| Summary |
MS 8020 comprises mostly newscuttings and theatre programmes with some letters, telegrams, a passport and a birth certificate (1 box).
The Acc10.026 instalment includes a biographical note and two photographs of George Carden (1 folder).
|
| Biography/History |
Dancer and choreographer. George Leslie Carden (Jones) was born in Moree, New South Wales, in 1913 and was educated at Knox Grammar, Sydney, where he took ballet lessons. He left for England in 1938 and became principal dancer at the Windmill Theatre, where he changed his name from Jones to Carden after his mother's maiden name, claiming it looked better on a billboard. During World War II he made headlines for continuing to dance during a bombing raid on London. After the war he was contracted by Val Parnell to produce shows at the London Palladium, the beginning of a long-running association. He formed his own company, the Carden Dancers, achieving tremendous success. He became involved in film choreography in the 1950s, including The Sherriff of Fractured Jaw and Alison's Birthday. He directed and choreographed Lola Montez with Mary Preston for the Elizabethan Theatre Trust in the 1950s. He retired to Palm Beach in the 1960s and continued to direct shows in Australia. Carden died in 1981 aged 67.
|