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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Norman Borine, legendary dancer and actor, dedicated his life to Hollywood. As a boy from a small town in Idaho, his big dreams took him to California, where his performing career began some sixty years ago. Borine began at the bottom as a ‘contract dancer,' where he made only $100 a week. Through coincidence, Borine crossed paths with Bronislava Nijinska, sister to Nijinsky, the renowned male dancer and subsequent role model to the young Borine. From that day on, Norman Borine danced his way in and out of over 30 musical productions and movies. He signed on for a seven-year contract with MGM Studios; he was dance partners with icons like Marjorie Main and Fred Astaire; and he worked his way to the top, becoming one of the highest salaried dancers of his time. Now, two years after his death in November of 2005, Borine's autobiography Dancing with the Stars has been released posthumously. In a 1989 interview, Borine spoke at length about various stars. Dr. Ann Martin, the interviewer, said: "They [performers] were, at that time, regarded in a different light than they are today. Today it's much more of a business. In your era, what was happening, was they were raised to the status of gods and goddesses. They were unreal to us. Your life to me, having been around the musicals, was a fantasy life." On Judy Garland, Borine said: "Judy had the knack of...like no one I've ever seen...she walked through everything when we were rehearsing. And I thought, ‘Gee, that girl can't even dance.' Because it didn't look...she'd just kind of walk through it and skip you know and so forth. And it seemed to be up here (points to his head), yes. Then, ok, then we'd put the costumes on, they'd say ‘alright, roll it' and she came to life, she knew every step, she never looked down. A lot of people have to kind of glance around, ‘where's the X on the floor. Do I go up to the camera, and then do I go this way? She had that instinct which was perfectly natural. She never missed. We called her ‘one-take Garland.'" Did Borine have a similar experience with Betty Hutton? "I worked with Betty one time...a simple step, 22 takes in order to get over the thing." Borine also worked with Marjorie Main-best known as "Ma Kettle" -- when he worked on "Harvey Girls" starring Judy Garland with Main as the comic relief. "She and I became good friends. I don't know what she saw in me, I guess she thought I was her little boy or something. Oh I was about 25 then, I think; 23, 4, 5, and she took me under her wing. And every time...she was a hypochondriac from the word ‘Go'...and anytime anyone would sneeze ... she'd grab me and say ‘come on in my dressing room honey, you're gonna catch a cold.' We'd go in there and every break we got, you know they'd say, ‘take 10' or something during rehearsal and Marjorie would say, ‘Come on in with me. Stay away from these people.' We'd go in there and she had a bed in there and just a makeup table and she'd say ‘Read something to me' and she'd close her eyes..."
Norman Borine was born in a small town in Idaho. He moved to Hollywood to pursue his dream of dancing. Throughout his dancing career, he worked at MGM Studios, Warner Brothers Studio, and several other famous theaters and venues, like Greek Theater in Hollywood. Borine was choreographer for the Emmy Award winning NBC television series, "Faith of our Children," that debuted in 1953. The extensive list of actors and dancers that Borine worked with include Lucille Ball, Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, and Betty Hutton, to name a few. Norman Borine was the former owner of The World of Bruce Lee Museum in Hollywood, CA. Borine published a tribute to Bruce Lee in 2002 titled King Dragon: The Unauthorized Biography of Bruce Lee. The book has been updated and will be republished and available for purchase at www.bruceleekingdragon.com in 2008. Norman Borine died on November 27, 2005.
Dancing with the Stars is available for purchase at http://www.dancingwiththestarsbook.com REVIEW COPIES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST
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