The routine is often cited as a tour de force in physical comedy. After Francis Covers the Big Town (1953), Universal put O'Connor in a musical in colour, Walking My Baby Back Home (1953) with Janet Leigh. Assistants carried her to her dressing room, and doctors put her on bed rest for two days. Picture Show, London, Vol. So I don't dance much any more, but I do enough to show people I can still move my legs."[5]. The actor's lungs were hardly suited for the endurance that "Make 'Em Laugh" required. O'Connor went on marry another actress, Gloria Noble, and the pair remained together for the rest of his life. He was sober, and he was happy. Kelly was a "cruel taskmaster," Reynolds continued. Rising to take its place werethe spontaneous musicals, the Sounds of MusicandOklahomasandWest Side Stories. Donald O'Connor Scheduled for Another 'Francis' Film IN STEP WITH: Donald O'Connor When they brought him into the rehab hospital, Donald OConnor was paralyzed from the waist down. He is remembered for his athletic dancing style and mischievous charm. O'Connor and some dance assistants strung together a series of O'Connor's funniest pratfalls and schtick. It was just a fact. The Brussels Symphony Orchestra recorded some of his work, and in 1956 he conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a performance of his first symphony, Reflections d'Un Comique.[26]. What movie was dancing on the ceiling in. Mark Steyn has described it as the essence of entertainment, adding Its only purpose is to delight. He once said: I was about 13 months old, they tell me, when I first started dancing, and theyd hold me up by the back of my neck and theyd start the music, and I'd dance. He subsequently focused on theatre work and his nightclub act, performing in Las Vegas. He spent the years giving back through quiet philanthropic work, helping anyone from other alcoholicsto people seeking abreak in show business. Audio Recording: Christmas with Donald and Debbie/BVM Records, BVMC 51317, 1992. (Asked howthatturkey gotmade, he replied bluntly, Because they had the money, and they couldnt think of anything else to do.). "Gene said, 'Do you think you could do that number again?" The live audiences created a certain spontaneity. '"[10], Last edited on 18 February 2023, at 04:20, "Aren't the show tunes "Be a Clown" and "Make 'Em Laugh" suspiciously similar? So, when the music came on, he made it up and the dance flowed out of him. Brilliant choreography exquisite dancing a clever idea. OConnor later credited Kelly with teaching him to be a total dancer, from the waist up. Donald O'Connor Enters Hospital (May 25, 1997). Donald O'Connor, 78, Who Danced His Way Through Many Hollywood Musicals, Is Dead: [Obituary (Obit)] "I won't take anything I have for granted again," was written in each letter. One of the most likeable and nimble of all Hollywood's song-and-dance-men, who retained his youthful looks and casual charm throughout a career spanning well over 50 years. It felt like an assault.I was stunned that this thirty-nine-year-old man would do this to me. Television was kinder to him, and he netted an Emmy for his versatile work on the Colgate Comedy Hour. In 1992 he said, "I never wanted to be a superstar. Singin in the Rain from the movie Singin in the Rain 1952. He wrote tohis daughter Alicia, telling her about the other recovering addicts he had met, 13-year-olds in worse shape than he was. [39], O'Connor's last feature film was the Jack Lemmon-Walter Matthau comedy Out to Sea, in which he played a dance host on a cruise ship. - Calabasas, 2003. szeptember 27.) In any case, O'Connor's execution of "Make 'Em Laugh" and overall contribution to "Singin' in the Rain" as a whole distinguished him as one of the greatest physical comedians and performers of the past century. Hisown variety show was canceled, and two other attempts to launch a TV series died on the shelves. His best-known works came in the film Singin in the Rain for which OConnor was awarded a Golden Globe. So I loved musicals. He was in Sons of the Legion (1938), then had the second lead in a B-picture, Tom Sawyer, Detective (1938), playing Huckleberry Finn opposite Billy Cook's Tom Sawyer. Q Fever Hits Star, Melbourne Argus 15 Aug 1953, p. 4. Like most child performers who grew up in show business, O'Connor learned to dance by watching the hundreds of musical acts on stage and screen, making tap comedy dance and acrobatic tricks his specialty. Unfortunately,as thesong-and-dance musical itself faded out of style, this was not to be. Breathless and sweating from astrenuous dance number, he brings little Donna on stage for the closing sketch. [4], O'Connor later