![]() ![]() ![]() The family said Rita would tell them Mel always thought he would make it big and, to prove he could write songs, he penned one for Rita. They began dating when Rita was 16 and Mel was 17, he said. Kevin White said his mother had “a significant relationship” with Torme in the early 40s. Maureen talked to Rita’s son, Kevin White, vice president and athletic director at Duke University, and Rita’s daughter, Katie White Brochu, who offered more insight into the story. Rita’s brother, James “Spot” O’Donnell, 93, a resident at Wesley Village, and his daughter, Maureen Lynch, told the story of Mel and Rita. That’s where Rita met a young stage hand - 17-year-old Mel Torme. Rita White as a dancer.Īileen urged Rita to quit school - she was a 15-year-old sophomore at Coughlin - and go to New York City to join her with the Rockettes. Rita O’Donnell was just 15 years old and a sophomore at Coughlin High School in 1940 when she got a call from her older sister, Aileen, who was dancing as a member of the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose.”
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