Tad Tadlock

Thelma "Tad" Tadlock[1] (January 19, 1931 – December 8, 2000)[2][3] was an American dancer and choreographer known for her work in television, Broadway theater, and movies, including starring in the General Motors sponsored-film shorts "Design for Dreaming" (1956) and "A Touch of Magic" (1961).

Tad Tadlock
Tadlock in undated photo
Born
Thelma Tadlock

(1931-01-13)January 13, 1931
Port Arthur, Texas
DiedDecember 8, 2000(2000-12-08) (aged 69)
NationalityAmerican
OccupationDancer-choreographer
Years active1951–1994
Spouse(s)George Vosburgh Jr.

Early life

Tadlock was born in Port Arthur, Texas,[3] the daughter of Haydn H.[1] and florist Thelma Tadlock.[4] She trained for 15 years at the Florence Coleman School of Dance, and served as a football majorette for Thomas Jefferson High School, where she graduated in 1949.[1]

Career

Tadlock moved to New York City in 1950[1] and made her Broadway debut as a dancer in the 1951 musical Make a Wish.[3] Continuing her training at the Stanley School of Dance,[1] she went on to the Broadway-musical hits Top Banana (1951), Pal Joey (1952), and Me and Juliet (1953), billed in all as Thelma Tadlock, and both dancing and playing character roles in the latter two.[3]

She then began work in television and film, working as a dancer and choreographer for decades, initially on TV's Your Hit Parade and The Arthur Murray Party. Later billed as Tad Tadlock, she worked on Dance Fever, The Dream Merchants, Charlie's Angels, Cheers and other programs, including Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women,[5] and such events as the 1988 Miss Universe pageant[6] and the 1989 Super Bowl halftime show.[7][8] Her movies included Heaven's Gate (as "additional choreographer"), Body Heat and Irreconcilable Differences. Tadlock also worked as a spokeswoman, actress, model, and dancer in numerous commercials, including for United Airlines.[1]

Tadlock and Marc Breaux in "Design for Dreaming" (1956)

She as well performed in multimedia presentations for clients including Toyota,[1] and is perhaps best known for two General Motors sponsored-film shorts that have become cult classics:[9] the musicals "Design for Dreaming" (1956), directed by William Beaudine, and "A Touch of Magic" (1961), directed by Victor D. Solow.

In the first, which has gone on to be excerpted and sampled in a host of media,[9] Tadlock plays an unnamed woman who dreams about a masked man (dancer and choreographer Marc Breaux) taking her to the 1956 General Motors Motorama at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, and to Frigidaire's "Kitchen of the Future".[10] It was included in a fifth-season episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 in 1994. In the equally highly stylized "A Touch of Magic", Tadlock plays a medieval woman menaced by a dragon and rescued by a knight. She and the man then suddenly become a modern-day suburban couple with a magical kitchen, hosting a housewarming party attended by invisible guests, and then dancing dreamily on a cloud.

Personal life

In June 1960, in New York City, Tadlock married George Vosburgh Jr., an assistant director of the 1958 feature documentary Windjammer and later a TV game-show producer. Her reception was held in the home of talk-show host and TV personality Merv Griffin.[1] Following her marriage, she was billed at least once as Tad Tadlock Vosburgh.[11] Tadlock was living in Tarzana, California, at the time of her death[2] from cancer.[1]

Legacy

The Museum of the Gulf Coast maintains a Tad Tadlock permanent exhibit.[12]

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References
  1. Wallach, Dan (July 7, 2014). "Local girl made good in '50s Big Apple". Beaumont Enterprise. Texas. Archived from the original on April 28, 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2018. Additional WebCitation archive on April 28, 2018.
  2. "Tad T. Tadlock". United States Social Security Death Index. Retrieved April 28, 2018 – via FamilySearch.org.
  3. "Thelma Tadlock: Performer". Internet Broadway Database (The Broadway League). Retrieved April 28, 2018.
  4. "[Title Unavailable]". Southern Florist and Nurseryman. 77 (14–26). Southern Florist Publishing Company. 1964. p. 26. Thelma Tadlock, Rose Hill Florists, Port Arthur, is having as her guest her daughter, Tad Tadlock, New York City. The two were in the Southeast Texas delegation to the TSFA [Texas State Florists' Association] convention in San Antonio recently.
  5. Billman, Larry (1997). Film Choreographers and Dance Directors: An Illustrated Biographical Encyclopedia, With a History and Filmographies, 1893 Through 1995. McFarland & Company. p. 570. ISBN 978-0899508689.
  6. "[Title Unavailable]". Free China Review. 38 (7–12). W.Y. Tsao. 1988.
  7. Hayes, R. M. (1998). 3-D Movies: A History and Filmography of Stereoscopic Cinema. McFarland & Company. p. 135. ISBN 978-0786405787.
  8. Nelson, John (January 23, 1989). "Halftime Special Effects Are Less Than Effective". Associated Press. Archived from the original on April 28, 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2018 – via Los Angeles Times.
  9. Everleth, Rose (February 9, 2016). "What's a 1956 General Motors Ad Doing in 'The Stepford Wives' and Super Mario?". Atlas Obscura. Archived from the original on June 17, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
  10. "1956 Motorama: Design for Dreaming". General Motors Heritage Center. Archived from the original on October 21, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
  11. "[Title Unknown]". High Fidelity. 12 (1). 1962. p. 90.
  12. "Thelma 'Tad' Tadlock". Museum of the Gulf Coast. Archived from the original on April 28, 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
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