Georgine Darcy | |
|---|---|
 Darcy in 1960 | |
| Born | January 14, 1933 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Died | July 18, 2004 (aged 71) Malibu, California, U.S. |
| Other names | "Miss Torso" |
| Occupation(s) | Dancer, Actress |
| Years active | 1954–1971 |
| Spouses |
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Georgine Darcy (January 14, 1933 – July 18, 2004)[1] was an American dancer and actress best known for her role as "Miss Torso" in the 1954 Alfred Hitchcock film Rear Window. She also had a regular role in the 1960-61 sitcom Harrigan and Son.
Born in Brooklyn, Darcy's mother reportedly urged her to become a stripper, to make a "fast buck".[2] She studied ballet, danced with the New York City Ballet,[3] and modeled.
In 1954, she was cast in Rear Window. She did not even know Hitchcock and did not consider herself an actress. Hitchcock selected her based on a publicity photo of her wearing a black leotard and green feather boa.[2] In Rear Window, she played one of the neighbors of protagonist L.B. Jefferies (Jimmy Stewart), a temporarily disabled photographer who passes the time spying on the other tenants of his neighborhood. Her nameless character, who was dubbed "Miss Torso", practiced her dance moves in a skimpy top and a pair of pink shorts with a 21-inch waistband, courtesy of costume designer Edith Head.[2][4]
During filming, Hitchcock asked her what kinds of pie she liked and disliked. She told him she loathed pumpkin pie. When it came time to film her character's reaction to finding a strangled dog, he presented her with pumpkin pie served with "crude Cockney jokes" to prompt an adverse response.[5] On the last day of filming, Hitchcock and some of the cast presented her with a cake in the shape of her voluptuous figure. "It had the breasts and everything!" she said.[3]
Hitchcock told Darcy that she should get an agent and that if she studied Anton Chekhov in Europe, he could make her a movie star when she returned. She ignored both pieces of advice and thought he was joking about the latter. She was paid $350 for her work in Rear Window and had a sporadic acting career.[2] Her most substantive role was in the Chubby Checker film Don't Knock the Twist (1962) playing Madge Albright, a "dancing firestorm" who is part of a brother-sister dance team.[6] She also appeared in the movies Women and Bloody Terror (1970) and The Delta Factor (1970).[2]
On television, she played dancer Dawn Dubois on The Danny Thomas Show season five episode "You’ve Got to Be Miserable to Be Happy", and the irreverent secretary Gypsy for the title father-son team of lawyers in Harrigan and Son, played by Pat O'Brien and Roger Perry. She had guest appearances on Lee Marvin's M Squad, the Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse and Mannix.[2]
Darcy was the subject of the 2004 documentary short film Remembering Miss Torso by director Malcolm Venville.[7]
She died of natural causes and was survived by her husband of 30 years, actor Byron Palmer.[2] At the time of her death, she was inaccurately reported to have been the last surviving credited cast member of Rear Window.[3] However, that was untrue as Frank Cady, who appeared as the Thorwalds' upstairs neighbor, lived until 2012, and Rand Harper, who played "Harry", the honeymooning groom, died in 2016. (Harry Landers, who played the uncredited role of Miss Lonelyheart's guest, died in 2017.)
- ^ Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d edition, by Scott Wilson. Publisher: McFarland; 3rd edition (September 5, 2016); ISBN 978-0-7864-7992-4
- ^ a b c d e f g Oliver, Myrna (July 21, 2004). "Miss Torso in Rear Window: Ex-ballerina played across-the-court dancer in Hitchcock thriller". Los Angeles Times. pp. B13.
- ^ a b c Seiler, Andy (February 4, 2000). "'Window' of opportunity for body of work". USAToday. pp. 3E.
- ^ "Poncho Sanchez's 'Latin Soul'; Ashley Judd Tries to Catch Your Eye in 'Eye of the Beholder'; The Push Toward Male Entertainment". Showbiz Today. CNN. January 27, 2000.
- ^ Spoto, Donald (October 28, 2008). Spellbound by beauty: Alfred Hitchcock and his leading ladies. Random House. p. 211. ISBN 9780307449979.
- ^ Miller, John M. "Don't Knock the Twist". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
- ^ Bearn, Emily (June 13, 2004). "View from the room Georgine Darcy played the dancer living opposite Jimmy Stewart in Rear Window. Then the curtains fell on her career. Now Malcolm Venville, a lifelong Hitchcock fan, has made her the focus of a documentary. Emily Bearn meets 'Miss Torso'". Sunday Telegraph.