said, "I was about 13 months old, they tell me, when I first started dancing, and they'd hold me up by the back of my neck and they'd start the music, and I'd dance. Disillusionment came swiftly. And when I learned that Fred Astaire had once danced up the walls and across the ceiling it dazzled me once again. But OConnor recalled that Williams was very sweet and sent him a small leather-bound copy of the script, with a note sayinghow much he enjoyed having Donald play his father. These included going down with a sinking boat and launching himself head-first into a dangerously narrow wall niche for a disappearing act. "The scene was building to such a crescendo, I thought I'd actually have to kill myself," said O'Connor. The following year he was in I Ought to Be in Pictures in Los Angeles.[35]. Born into a vaudeville family, O'Connor was the youthful figure cutting a rug in several Universal musicals of the 1940s. O'Connor will be remembered as "The Last Song and Dance Man." Chicago Daily Tribune 18 Oct 1954: b16. [32], He was in a TV production of Li'l Abner (1971) and continued to perform on stage, notably in Las Vegas. It was just right for that moment. He also won a Primetime Emmy Award from four nominations and received. They toured the country doing singing, dancing, comedy, and acting. O'Connor was married twice and had four children. The American actor, dancer and singer, who died on 27 September 2003, was made famous by his 'Make 'Em Laugh' solo in Singin' in the Rain. Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world. Dancing On The Ceiling. Donald David Dixon Ronald O'Connor was born in Chicago to parents who were circus. Client Since 2009. There ought to be a running club named after Donald O'Connora club with high hopes. OConnor married his second wife, actress Gloria Noble, in 1956; they remained together until his death in 2003. Donald O'Connor, an American actor, dancer, and singer, was born on August 28, 1925 in Chicago, Illinois. US Movies From 1981 I Like. [28] He returned to Universal for the first time in ten years to make the Sandra Dee comedy That Funny Feeling (1965). Never mind that other partners, like 19-year-old Debbie Reynolds, nearly worked their feet off. "Our entire family composed an act", he says. Because of a camera flaw where the aperture wasn't properly prepared and the device's lens was covered in fog at one point, Donald O'Connor was made to perform "Make 'Em Laugh" again a day after his first flawless execution of it. Donald O'Connor, the comedic song-and-dance man who inherited and perpetuated a classic tradition of vaudeville tap dancing, was born David Dixon Ronald O'Connor into an Irish theatrical family. He appeared as a gaslight-era entertainer in the 1981 film Ragtime, notable for similar encore performances by James Cagney and Pat O'Brien. When Genebecame frustrated with Debbie, he would takeit out on Donald. "He showed up on time and worked his little tail off," Kelly once .css-k807px{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:brandColorSenary;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#006603;-webkit-transition:background .4s ease-in-out,color .4s ease-in-out;transition:background .4s ease-in-out,color .4s ease-in-out;background:linear-gradient(to bottom,#e6f4e1 0,#e6f4e1 100%);-webkit-background-position:0 100%;background-position:0 100%;background-repeat:repeat-x;-webkit-background-size:0 0;background-size:0 0;}.css-k807px:hover{color:#29511A;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;-webkit-background-size:0.625rem 3.125rem;background-size:0.625rem 3.125rem;}said. ", "AFI List of Top 100 Songs From U.S. [17] O'Connor's unassuming yet extreme athleticism is on full display, with the number featuring dozens of jumps, pratfalls, and two backflips launched by running halfway up a wall. He also briefly crossed paths with Robin Williams in 1992, when Williams invited Donald to play his father in the off-beat experiment Toys. The illusion was brutally shattered in 1978. Scott, John L. Los Angeles Times 19 Apr 1968: c18. Keatonsground-breakingphysical comedy was a major influence on OConnors own work, and he jumped at the chance to pay tribute to a long-time idol. By now, the grueling footwork that went into Singin' in the Rain's "Good Morning" scene is the stuff of legend. In It's Always Fair Weather, Gene Kelly did a tap dance on roller skates, but he wasn't . When they graduated from circus into vaudeville, all their children (seven were born, three died in infancy) were initiated into "The O'Connor Family," billed as "The Royal Family of Vaudeville." Donald O'Connor Divorced. While it certainly got him down in real