AP reported that entertainer Donald O'Connor, who combined comedy and acrobatics in the show-stopping "Make 'Em Laugh" number in the classic movie "Singing in the Rain," died Saturday. He was 78. O'Connor, who had been in declining health in recent years, died of heart failure at a retirement home in Calabasas.

Donald O'Connor

In a brief statement, the family said that among O'Connor's last words was the following quip: "I'd like to thank the Academy for my lifetime achievement award that I will eventually get."

O'Connor won an Emmy, but never an Oscar. He was best known for films he made in the 1950s — a series of highly successful "Francis the Talking Mule" comedies and movie musicals that put his song and dance talents to good use.

"He was such a fine man and was one of the great ones," actor Tony Curtis said Saturday.

Songs in movie musicals are often touching or exciting, but O'Connor performed a rare feat with a number that were laugh-out-loud funny.

The best, 1952's "Singin' in the Rain," also starred Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds and took a satirical look at Hollywood during the transition from silent to sound pictures.

The American Film Institute's list of the top 100 American movies ever made ranked "Singin' in the Rain" at No. 10.

Born in Chicago to circus performers who went into vaudeville, O'Connor joined his family's act when he was an infant. He made his film debut at age 11 in a dancing scene with two of his brothers in "Melody for Two."

As a contract actor for Paramount, he played adolescent roles in several films, including Huckleberry Finn in "Tom Sawyer — Detective" (1938). He was Bing Crosby's kid brother in "Sing You Sinners" (1938), which he later ranked among his favorite roles.

When he grew too big for child roles, he briefly returned to vaudeville, but was soon back in Hollywood playing high-energy juvenile leads opposite such actresses as Gloria Jean and Susanna Foster.

In recent years, he continued working when he found a project he liked, such as appearing in an episode of "Tales From the Crypt."

But he said he had little desire to leave home for long stretches. He and his wife had moved to Arizona after their California home was damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

"Revivals are so popular now. But doing one would mean being out in cold, cold New York for a year, a year and a half," he said. "I'd rather do something where I go in and work a week, maybe three days. Get it done and come back home."

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