White Christmas: whose role Danny Kaye filled

The original concept was to reunite Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby, as they had been successful in Holiday Inn (1942). Astaire refused, as he had "retired" at the time, so the part was reworked for Donald O'Connor. O'Connor pulled out due to a protracted bout with Q-Fever (contracted from Francis the Mule), and the part was reworked at the last minute for Danny Kaye.