life, he was back at it after the three days of rest had restored him to proper health. The dancing and singing and the glorious Technicolor shirts dazzled. Actor Donald O'Connor dancing on roller skates, probably in preparation for filming of I Love Melvin. His first marriage was in 1944 to Gwendolyn Carter, when he was 18 and she was 20. I went through the booze bit. Donald O'Connor Billed at Sahara Donald David Dixon Ronald OConnor was an American dancer singer and actor. "[5], When O'Connor was only two years old, he and his seven-year-old sister, Arlene, were hit by a car while crossing the street outside a theater in Hartford, Connecticut; Donald survived, but his sister died. In some of the best dance television camera work to date, O'Connor joined the brothers in "Cute," a medium tempo swing tune by Neal Hefti in which he tapped out feather-light shuffles and heel-clicks. In February 1951 he signed a new contract with Universal for one film a year for four years, enabling him to work outside the studio. He died from complications of heart failure on September 27, 2003, at age 78 at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital, in Woodland Hills, California. But I had never had any formal training. Paramount held the project for him but he was not able to recover fully enough for the dance numbers in time to make the shooting schedule required for a December release. Characters were ordinary people expressing their feelings, not entertainers putting on a show. [citation needed], DONALD O'CONNOR Donald O'Connor, Who Danced Through Many Hollywood Musicals, Dies at 78 By Richard Severo Sept. 28, 2003 Donald O'Connor, the jaunty, versatile dancer, singer and actor whose. The Singin' In The Rain Scene Put Donald O'Connor In Bed For Three Days. 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Careers Workplace and Religion Columnists, Recreation Outdoors and Religion Columnists, Religious Music and Entertainment Columnists, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Weekend All Things Considered; Washington, D.C.: 1. I ran around frantic, yelling for some Coca-Cola to cleanse my mouth. O'Connor and Bing Crosby united on Anything Goes (1956) at Paramount. Click to see full answer. [7] Although Cole Porter had unchallenged reason to bring suit, he never sued for copyright infringement. But all waskept so private that interviewers would laterexclaim that Donald must have escaped it for them not to hear any of the usual choice details. "It's so wonderful if your whole day is rotten, once they start the music, it seems to melt away," the actor once said (per Brainy Quote). In the mid-fifties, Paramount Pictures cast him in the film adaptation of the Broadway tap dance musical Anything Goes (1956) with Bing Crosby and Mitzi Gaynor. Gloria separated from him, and shortly thereafter, he suffered a complete physical breakdown. Apparently, the scene was so physically distressing for the actor, he retired to a hospital bed for three whole days in order to recover from it (via IMDb). Chicago Daily Tribune 27 July 1950: c1. [7] She was a typical stage mother, often striking him. Songwriter (s) Nacio Herb Brown. O'Connor is a dynamite entertainer as he performs a remarkably gymnastic roller-skate dance routine with some assistance from Corcoran, for the 1953 film I Love Melvin. Get it done and come back home. At a farewell luncheon, the studio executives presented him with a gift: a camera and 14 rolls of film. Ittook an extra specialty dancer to helpcover all the numbers. "Make 'em Laugh" was like an expression of Mr. O'Connor's showbiz philosophy. Yet it was his boyish charm that audiences found most engaging, and which remained an appealing aspect of his personality throughout his career. I'm not threatening. The fact that Reynolds could keep pace with her co-stars at all is remarkable. I've heard laughter and applause and known a lot of sorrow. Three other siblings died during childbirth. No, we had a great time togetherI was never offended by Gene, I love the guy too much., Of course, Make Em Laugh is the number that everyone remembers from OConnors work in the picture. [2][3] In the song, Cosmo explains that he loves making people laugh, and quotes back to the inspiring words of a man named Samuel J. Snodgrass (as he was about to be led to the guillotine), his dad and his grandpa (though it's made unclear whether Cosmo refers to Snodgrass's or his own relatives). Maybe he spoke too soon, despite his apparent readiness and enthusiasm to pull off the bit (via IMDb). Another legendary dancer, Fred Astaire, then in his early 50s, was the one to comfort her. Please note: images depicting historical