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Letter to the editor

On stage as Don Sapphire, this dancer's spirit shined

By STEPHANIE HAYES, Times Staff Writer
Published October 26, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT Donald Miraglia produced shows around the country.

PALM HARBOR - He never had a dance lesson, but it was in his bones.

As a boy in New York, he danced for whoever would watch. And when Donald Miraglia was old enough to drive, he'd go to Harlem to watch the Lindy hop.

In the 1940s, he married Louise, who had two left feet and never cared to dance. He landed a respectable job at American Express in New York.

But the limelight tugged.

Follow the Girls, a Broadway show starring Jackie Gleason, needed dancers. He auditioned. He got cast. Each morning, he dressed for work. Instead, he went to rehearsal.

His wife didn't know until his employer called - her husband hadn't shown in two weeks.

"He didn't want to tell me because he knew that I wouldn't approve," Louise said. "What kind of life are we going to have with show business? But it turned out it was very interesting."

He performed in a show called Are You With It? Then he started producing nightclub entertainment across the country under the stage name "Don Sapphire."

Dozens of showgirls followed his instruction, learning his dance steps to perform with stars like Frank Sinatra, Joey Bishop and Sammy Davis Jr.

He was an impeccable dresser with an eye for decor, but he didn't know a nail from a screw.

If a dancer's coiffure was mussed or lipstick smudged, he'd balk. Once, Mr. Miraglia didn't like a dancer's hair color and made her bleach it on the spot. It turned green.

"She wanted to kill him," his wife said.

He sat in the back row to view the entire stage. His daughter, Donna, remembers dressing up and eating huge club sandwiches in bar kitchens while her dad worked.

When disco rolled in, the show club era died. Mr. Miraglia retired. In 1995, he and his wife moved permanently to Palm Harbor, where they had lived before.

Life was slow. He would share his exciting past with whoever would listen.

Here, he was kind of a loner. He'd drive aimlessly or go to the mall in the pouring rain just to get out of the house.

Monday, he died at age 89. Dementia had chipped away at his health over years, but he never fully forgot Don Sapphire.

Last year, his showgirls hosted an annual reunion in St. Petersburg. Mrs. Miraglia didn't feel like going, but she knew it would be her husband's last time with his dancers. They went.

He thanked his wife the whole drive home.

Stephanie Hayes can be reached at shayes@sptimes.com or 727 893-8857.

Biography

Donald Miraglia

Born: Oct. 11, 1918.

Died: Oct. 22, 2007.

Survivors: wife, Louise; daughter, Donna; granddaughter, Nicole.

[Last modified October 25, 2007, 22:36:56]