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History in the Hills: Remembering Luigi

This past week, my daughter Stella had her first dance class of the season. She looked so cute in her pink tutu and her ballet slippers. Her enthusiasm for the class was infectious and when my wife called me from the car on the way to her class, I could hear her telling me “Going to dance, Dad” in her cutest little voice.

That evening I asked her to show me what she learned, and she gleefully twirled on her tiptoes. Eyes closed and arms stretched high, I wish I could see what she was imagining in her mind, as I am sure she is taking the stage as the star of “Swan Lake” or some other equal production. She is certainly my star, on or off the stage. The likelihood of Stella becoming a famous ballet dancer is slim, but I won’t count her out just yet. Certainly, there have been dancers from humbler beginnings.

Eugene Faccuito was born in Steubenville on March 20, 1925, and would become one of the greatest jazz dancers of all time. His parents, Nick and Antoinetta, were Italian immigrants who met in Ohio after they immigrated and made their home in the Italian neighborhood in Steubenville. Eugene was one of 11 children born to the pair, but at the age of 4, his father, a local steelworker, was killed in a car accident, and his mother was left to raise the children. Despite all of this, Eugene persevered with the help of his brother, Tony, and focused on his passion of singing and dancing.

With a natural talent Eugene performed in the late 1930s with the McKean Sisters in Wheeling, appearing on “It’s Wheeling Steel” and the “Weirton Steel Hour” on the radio. According to an article written at the time of his death, Eugene, at the age of 13 became the lead singer of the Bernie Davis Orchestra replacing Dino Crocetti, another Steubenville boy who was later known as Dean Martin. Eugene trained at home with old Italian songs and dances, according to the summer 1986 copy of the magazine Dance Pages. His popularity was growing, but World War II changed everything.

During that war, Eugene joined the Navy and saw action in the Philippines and New Guinea, earning commendations for his actions in combat. After the war, he enrolled in Kent State on the G.I. Bill and pursued a career in law, due to the fact that his Steubenville sweetheart was concerned that a career in singing and dancing couldn’t pay the bills. While waiting for classes to begin, Eugene decided to dip back into the role of entertainment, and he was hooked. Shortly thereafter he relocated to California so he could make it in Hollywood and apply his G.I. Bill for an education in show business.

It was in December of 1946 that his life would drastically change. On his way to purchase ballet shoes at the age of 21, he was involved in a catastrophic car accident. The car slid on wet pavement and crashed into a telephone pole. Eugene was thrown from the car and bashed his head on the curb. He suffered from a skull fracture and a broken jaw and was in a coma for almost two months. When he woke up Eugene discovered that the right side of his body and the left side of his face were paralyzed, and his eyes were permanently crossed. The doctors told him that he would never walk again.

When he was in the hospital, he said that he heard a voice saying “Never stop moving, kid. If you stop moving, you’re dead. Never stop moving.” With that in mind, he was determined to walk and even dance again.

Dancing was his life. He recounted to author Rose Eichenbaum in her book “Master of Movement” that “The first thing that crossed my mind was ‘Will I ever dance again?’ I wasn’t even thinking about the fact that I might never walk again. The way I saw it, dancing meant being alive. Dancing was the most important thing in my life. What was life without it? Nothing. I had danced ever since I was a kid. Without it, I had no profession, no reason for living.”

About a year after the accident, he had graduated from conventional physical therapy and was taking dance classes again. He developed his own physical therapy based on feeling and movement to get him back in shape.

Two years after the accident he was again training to become a professional dancer when a scout from MGM discovered him. His first big break came thanks to Gene Kelly, who hired him to work in the 1949 film “On the Town.” It was Kelly who gave Eugene his nickname “Luigi” because there couldn’t be two Genes on the set. He would be known as Luigi from there on.

From there Luigi’s career took off. He appeared in many films like the 1949 film “Let’s Dance,” starring Fred Astaire and Betty Hutton; the 1950 film “An American in Paris,” starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron; “Singin’ in the Rain,” starring Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O’Connor; 1951’s “Rainbow Round my Shoulder,” starring Frankie Lane and Billy Daniels; 1952’s “All Ashore,” starring Mickey Rooney; “Call Me Madame,” starring Ethel Merman, Donald O’Connor and Vera Ellen; 1953’s “Nat King Cole and Russ Morgan,” starring Nat King Cole and Russ Morgan; and 1955’s “White Christmas,” starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen. These are just some of the films Luigi was a part of.

In 1956 Luigi moved to New York City to be a part of a Broadway show called “Happy Hunting” starring Ethel Merman and Fernando Lamas, and it was there that Luigi began teaching dance.

For the next 50 years, Luigi taught dance at his own studio, Luigi’s Dance Center, which is still in operation in NYC. He taught dance all over the world and trained personalities including John Travolta, Johnny Mathis, Bette Midler, Tony Roberts, Barbara Streisand, Susan Stroman, Robert Morse, Liza Minnelli, Twyla Tharp and Michel Bennett, among others. One of trademarks of Luigi’s training was his phrase, “5, 6, 7, 8!,” the famous count-off that has become ubiquitous in show business today.

I discovered Luigi’s story when I started working at Historic Fort Steuben, and realized that my neighbor growing up, Norma Battista, was Luigi’s sister. He remained close to her throughout his life. He had a lifelong love for his family.

Luigi passed away April 7, 2015, at the age of 90. Liza Minnelli remarked at the time of his death that “he was truly one of the greatest influences on my life.” He is buried right here in Steubenville at Mount Calvary Cemetery. All in all, Luigi’s life was full of triumph and trial. He overcame so much to do what he loved. My advice to my daughter, Stella, in her dancing career comes from Luigi’s 1955 movie “White Christmas:”

“The best things happen while you’re dancing.”

So, in the words of Luigi, keep moving — never stop moving.

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