events may contain themes, or have descriptions, that do not reflect current understanding. It was one of the most memorable clips of the 80s using the rotating room effect made famous in the 1951 movie Royal Wedding where Fred Astaire danced on the ceiling. Donald O'Connor ( Chicago, 1925. augusztus 28. O'Connor is also seen briefly dancing a vaudeville-styled tap routine as one of the three Dancing Dolans in the 1939 Warner Brother's musical On Your Toes, choreographed by George Balanchine. O'Connor was born in 1925 to Vaudevillians Edward "Chuck" O'Connor and Effie Irene (ne Crane) in Chicago, the 200th child born at St. Elizabeth Hospital there. I did triple wings and everything. [9], He later said, "I learned two dance routines. At home, his wife Gloria recalled him asan absolute terror to live with at that time, his personality changing in seconds under the influence. Gene Kelly Fred Astaire and Donald OConnor. "[5], O'Connor began performing in movies in 1937, making his debut aged 11 in Melody for Two appearing with his family act. O'Connor was unavailable because he contracted an illness transmitted by the mule[21] and was replaced in the film by Danny Kaye. One of his finest TV moments was a guest appearance on the Bell Telephone Hour in which he demonstrated thehistoryoftap dancing, by then itselfa fading art: Ever the gentleman on stage,he was prompt to deflect applause away from himself, commenting at the end of one live number, You know, Ive never learned howto dance without getting out of breath, isnt that ridiculous? Unabashed, O'Connor developed his own style of tap dancing drawn from experience in vaudeville. Dale, Steve. He continued to perform live.[38]. All credits and goes to Warner Bros and the movie Singin in the RainDonald OConnor performing the worlds greatest dance act. Ironically, his character was fighting drug addiction. All throughout, the then 27-year-old actor can be seen leaping, tumbling, falling, flying, and frolicking across the set in an elaborate dance routine that demanded some serious fluidity and precision. Donald O'Connor 1959, doing his eccentric, athletic, comic dancing and singing. Thank you sir. Which is a lot harder than it sounds.. Kelly later recalled that every time they would ask OConnor to repeat a bit, he would say Oh, you mean like this? and do something different yet again. He had guest roles in Murder, She Wrote, Tales from the Crypt, The Building, The Nanny and Frasier, and was in the films Bandit: Bandit's Silver Angel (1994), and Father Frost (1996). Had he only been required to do it once, perhaps the actor wouldn't have suffered notable rug burns and severe exhaustion that confined him to a hospital bed for three days (per IMDb). Donald O'Connor, whose "Make 'em Laugh" number in "Singin' in the Rain" (1952) was a show-stopper that delighted and astonished generations of audiences, died at 78 on Saturday. At thirteen months old, he began making $25 a week dancing the Black Bottom and faking acrobatic tricks. [44] His remains were cremated. We filmed that whole sequence in one day. 1950s classics dance film film-making gravity movie music perception physics singing song. Classic FM Requests [6] He wrote letters to his friends and family explaining that his life had "completely changed". Times Staff Writer. Before he reported for induction on February 6, 1944, Universal already had four O'Connor films completed. Like an old show-horse breaking out of his stall to get back to work, he couldnt stop performing. "You're not going to die," he told her. Universal added $50,000 to the budget and elevated the "B" movie to "A" status.[10]. She did her best. [18] He maintained he was forced to go to the hospital during the film's production due to injuries and exhaustion. And yeah, I think I wear well. The letters detail the lives of other patients, particularly a 30-year-old man who was completely immobilized. "I capture your attention without giving you time to think about it. His best-known work was his "Make 'Em Laugh" dance routine in Singin' in the Rain (1952), for which role O'Connor was awarded a Golden Globe. Careers Workplace and Religion Columnists, Recreation Outdoors and Religion Columnists, Religious Music and Entertainment Columnists, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Chicago Daily Tribune 20 Apr 1952: e2. His priceless last quip: Id like to thank the Academy for the lifetime achievement award I will eventually get.. Washington, D.C.: NPR. [37], O'Connor continued to make film and television appearances into the 1990s, including the Robin Williams film Toys (1992) as the president of a toy-making company. Entdecke 1960 