Gilda Gray (
October 24,
1901 -
December 22,
1959) was a
Polish-
American actress and dancer who became famous in the US for popularizing a dance called the "
shimmy" which became fashionable in
1920s films and theater productions.
Gilda Gray was born
Marianna Winchalaska (or Michalska) in
Cracow, Poland on 24 October 1901. Her parents immigrated to the United States in
1909 and settled in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. When Marianna was fourteen or fifteen, a marriage was arranged for her with a saloonkeeper's son, John Gorecki. To increase their income, Marianna began singing in saloons owned by her father-in-law. Although the
shimmy is said to have been introduced to white audiences by Gray in
New York, other sources say that her shimmy was born one night when she was singing the
Star Spangled Banner and forgot some of the lyrics. She covered up her embarrassment by shaking her shoulders and hips. Although the shimmy was already a well-known dance move, Marianna appropriated it as her own when she was asked about her dancing style, she replied in a heavy Polish accent; "I'm shaking my
chemise," which sounded to the English-speaking audience like
shimmy.
Her desire for to continue her burgeoning career and the faltering relationship with her husband prompted Gray to move to
Chicago where she was noticed by a talent
Frank Westphal who took her to
New York and introduced her to his wife, singer
Sophie Tucker. It was Tucker who prompted her to change her name to Gilda Gray. By
1919, she was appearing in a J. J. Shubert show,
The Gaieties of 1919. By 1920, Gilda had found a new manager, Gallaird T. 'Gil' Boag. After being seen by
Florenz Ziegfeld, she appeared in the
1922 Ziegfeld Follies where she was enormously popular with the public.
After her divorce from her first husband, in
1923 she married her new manager,
Gil Boagand took her successful
vaudeville to
Hollywood, California. She quickly abandoned vaudeville to become a film star, and between
1919 and
1936 Gray made several movies, in all of which she performed her famous shimmy. Her second role was a small part in
Girl with the Jazz Heart. Jesse Lasky signed her to a contract with
Famous Players. With him she made
Aloma of the South Seas, which grossed $3,000,000 in its first three months. The success of this film was enhanced by Gilda's personal appearances doing the shimmy as a promotion. In
1927, she made two more films,
The Devil Dancer and
Cabaret.
When the stock market crashed in
1929, Gilda Gray lost most of her financial assets, but she managed to get a job dancing at the
Palace Theater in New York. By now, her second marriage had failed. In
1931 she suffered a
heart attack. That same year she married a
Venezuelan diplomat several years her junior, named
Hector B. Riceno de Saa. This marriage also failed.
In
1936 she was signed to play herself in the movie,
The Great Ziegfeld, but unfortunately her scenes were cut from the picture. In
1946, she again became newsworthy when she sued
Columbia Pictures for using her name in their movie,
Gilda. Although the title role, played by
Rita Hayworth, had no resemblance to the real Gilda's life, Gilda reportedly received an out of court settlement which enabled her to establish a ranch in
Colorado.
By the time of her death from a second heart attack on December 22, 1959, Gilda Gray was in again in financial trouble. The
Motion Picture Relief Fund paid for her funeral.