, choreographer, and film director who became best known for his work on MGM musicals. His notable directorial credits included Easter Parade (1948), Lili (1953), High Society (1956), and The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964). Born in Pasadena, California, Walters grew up in Anaheim. As a young man, he left University of Southern California (USC) to join the touring Fanchon and Marco revue as a chorus boy and specialty dancer. Walters next appeared on Broadway as a dancer in the musical revues New Faces of 1934 and Fools Rush In. He was the dance partner of Betty Grable in the stage musical Du Barry Was a Lady (19…

On stage 14 productions, 14 years

1925 A Tale of the Wolf Empire Theatre · Original · directed by Frank Reicher 13 perf.
1925 The Love Song Century Theatre · Original · directed by Fred G. Latham 157 perf.
1928 Strange Interlude John Golden Theatre · Original · directed by Philip Moeller 426 perf.
1931 No More Frontier Provincetown Playhouse · Original 28 perf.
1934 Fools Rush In Playhouse Theatre · Original · directed by Edwin Strawbridge 14 perf.
1934 New Faces Fulton Theatre · Original · directed by Leonard Sillman 149 perf.
1934 New Faces of 1934 Fulton Theatre · Original · directed by Elsie Janis 149 perf.
1935 Jubilee Imperial Theatre · Original · directed by Hassard Short, Monty Woolley 169 perf.
1935 Parade Guild Theatre · Original · directed by Philip Loeb 40 perf.
1936 The Show Is On Winter Garden · Original · directed by Vincente Minnelli, Edward Clark Lilley 237 perf.
1937 Between the Devil Imperial Theatre · Original · directed by Hassard Short 93 perf.
1938 I Married an Angel Shubert Theatre · Original · directed by Joshua Logan 338 perf.
1938 Our Town Henry Millers Theatre · Original 336 perf.
1939 Du Barry Was a Lady 46th Street Theatre · Original · directed by Edgar MacGregor 408 perf.

Each row is a staging this name appears in the cast list of, read from the production record rather than from the person record. The person record names works instead, and a work cannot say which run somebody was in — that is how Elaine Stritch ends up filed under Show Boat 1927 when she was in the 1994 revival. No row here says what part was played, because no cast list records it.

Worked with more than once12 names

Imogene Coca 3 productions
Virginia Allen 2 productions
Vernon Hammer 2 productions
Tilda Getze 2 productions
Teddy Lynch 2 productions
Rose Tyrrell 2 productions
Raymond Roe 2 productions
Ralph Sumpter 2 productions
Ralph Riggs 2 productions
Polly Rose 2 productions
O Z Whitehead 2 productions
Norman van Emburgh 2 productions

Both names in the same cast list, more than once. It is not evidence of a partnership — a long-running company puts the same forty people together every night — but it is where one would start looking. 8 of these names are not links because we hold no record behind them; the name is set from the identifier and its punctuation may be wrong.

Also credited on5 works

Banjo Eyes
Let’s Face It
St. Louis Woman
The Unsinkable Molly Brown
Ziegfeld Follies

These come off the person record, which names a work and not a production. So we can say this name is attached to the work and we cannot say which staging, or in what capacity. For a composer or a writer that is the whole career we hold; there is no cast list to find them in.

In the literature8 passages

  • During the tryout, director Charles Walters and choreographer Donald Saddler were succeeded by Marshall Jamison and Helen Tamiris, respectively; Ray Malone was replaced by Richard France, Maria Karnilova was replaced by Carol Leigh, and Peter Gennaro and his role of Pete were dropped from the script. The tryout programs credited Genevieve…ebooks/Dietz, Dan/Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals, The - Dan Dietz.txt
  • Cast: Leonard Sillman, Imogene Coca, Nancy Hamilton, Charles Walters, Henry Fonda, Teddy Lynch, James Shelton, Billie Heywoodebooks/Green, Stanley/Broadway Musicals, Show By Show - Seventh Edition - Stanley Green & Cary Ginell.txt
  • Cast: Mary Boland, June Knight, Melville Cooper, Charles Walters, Derek Williams, Mark Plant, Montgomery Clift, May Boley, Margaret Adamsebooks/Green, Stanley/Broadway Musicals, Show By Show - Seventh Edition - Stanley Green & Cary Ginell.txt
  • Cast: Dennis King, Vera Zorina, Vivienne Segal, Walter Slezak, Audrey Christie, Charles Waltersebooks/Green, Stanley/Broadway Musicals, Show By Show - Seventh Edition - Stanley Green & Cary Ginell.txt
  • Cast: Bert Lahr, Ethel Merman, Betty Grable, Benny Baker, Ronald Graham, Charles Walters, Kay Suttonebooks/Green, Stanley/Broadway Musicals, Show By Show - Seventh Edition - Stanley Green & Cary Ginell.txt
  • C AST : Ethel Merman (as May Daly), Bert Lahr, Betty Grable, Ronald Graham, Charles Walters, Benny Baker, Jean Mooreheadebooks/Kellow, Brian/Ethel Merman_ A Life - Brian Kellow.txt

Passages naming this person, found by keyword across 178 books. A keyword match is not a biography, and a common name will pull in the wrong one.

What this page does not know

  • What this person played. No cast list we hold records a character against a performer.
  • Which of the credits above the roles on this record — choreographer, actor — apply to. The roles sit on the person and never on a credit, so a director who also acted looks the same here as one who did not.

Something wrong here? Correct a field or report the problem. Every change is recorded in public under the contributor licence.