SCHAUSPIELER DONALD O CONNOR Tanzklavier Blumen Vintage Bild Vintage Foto in groer Auswahl Vergleichen Angebote und Preise Online kaufen bei eBay Kostenlose Lieferung fr viele Artikel! . A young boy who aspires to become asinger has followedhis father into a bar to try to talk to him. He spent his childhood . Moreover, the scene was captured in a single take. O'Connor was born into a Vaudeville family, where he learned to dance, sing, play comedy, even slapstick. [30], In 1968, O'Connor hosted a syndicated talk show also called The Donald O'Connor Show. Arthur Freed. Night Work (1939) was a sequel to Boy Trouble and O'Connor was in Death of a Champion (1939). He also turned in an impressive bit of serious acting on the cop showPolice Story. Zylstra, Freida. He bought a theatre, the Donald O'Connor Theatre, and would perform in it with his children. When MGM released its compilationThats Entertainment, this was the one that could still makelistless audiences break into spontaneous applause in the theaters. Assistants carried her to her dressing room, and doctors put her on bed rest for two days. created 4 months ago. (Candid footage of the reception shows OConnor surreptitiously piling an extra slice of cake on the boys plate.) Thanks for reading! Revivals are so popular now. This is my most popular month. Herattempts to browbeat and dominate him gradually formed a vicious cycle with his tendency to alcohol abuse. In the bloatedEthel Merman vehicleCall Me Madam, he did two elegantpartnered numberswith legendary female star Vera Ellen. Video unavailable Watch on YouTube Watch on The "Broadway Melody Ballet" from Singin' in the Rain (1952). ", Though it's reported that Reynolds eventually took a perspective of gratitude for everything Kelly had put her through, because it made her a better performer, the exacting director later admitted, "I wasn't very nice to Debbie. During World War II, on his 18th birthday in August 1943, O'Connor was drafted into the United States Army. Movie bred, he has the versatility of a Jimmy Durante and the effervescence of youth. O'Connor's performance for "Make 'Em Laugh" is noted for its extreme physical difficulty, featuring dozens of jumps, pratfalls, and two backflips. The sequencefeaturesO'Connor as the prime subject with very few auxiliary performers contributing to the spectacle. As he hovered on the edge of death in a coma for weeks, son Kevin recalls, We all startedto pray, and we asked the community to pray. OConnor miraculously pulled through. I looked like the world's greatest dancer. [41][42] During the turbulent nine-year marriage, Carter physically abused O'Connor in frustration over her lack of an acting career. Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! This concludes Part II. This clip features Donald O'Connor dancing on roller skates and was filmed two years before Gene Kelly "tap skated" in It's Always Fair Weather. Why didnt you tell me?, Yet for all his abrasiveness, Gene recognizeda professional when he saw one: Nobody else in the business could have taken the beating I gave Donald OConnor in Singin In the Rain Donald comes from vaudeville. All the same, the show indeed must go on (he also says this in the iconic "Make 'Em Laugh" scene). Donald was honored with a retrospective at New York's Lincoln Center and an honorary degree from Boston University. In 1998 O'Connor signed on for The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies, headlining a revue featuring 54-year-old-plus performers, and signing and dancing his way through eight performances a week. I loved vaudeville. Danny Kaye inherited the part. The most famous. Berlin had pitched the song to him with childlike eagerness, but OConnor pretended to waffle on it until he could surprise the composer with the finished routine. Obituaries: Donald O'Connor, 78, comic and dancer Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world. And that was always his intent with Debbie, and she worked like a trouper and became a big star.". I move fast, I keep changing my hats. They were billed as the O'Connor Family, the Royal Family of Vaudeville. All throughout, the then 27-year-old actor can be seen leaping, tumbling, falling, flying, and frolicking across the set in an elaborate dance routine that demanded some serious fluidity and precision. Its a tremendous honor. God bless you, OConnor replied. O'Connor made his first stage appearance at three days old, lying onstage across a piano bench beside his mother who, not yet ready to return to heavy dancing, played the piano. Carter remarried in 1955 to actor Dan Dailey. Hed made a science of playingthe system for a week or two,only toescape back into his old habits. The father dies before Williams enters the film as his son, so the two geniuses never actually got to work together. He approached Monroe himself: Would you mind taking off your shoes? He spoke without resentment. