Evening star., 1944-11-28
Foot Gone, GI CIings to Dance Career
By GEORGE KENNEDY,

BY GEORGE KENNEDY, =,
"Son," said the colonel Che was
also q surgeon. I'VE are going to
have to take that foot off,"
Il hope you don't have to do that,
sir" said Pvt. William Ziegler. '1ll|
never be able to dance again
Pvt. Ziegler was a dancer. If he
was going to live 1t was to get in al
New York show.
He had stepped on mine on the
Rapido River front in Italy, and
after they had patched him up, had
been flown to North Africa.
He told about 1t yesterday at the
Forest Glen annex Of Walter Reed
Hospital.
Knew What Was Going On.
'They gave me spinal anaes-
thetic," he said, so knew what was
going on. couldn't see because
there was screen in front of me,
but I could hear everything-even
my foot 60 plunk in the pail"
A few days later they showed a
movie in the ward to the men
propped up in their cots. 1t was
Donald O'Connor in Swing Fever"
A nurse came over to him scolding.
Whats a big boy like you crying
for?" she said.
IT just can't stand seeing him jit-
terbuging like that" he answered.
He stopped crying but he buried his
head in the pillow and wouldn't look
at the picture any more.
Pvt. Ziegler is beginning to dance
again. The accompanying picture
Is not posed exaggeration. He can
waltz, foxtrot, execute a mean dip
and whirl his partner in a jitterbug
routine
Relearning the Rhumba.
He is beginning to relearn the
rhumba. Despite his inanimate
foot, he hopes to tap dance again.
"Pegleg Bates is my inspiration,
he said. IF he can do it, I can
do it,
He has found a book in the IL
brary that confirms his idea that
anything can be done where there
Is a will.
Perhaps 1 can even do ballet
dancing again." he said. His leg is
of 6 inches below the knee and the
harness of his artificial limb makes
that calf appear larger than the
other.
You see," he said in pulling upl
his pants leg, perhaps when l ret
my new leg it will fit smooth enough
here for me to wear the tights of
the ballet costumes"
He Is beginning to hope again.
He never made one of those New
York shows. But after all hes been
through, he's still one of the kids.
On Fringe of Show Business.
The kids, as they call themselves
are the nice young fellows OH the
fringe of show business.
They inhabit Times Square, New
York. They get to know one an
other in the waiting rooms Of the
atrical Offices and wave friendly
greetings as they pass in their
rounds.
Once in while one of them sky
rockets to fame and fortune like
Van johnson. Then all take heart
They just missed the casting call
that gave him his break.
They live on sandwiches and nut
sundaes in drug store across from
the Astor and exchange information
in casting. They drop in for the
information whether they have
money or not because once in a
while big shot of the theater like
Burgess Meredith stops in and treats
all around. More often the treat
is on the kid who is drawing his
first pay check from a show.
People think the kids are Kind
Of different-and they are. Edu-
Gated or not they are artistic-de-
voted to the lively muses. of the
theater.
Pvt. Ziegler is devoted to Calliope
as well as Terpischore-that is he |
sings as well as dances.
you Have a Verse"
His career began in a parochiall
school in Queens when the singing
teacher, who formerly had been inI
the Metropolitan Opera Co., spoke
to him. AS he tells it, she said,
William, you have verse and you
should do something with it."
1t might be explained here that
in the New York City end of Long
Island a verse" is a voice and vice
versely "voise' is line written
by poet.
Singing led to dancing and even
after he had steady job and had
become foreman in a Brooklyn fac
tory making purse frames the de-
mands Of friends kept bringing him
back to the arts.
He became one of the kids. He
got to know Hal Leroy and Van
Johnson-when the latter was only
another chorus boy in TOO Many
Girls"
Their encouragement has him
hoping again. He has met a lot of
prominent people in show business
since he came to Walter Reed. He
was introduced to Metro oldwyn-
Mayer director just the other day.
II had to become known" he said
yesterday. Maybe the leg has been
a break"