HOWARD KEEL
He was a great big handsome man with a great big glorious voice . When he was 66 years old, and hadn’t made a movie in 17 years, he was summoned to appear as Clayton Farlow in the mega-popular prime-time soap, Dallas. He stayed for 17 years, and this is the role for which many fans remember him. 
But I remember Howard Keel, who died recently at 85, as the star of lots of wonderful MGM musicals. The 50's were the Golden Age of the movie musical, and he was in a bunch of the best ones. 
As Frank Butler to Betty Hutton’s Calamity Jane, Howard Keel burst on the movie musical scene in Annie Get Your Gun (1950). The role needs a strong man with a strong voice and Mr. Keel filled the bill nicely. The song “Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better” includes many skills, the main one being sharpshooting. What fun!
The 1951 version of Show Boat is the best of several, and Howard Keel is on board with Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner (no, she didn’t really sing), Marge and Gower Champion and of course, William Warfield. Mr. Warfield’s “Old Man River” almost steals the show, but there are plenty of Jerome Kern-Oscar Hammerstein  songs to go around. 
Kiss Me Kate (1953) is Cole Porter’s musical version of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew. Katherine Grayson is the strong-minded Kate and Howard Keel the equally determined husband. Grayson and Keel play actors married to each other whose on and off-stage lives intertwine. Also on board for wonderful dancing are Ann Miller and Bob Fosse.
Keel teamed with songbird and big star Doris Day in Calamity Jane (1953). She is Jane and he is Wild Bill Hickock. She owned a saloon and became the love of his life. If you Google Calamity Jane you’ll notice she wasn’t quite as pretty as Ms. Day! Only one good song- Secret Love- but that alone made Ms. Day wealthy.
Howard Keel’s favorite film was the rambunctious Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954). The songs are fairly forgettable and the plot is hopelessly sexist, but there is a dance scene at a picnic that is one of the best ever put on film. 
Kismet (1955) is the Arabian nights tale whisked from the Broadway stage to the silver screen, and brought us “Stranger In Paradise” and “Baubles, Bangles and Beads”. Ann Blyth is the lovely foil for Howard Keel’s roguish leading man.  
All of these MGM movies have Technicolor that has never been bettered to this day. All are available on DVD. All are fine for all ages. And all are fun!