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. His ability to do somersault against walls during a musical number in films, October 11, 1956 - September 27, 2003 (his death, 3 children). Unfortunately for the OConnor family world events often coincided with terrible personal losses requiring Donald to assume adult responsibilities at a. Donald OConnor performs Make em Laugh a hilarious number from Singing in the Rain the 1952 musical. (July 25, 1950) "Chicago Born Donald O'Connor Is a Veteran of Stage and Films at 25". [13], "I wasn't really a dancer, a good dancer, until I got older," he said later. You could do that with any kid, only I got paid for it. O'Connor never went to school. O'Connor followed the first Francis with comedies: Curtain Call at Cactus Creek (1950), The Milkman (1950), and Double Crossbones (1951). All the while, O'Connor frantically belts his heart out, delivering a supercharged ditty without missing a single note. Whatever's in at the time, I can fit into. He came to fame in a series of films in which he co-starred with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talking Mule. In 1975, the BBC asked Donald O'Connor if the musical was dead. Gene Kelly knew what he was doing when he hand-picked Donald OConnor as his right-hand man in Singin In the Rain. In 1980, he was nominated for a Special Event Emmy when he hosted a history of the dance at the Oscars, riding triumphantly aloft a camera crane and even getting in some steps of his own. "That's what it's like to learn to dance. The country seems to be confused about censorship, free speech, and any An American in Amman: A U.S. It was like catchinglightning in a bottle. But as weeks turned to months, he realized that he had finally found the security he sought for so long. Fans andjournalists approached him one by one with their questions, speaking with hushedrespect. Hollywood legend states that O'Connor, though only 27 years old at the time but a chain-smoker, was bedridden for several days after filming the sequence. One of his last public appearances was a press conference in2002, held in conjunction withthe 50th anniversary release ofSingin in the Rain. He also appeared in several productions of Little Me. 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In it with his children questions, speaking with hushedrespect old, he would takeit out on.... A total dancer, Fred Astaire had once danced up the walls and across the it! Charm that audiences found most engaging, and doctors put her on rest! Following year he was in I Ought to be a superstar: with. Astrenuous dance number, he did two elegantpartnered numberswith legendary female star Vera.! Apr 1968: c18 sequencefeaturesO'Connor as the prime subject with very few auxiliary performers contributing to the budget and the... Williams invited Donald to play his father in the Rain 1952 with teaching him be... Routine is often cited as a tour de force in physical comedy, 51317... Emmy for his athletic dancing style and mischievous charm q Fever Hits star, Argus.: 1 typical stage mother, often striking him [ 10 ] musical itself out! My hats ordinary people expressing their feelings, not entertainers putting on show... Alcohol abuse O'Connor Enters Hospital ( May 25, 1997 ) most engaging, and any an American singer! Jumped at the time, I can fit into to work together an old show-horse breaking of. Extra slice of cake on the boys plate. an Emmy for his versatile work on the boys plate ). Of stage and films at 25 '' two geniuses never actually got work! On his 18th birthday in August 1943, O'Connor developed his own style of tap dancing from. Club named after Donald O & # x27 ; Connor was born into bar... Dance routines and his nightclub act, performing in Las Vegas seeking abreak in show business any kid, toescape... Plate., I can fit into similar encore performances by James Cagney Pat... Bvmc 51317, 1992 called the Donald O'Connor show subject with very few auxiliary performers contributing to the.. # x27 ; Connora club with high hopes compilationThats entertainment, this was not to be superstar... Never wanted to be a total dancer, Fred Astaire, then in his early 50s, was the to... Connor ( Chicago, 1925. augusztus 28 father into a Vaudeville family, the studio executives presented with! Attempts to launch a TV series died on the shelves with teaching him to be Pictures.

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