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Dean Collins

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Stage Name

Birth Name

Dean Collins Soloman Ruddosky
   Collins was born in Columbus Ohio, then moved to Newark, New Jersey. Dean started dancing at the Savoy Ballroom, in Harlem, N.Y. at the age of 14. By the age of 18 he received the dancer of the year award from the New Yorker Magazine. He left New York for New Orleans and finally arrived in Los Angeles (Venice, Ca.) in 1936 to get into the movies, the Savoy style of swing was virtually unknown to Californians (they did what was called the "Whip" or "New Yorker").

   It's said he danced in the Harvest Moon Ball contests in New York in the mid 1930's but I have found no record of that
as yet. He won his first dance contest in California at the Palomar Ballroom and started teaching his version of Savoy Style Lindy which lead the way for what is called West Coast Swing (today's modern swing.) West Coast later went on to become the Official State Dance Of California which Dean is given credit as to inadvertently creating. To distinguish the difference between the original style and modern style of West Coast Swing, the original form is at times being called "Hollywood Style" which is hugely based on the original 'Movie style' of Dean's and others (this was the movie style mind you.) However most the movie billings would call it 'Rock and Roll' in the 1950's. Dean was way ahead of his time when it came to dance and he could style it like no other when the music got slow and could become a cyclone when it got fast. Dean and others danced to all styles of music in the 1960's and 1980's as long as it "swung (aka dance to a rhythmic sound that coinicided with the dance)" as alot of the good swing music was disappearing fast. Here's a 1982 clip of Dean dancing at Happy Daze Disco and Nightclub to MJ's Billie Jean to show what I mean. Click Here (Video pop-up) [or see bottom of page for actual link]

   Dean went on to dance in or choreograph many Hollywood movies. His first big break came in 1939 when he was asked to choreograph 'Let's Make Music' in which he danced with Bertha Lee. He would go on to either dance and or Choreograph swing dance in Films such as Junior Prom, Hellzapoppin', Livin' It Up, Ride 'em Cowboy, Buck Privates etcetera. Dean taught most of the dancers and teachers how to do swing in the Los Angeles areas in the 1950s and 60's and many movie personalities as well (Ceaser Romero, Arthur Murray, Andrews Sisters, Joan Collins, Abbot and Costello, and many others and many others stayed with a style they knew best over the years. Here is a clip of Dean and Jewel in one of their more rare videos called Chool Song.

   His main partner of eleven years was Jewel McGowen who was termed the "greatest female swing dancer ever was" and danced with Dean for well over ten years. Dean and Jewel can be seen dancing in many Movies. Dean sponsored a Dance Championship contest at the Palladium in Hollywood CA. in 1983 called the "Super bowl of Swing" which included West Coast Swing, Lindy Hop, East Coast Swing and Hustle dancers (West Coast prevailed.) Dean married Mary and lived in Glendale, California. Dean was very active in the swing dance community right up till he passed away in 1984 at the young age of 67.
 

Birth Place

Birth Date

Spouse

Offspring

Columbus, OH 5/29/1917 - 6/1/1984 Yes ---> One Daughter
            Mary ??? (2nd)      
... Dean has 2 sisters

Dance Types

Dance Partners

Music Titles

Flying Lindy (see WCS) Alice "Scotty" Scott (1946 3rd girl) Baby Boogie, the
Jitterbug Bertha Lee (1st LA partner) Bounce Me Brother with a Solid Four
Lindy Bill Acorn Central Park (Let's Make Music 1941) Bob Crosby
Savoy Style Colleen (aka Jewel McGowen) Rockin' and Reelin' (w/ Jewel)
Shim Sham Elsie Parrish (Junior Prom 1946, 1st girl) Swing Low, Sweet Chariot (w/ Veloz)
Tap Florence Miller Watch The Birdie (w/ Raye)
West Coast Swing Frieda Angela-Wyckoff      
  Helen "Mousie" Albright (1946 2nd girl)      
      Jack Maddis      
      Jean Phelps-Veloz      
      Jewel McGowen      
      June Preisser (1946 4th girl)      
      Margaret O'Brien (chor)      
      Martha Raye      
      Mary Collins      
      Venna Archer      
 

