CINDERELLA TRIVIA
Cinderella was written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II specifically for presentation on television.
Cinderella is based on several European fairy tales, most notably Frenchman Charles Perrault’s publication in 1697 and one by the German Brothers Grimm in 1812.
Its first broadcast was on March 31, 1957, in black and white by CBS and starred Julie Andrews (Cinderella), Howard Lindsay (King), Kaye Ballard (Stepsister Portia), Alice Ghostley (Stepsister Joy), and Edie Adams (Fairy Godmother). The director, Emmy-award-winning Ralph Nelson, was known for directing programs connected to the great showcases of the Golden Age of Television, including Playhouse 90, General Electric Theater, and The Twilight Zone.
Julie Andrews made her stage debut in London playing in Cinderella. She traveled to New York to star in a play on Broadway, and two years later was cast as Eliza Doolittle in Broadway’s My Fair Lady. As her run as Eliza Doolittle came to an end, the opportunity to play Cinderella for the 1957 TV production was presented, and her fame catapulted through the small screen. Though passed up for the Doolittle role she created on Broadway, she would go on to well-known performances on the silver screen, including Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music.
It was broadcast again in 1965 in full color, starring Lesley Ann Warren (Cinderella), Ginger Rogers (Queen), Walter Pidgeon (King), and Celeste Holm (Fairy Godmother). This version was directed by Charles Dubin, known also for directing TV’s M*A*S*H and Hawaii Five-O.
Lesley Ann Warren was selected for her role as Cinderella in 1965 after some blockbuster Broadway performances, and this led to her future television roles, beginning with Mission: Impossible. This 1965 version was also one of the last film appearances of Ginger Rogers’ stellar career.
A final remake of the film was broadcast on ABC television in 1997 as part of the Wonderful World of Disney. This adaptation featured a multi-racial cast, including Brandy Norwood (Cinderella), Whitney Houston (Godmother), Bernadette Peters (Stepmother), Jason Alexander (in an added role as the valet Lionel), and Whoopi Goldberg (Queen).
The Rodgers and Hammerstein relationship produced many favorites of the American theater and cinema.
Richard Rodgers, the composer, was born in 1902 in Queens, New York, and his first musical collaboration was with Lorenz Hart, whom he met at Columbia University. They made their name on Broadway with The Garrick Gaieties and the song “Manhattan.” Their work included Broadway and London stage shows and Hollywood movies, including theater favorites Pal Joey and Babes in Arms, and popular songs such as “Isn’t It Romantic?” “Blue Moon,” “Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered,” and “My Funny Valentine.”
