Ginger Rogers

Trivia of Ginger Rogers (16 July 1911 – 25 April 1995)

*Her birth name was Virginia Katharine McMath. She was known as "Ginger" because her cousin couldn't pronounce "Virginia." She ended up taking the last name of her stepfather.

*She began her career, which was carefully orchestrated by her mother, performing in local shows in Texas while she was still a child. She then appeared with Eddie Foy’s vaudeville troupe before winning a Charleston contest at age 15.

*For the "Cheek to Cheek" number in Top Hat (1935), she wanted to wear an elaborate blue dress heavily decked out with ostrich feathers. When director Mark Sandrich and Fred Astaire saw the dress, they knew it would be impractical for the dance. Sandrich suggested that Rogers wear the white gown she had worn performing "Night and Day" in The Gay Divorcee (1934). Rogers walked off the set, finally returning when Sandrich agreed to let her wear the offending blue dress. As there was no time for rehearsals, she wore the blue feathered dress for the first time during filming of the "Cheek to Cheek" number, and as Astaire and Sandrich had feared, feathers started coming off the dress. Astaire later claimed it was like "a chicken being attacked by a coyote". In the final film, some stray feathers can be seen drifting off it. To patch up the rift between them, Astaire presented Rogers with a charm of a gold feather to add to her charm bracelet. This was the origin of Rogers' nickname "Feathers".

*In 1935, Ginger Rogers became one of the first people to be named an Admiral by the Texas Navy. Rogers was likely the first female, or person, to be so honored with such a title.Texas is proud of Ginger.

*Ginger Rogers was one of those rare celebrities who neither smoked nor drank alcohol.But one of her favorite beverages was, interestingly, ginger ale. She also admitted she loved hosting parties but served cold drinks instead of alcohol, and one of her favorite indulgences was ice cream sodas.

*She loves outdoor activities especially tennis.She once played at the U.S Open Tennis Tournament in 1950.Rogers was a very good tennis player who always beat her even though she was decades older than she was. Rogers initially played the sport alongside Hollywood legends such as Errol Flynn and Katharine Hepburn, but she was looking for a challenge, and she certainly got it at the tournament. Unfortunately, she and her team lost to a much younger team. Rogers also competed in a celebrity tournament that took place in conjunction with the U.S. Open, but she and her partner lost before the final match.

*Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire were a match made in heaven as dancing partners.They were collab in a total of 10 films, nine of them released by RKO Radio Pictures from 1933 to 1939, and one, The Barkleys of Broadway, from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1949, their only film in Technicolor.In 1950's, they split up, both wanted to explore new avenues. Rogers was interested in more dramatic roles than those she was offered with Astaire. Meanwhile, Astaire, who worked with many dancers throughout his career, wished to be known as a dancer in his own right, rather than always being paired with one permanent partner.Despite going in different directions career-wise, the duo remained friends for the rest of their lives.Following their deaths, both of two interred at same cemetery Oakwood Memorial Park in Chatsworth, California.