reviews_and_ramblings | Marc Wilder (May 1, 1929

Marc Wilder (aka Marcello Miarani, name at birth; May 1, 1929, Italy - 18 April 1983, Los Angeles (USC County General Hospital), age 53) danced in over twenty-five films, partnering such glamorous leading ladies as Cyd Charisse and Shirley MacLaine, but he was also a prominent commercial choreographer in his own right. He assisted Gene Kelly on a 1959 TV special and Jack Cole on the 1962 revival of Kismet. (Picture: Marc Wilder with Chita Rivera)

Born in Italy, he came to the U.S. at the age of seven and, at ten, began studying tap in Hollywood with Ethel Meglin and, at eighteen, ballet with Eugene Loring at the American School of Dance. He was known as a Jack Cole dancer. The films in which he performed include With a Song in My Heart (1951), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), Kismet (1955), and Mame (1972).

He was one of the first in the film industry to die of AIDS.

Larri Thomas, a friend, doesn't know what happened to Wilder's estate. He died in County Hospital. He was an only child; his mother had already died. She recalls his ashes were strewn in Maui. She recalls that Wilder was "a great collector of videotapes...before Blockbuster," but she doesn't know who would have claimed them after his death.

Marc was an amazingly talented and versatile dancer and choreographer. Thanks to a personal friend of Marc's, Lars Bonner, who pointed films and dances he was featured in, somefavs on Youtube made a Tribute:

You could see he had skills, grace and charisma from the Tender Trap clip, but he had also a wide range of skill, especially in ballet.

THE CLIPS IN THE VIDEO:

THE TENDER TRAP - with Debbie Reynolds
LOUISIANA HAYRIDE - with Nanette Fabray (Marc's in the ensemble as also are Matt Mattox and Jack Dodds. Marc is wearing a yellow shirt and red scarf)
TRUMPET MAN - with Cyd Charisse and Jack Dodds as the other trumpet man.
SUN IN THE SKY - with Cyd Charisse (in ensemble)
GARDEN OF EDEN - as Adam to Shirley MacLaine's Eve.
JOHNSON RAG - with Matt Mattox and Mitzi Gaynor
SLEEPING BEAUTY BALLET - as Prince Charming with Cyd Charisse

A few more clips he was in:
ISN'T IT KINDA FUN from: "State Fair" (1962)
BYE BYE BABY "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes"
BEALE STREET BLUES from "The I Don't Care Girl"

Marc Wilder and Cyd Chariss

Source: http://www.artistswithaids.org/artforms/dance/catalogue/wilder.html

Further Readings:

Beyond Shame: Reclaiming the Abandoned History of Radical Gay Sexuality by Patrick Moore
Paperback: 264 pages
Publisher: Beacon Press (January 14, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 080707957X
ISBN-13: 978-0807079577
Amazon: Beyond Shame: Reclaiming the Abandoned History of Radical Gay Sexuality

The radical sexuality of gay American men in the 1970s is often seen as a shameful period of excess that led to the AIDS crisis. Beyond Shame claims that when the gay community divorced itself from this allegedly tainted legacy, the tragic result was an intergenerational disconnect because the original participants were unable to pass on a sense of pride and identity to younger generations. Indeed, one reason for the current rise in HIV, Moore argues, is precisely due to this destructive occurrence, which increased the willingness of younger gay men to engage in unsafe sex.

Lifting the'veil of AIDS,' Moore recasts the gay male sexual culture of the 1970s as both groundbreaking and creative-provocatively comparing extreme sex to art. He presents a powerful yet nuanced snapshot of a maligned, forgotten era. Moore rescues gay America's past, present, and future from a disturbing spiral of destruction and AIDS-related shame, illustrating why it's critical for the gay community to reclaim the decade.

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