Ann-Margret and Bobby Rydell on Making "Bye Bye Birdie"

it was a New Year's Eve in 1961 and I was on a date to Las Vegas and we were at the Sands Hotel nightclub and it the lounge and there was dancing and my date did not dance and but the other gentleman another couple did so we were up there doing the twist and unbeknownst to me mr. Sidney was there was a bunch of friends and he saw me that was New Year's Eve and that may by the birdie started and I heard through my agent that he wanted to see me for the part of Kim MacAfee and I I didn't wear any those kind of clothes yet I found a rust-colored pleated wool skirt that I never wore and this shirt which I really never wear blouses and and some rust colored flats which I and I came in there and mr. city says oh how long did it take you to find those clothes so much magic happened between mr. Sidney and Margaret myself because the part of you go Peabody in the Broadway show was absolutely nothing I mean he never sang he never danced he didn't do anything and when we first you know got on to the weather this set at Columbia and my squib got bigger and bigger and bigger every day you know I I thank my lucky stars to be very friendly with and we've been friends for God's many years and I talk to em like every couple of weeks three weeks a month and she calls me hi mr. Ritter Ellie which is my real name Robert Louis Ritter Ellie and I say how you doin Kim you know or hi mrs. Peabody over six months after and mr. Sydney had this idea of me being on a treadmill and they wrote Bye Bye Birdie for the front and the back of the movie and it's unbelievable when I think of it now it was the treadmill had no railings and it was up I don't know how far the very far and then for me to have fallen 22 feet didn't 72 unbelievable I wasn't scared in 62 no I was just fine mr. Sydney had such faith in his idea and me that he paid for it himself because Columbia did not want to do it and then on opening night when when well before then when Columbia saw it they reimbursed him I remember going to the premiere with mother and daddy in 63 at Radio City Music Hall we had been there mother daddy and I when when mother and I came to America when I was six years old and of course we didn't speak English and sitting there when I was 6 years old and was so huge and you know I came from a village that was I was there two years ago under a hundred people the seats you know was so beautiful and this huge huge screen but I did understand the dancing of the Rockettes and everything and then to have the opening of I pretty my goodness you

Channel: Oscars

Views: 145,313

Rating: 4.8983955 out of 5

Keywords: Bye Bye Birdie (Film), Bobby Rydell (Musical Artist), Ann-Margret (icon), 2011, Academy, interview, panel, q&a, George Sidney, musical, Oscars

Id: y1-B5_ru2po

Length: 4min 19sec (259 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 03 2013