American dancer and actor.
He appeared in a minstrel show in 1921, and later appeared in vaudeville before his Broadway debut in 1937 in “Babes in Arms.” In 1940, he was signed by MGM to make films and was cast in a series of musical films.
He served in the United States Army during World War II, was commissioned as an Army officer after graduation from Signal Corps Officer Candidate School at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. He returned to Hollywood to make more musicals and became the frequent and favorite co-star of Betty Grable. His performance in their film “When My Baby Smiles at Me” in 1948 garnered him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
In 1949, he showcased his singing abilities by recording four songs for Decca Records with the enormously popular Andrews Sisters (Patty, Maxene, and LaVerne).
In 1950, he starred in “A Ticket to Tomahawk,” often noted as one of the first screen appearances of Marilyn Monroe, who played a very small part as a dance hall girl. That same year, he played the title role in “When Willie Comes Marching Home,” for which he received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy in 1951.
As the musical genre began to wane in the late-1950s, he moved on to various comedic and dramatic roles on television. From 1969-71, Dailey was the Governor opposite Jullie Sommars’s J.J. in the sitcom “The Governor & J.J.” which revolved around the relationship between his character, the conservative governor of an unnamed state and his liberal daughter Jennifer Jo. His performance won him the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Musical or Comedy, making him the first actor to receive the award in 1970.
Dailey died on 16 October 1978 from complications following hip replacement surgery.

Link to Wikipedia biography