DEC. 18, 1964
Leslie caron gives up ballet for stage career
She also received an Academy Award nomination for her performance in the "L-Shaped Room." She is now starring with Cary Grant in "Father Goose," in which she plays the war-displaced daughter of a French consul in charge of seven school girls on an island in the South Pacific.
Miss Caron was born in Paris. She is the daughter of manufacturing chemist, Claude Caron and Margaret Petit Caron, who was a prominent New York dancer.
Began Dancing Career
Miss Caron, hoping to follow in her mother's footsteps, first started in her career as a dancer after World War II. When she was 14, Miss Caron entered the French Conservatory of Ballet. During a tour, she danced in a command performance before the royalty of England, Egypt, and Greece.
Earns MGM Contract
When Gene Kelly asked her to star in "An American in Paris," she earned a long-term contract with MGM.
Pursues Drama
After so many successes as an actress, Miss Caron has finally decided to hang up her ballet slippers and pursue a strictly dramatic career.
"I love acting," she says, "because it is a richer, more varied field. In dancing, there are only so many steps and so many routines. In acting, there are dozens of ways of interpreting a character. One is as right as the other."
Drama Is a Challenge
Miss Caron enjoys both comedy and drama, but feels that drama is more of a challenge to her because she tends to giggle a lot.
One of her favorite pastimes is painting and she also enjoys a good night at the opera.
When asked how she feels when she receives a bad revue, she immediately answered, "I try not to read them."