- William Powell, Dancing in the Dark, 1949. Way back in October 1945, the singer was due to be the conceited movie idol turned lowly talent scout – to be directed by the appalling Gregory Ratoff. Terrible film proving that only MGM could make musicals, not Fox. Haymes, third of Rita Hayworth’s four husbands (she was the fourth wife of his six), managed 53 screen roles. None of them memorable. His career was blighted by his refusal to join WWII – born in Argentina, he was not a US citizen. No, said those stars who went, just a coward.
- Geoffrey Horne, The Story of Joseph and His Brethern, 1960. Harry Cohn’s dream movie – aimed at Cary Grant, then Tony Curtis and always for Rita Hayworth – fell apart in 1955 when Cohn refused to cast her (fourth) husband as the titular saint. Haymes would not cut his losses or his saintly beard. He made sure Rita did not turn up for work and sued Columbia for all they could get. Her intended co-star, Kerwin Matthews, was replaced by the River Kwai find when the film was made… two years after Cohn’s death.
Birth year: 1916Death year: 1980Other name: Usual occupation: SingerCasting Calls: 2