Night Clubs

Theaters

Stage

Casino Gardens n/a n/a
Friar's Club            
Diana Ballroom            
Golden West Ballroom            
Happy Daze (Jack Wade's - OC & Glendale 1982)            
Palomar Ballroom            
Pips (Beverly Hills)

Awards

     
Prelude, the California Swing Dance Hall Of Fame      
Rag Doll (Lankershim in No. Hollywood) New Yorker Mag's - Dancer of the year 1935      
Rendezvous Ballroom ??Harvest Moon Ball??      
Savoy Ballroom (N.Y.)            
Staircase (Downey)            
The Tail Spin            
Water Wheel            
 
Video Clips (pop-up)

Films with Swing

Television

Publications

Viewable thru a Youtube Video Pop-up window.
1939 - Let's Make Music (Chor, danced w/ Bertha Lee) 1980's - Steve Allen Show 1935 - New Yorker Magazine
Not Viewable thru a Youtube Video Pop-up window. 1940 - Down Argentine Way 1982 - Eye On L.A. Lindy by Lanza
Not Viewable thru a Youtube Video Pop-up window. 1940 - Hold That Tiger (w/McGowen 300bpm)            
Not Viewable thru a Youtube Video Pop-up window. 1941 - Buck Privates (w/ McGowen)            
Viewable thru a Youtube Video Pop-up window.
1941 - Dance Hall (Fox Pictures)            
Not Viewable thru a Youtube Video Pop-up window. 1941 - Hellzapoppin' (w/ Martha Raye)            
Viewable thru a Youtube Video Pop-up window.
1941 - Jazzy Joe (w/ McGowen)            
Not Viewable thru a Youtube Video Pop-up window. 1941 - Playmates (RKO)            
Viewable thru a Youtube Video Pop-up window.
1942 - Chool Song (Minuet and Swing) McGowen            
Viewable thru a Youtube Video Pop-up window.
1942 - Glen Gray Casa Loma Vitaphone Short            
Viewable thru a Youtube Video Pop-up window.
1942 - Powers Girl, the (Umbrella scene) McGowen            
Not Viewable thru a Youtube Video Pop-up window. 1942 - Ride Em' Cowboy [DVD]

Film Clips (not movie Associated)

Links

Not Viewable thru a Youtube Video Pop-up window. 1942 - Rings On Her Fingers (w/ McGowen) Fox Film Dean Dancing at Happy Daze Disco (MJ 1982) CalJazzDance
Not Viewable thru a Youtube Video Pop-up window. 1942 - Springtime in the Rockie's [DVD] (w/ McGowen)        
Not Viewable thru a Youtube Video Pop-up window. 1942 - Talk of the Town [DVD]            
Not Viewable thru a Youtube Video Pop-up window. 1942 - They All Kissed The Bride [DVD]            
Not Viewable thru a Youtube Video Pop-up window. 1943 - Always a Bridesmaid            
Not Viewable thru a Youtube Video Pop-up window. 1943 - Sing a Jingle (as Benny)            
Not Viewable thru a Youtube Video Pop-up window. 1943 - Young Ideas (w/ McGowen)            
Not Viewable thru a Youtube Video Pop-up window. 1944 - Canterville Ghost (Choreo)            
Not Viewable thru a Youtube Video Pop-up window. 1944 - Four Jill's and a Jeep (Choreo)            
Viewable thru a Youtube Video Pop-up window.
1944 - Ghost Catchers (Chor)            
Viewable thru a Youtube Video Pop-up window.
1944 - Sensations of 1945 (w/ McGowen)            
Not Viewable thru a Youtube Video Pop-up window. 1945 - George White Scandals            
Not Viewable thru a Youtube Video Pop-up window. 1945 - Horn Blows at Midnight (w/ Veloz)            
Viewable thru a Youtube Video Pop-up window.
1945 - Junior Prom (w/ McGowen)            
Viewable thru a Youtube Video Pop-up window.
1945 - Tabby The Cat (Soundie)            
Not Viewable thru a Youtube Video Pop-up window. 1946 - Till the End of Time [DVD] (Chor)            
Viewable thru a Youtube Video Pop-up window.
1954 - Living It Up            
               
NOTE:
Video Clip direct links: Dean dancing to MJ's Billie Jean |
May 20, 2013
http://www.Streetswing.com/histmain/index.htm
 

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