Jewogle - Nora Kaye

Biography:

Nora Kaye (January 17, 1920 - February 28, 1987) was an American ballerina called the Duse of Dance after acclaimed actress Eleonora Duse. She also worked in films as a choreographer and producer.

Kaye was born Nora Koreff in Brooklyn, New York to emigrant parents from Tsarist Russia, but later Americanized her surname. In 1936, she joined the American Ballet, directed by George Balanchine. She later became a member of the Radio City Music Hall corps de ballet and danced in several Broadway productions, including Giselle (1941), Antony Tudor's Pillar of Fire (1946), and Two's Company, a 1952 revue starring Bette Davis. She worked as an assistant on I Can Get It for You Wholesale (1962), Tovarich (1963), and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1965).

Kaye's November 1948 marriage to Isaac Stern ended in divorce the following year. She married Herbert Ross in August 1959. The couple collaborated on several screen projects, including Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969), The Last of Sheila (1973), Funny Lady and The Sunshine Boys (both 1975), and The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976).

Kaye's producing credits include The Turning Point (1970), Nijinsky (1980), Pennies from Heaven (1981), and The Secret of My Succe$s (1987).

Kaye died from cancer in Los Angeles at age 67.