Marcel Emile Gaston LePlat (December 2, 1913 – March 29, 2014), known professionally as Marc Platt, was an American

ballet dancer A ballet dancer is a person who practices the Art (skill), art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. B ...

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

performer, and actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Daniel Pontipee, one of the seven brothers in the film ''

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers ''Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'' is a 1954 American musical film, directed by Stanley Donen, with music by Gene de Paul, lyrics by Johnny Mercer, and choreography by Michael Kidd. The screenplay, by Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich, and Dor ...

''.

Biography

Born Marcel Emile Gaston LePlat to a French immigrant father in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

, he was one of the original members of the

Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo The company Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo (with a plural name) was formed in 1932 after the death of Sergei Diaghilev and the demise of Ballets Russes. Its director was Wassily de Basil (usually referred to as Colonel W. de Basil), and it ...

, performing under the name Platoff. While with the company, Platt choreographed ''Ghost Town'' (1939), set to music by

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers wa ...

. Platt danced the role of Chalmers/Dream Curly in the original 1943 Broadway production of ''

Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical theater, musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs's 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs (play), Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of ...

''. Platt was also in the 1955 film version of ''

'' in a dancing/speaking role as one of Curly's cowboy friends, the cowboy friend who buys Curly's saddle for $10 at the auction and comments that, the previous year, Ado Annie's sweet potato pie gave him a "three day bellyache". Platt is credited in the cast list of the film as a dancer. Another notable role for Platt was as a replacement in the role of Bill Calhoun/Lucent in the Cole Porter musical, ''

Kiss Me, Kate ''Kiss Me, Kate'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and a book by Bella and Samuel Spewack. The story involves the production of a musical version of William Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew'' and the conflict on and off- ...

'', which opened on Broadway on December 30, 1948, though Platt did not join the cast until 1949. After he stopped dancing, Platt served as the director of the

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall (also known as Radio City) is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York C ...

Ballet for several years, then transitioned to full-time teaching. In 2000, Platt was presented with the Nijinsky Award at the Ballets Russes Reunion. He appeared in the 2005 documentary ''

Ballets Russes The Ballets Russes () was an itinerant ballet company begun in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America. The company never performed in Russia, where the Russian Revolution, Revolution ...

''.

Personal life

Platt was married twice and has three children. Ted Le Plat, from his first marriage, is an actor and musician living in Los Angeles. In 1951, Platt married dancer Jean Goodall who died in 1994; the couple had two children, Michael and Donna. Platt died of pneumonia at a hospice in

San Rafael, California San Rafael ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "Raphael (archangel), St. Raphael", ) is a city in and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of th ...

, on March 29, 2014, aged 100.

Filmography

* ''

The Gay Parisian ''The Gay Parisian'' is an American short film produced in 1941 by Warner Bros. and directed by Jean Negulesco. The film is a screen adaptation, in Technicolor, of the 1938 ballet '' Gaîté Parisienne'', choreographed by Léonide Massine to mu ...

'' (1941) (short subject) * ''

You're in the Army Now In Modern English, the word "''you''" is the second-person pronoun. It is grammatically plural, and was historically used only for the dative case, but in most modern dialects is used for all cases and numbers. History ''You'' comes from ...

'' (1941) * ''Who Calls'' (1942) (short subject) * ''

Tonight and Every Night Tonight may refer to: Television * Tonight (1957 TV programme), ''Tonight'' (1957 TV programme), a 1957–1965 British current events television programme hosted by Cliff Michelmore that was broadcast on BBC * Tonight (1975 TV programme), ''Tonigh ...

'' (1945) * ''

Tars and Spars ''Tars and Spars'' is a 1946 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Alfred E. Green and starring Alfred Drake, Janet Blair, and Marc Platt. Plot Howard Young is a coast guardsman who has been on shore duty for three years despite ...

'' (1946) * '' Down to Earth'' (1947) * '' When a Girl's Beautiful'' (1947) * '' The Swordsman'' (1948) * '' Addio Mimi!'' (1949) * ''

'' (1954) * ''

'' (1955) * ''

These Wilder Years ''These Wilder Years'' is a 1956 American drama film directed by Roy Rowland and starring James Cagney, Barbara Stanwyck and Walter Pidgeon. It is the story of a businessman who tries to find the illegitimate son he gave up to an orphanage many y ...

'' (1956) * ''

'' (2005) (documentary) * ''Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age'' (2018) (documentary)

Stage appearances

*''

Jubilee A jubilee is often used to refer to the celebration of a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term comes from the Hebrew Bible (see, "Old Testament"), initially concerning ...

'' (1935) *''Broadway Sho-Window'' (1936) *''Yokel Boy'' (1939) *''The Lady Comes Across'' (1942) *''Beat the Band'' (1942) *''

'' (1943) *''

'' (1949-1952) *''Maggie'' (1953)

References

;Additional sources * Anawalt, Sasha. ''The Joffrey Ballet: Robert Joffrey and the Making of an American Ballet Company''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996. * Wilk, Max. ''OK! The Story of Oklahoma!: A Celebration of America's Most Beloved Musical''. Rev. ed. New York: Applause Books, 2002.

External links

Marc Platt profile at arts•meme
* *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Platt, Marc 1913 births 2014 deaths People from Pasadena, California American male ballet dancers American male musical theatre actors American choreographers Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo dancers American male film actors American men centenarians 20th-century American ballet dancers