July 16
Virginia Katherine McMath's Birthday

Little Virginia has a troubled childhood. After her parents divorced, there was a bitter custody battle and her father kidnapped her twice. Afterwards she chose to stay with her grandparents. When her three-year old cousin kept calling her "Ginga" because she couldn't pronounce "Virginia," everyone thought that it was so cute that they all began to call Virginia "Ginga." A few years later, Ginga's mother remarried John Rogers and the little Ginga decided to take his name although he never adopted her. When she attended high school in Fort Worth, Texas, she became known as Ginger Rogers.

Two years later at age of 19, Ginger became a Broadway star when George Gershwin chose her to costar in his musical Girl Crazy which also made Ethyl Merman a star, Ironically. this is where she first met Fred Astaire who was hired to help the dancers with their choreography. Paramount soon signer her to a seven-year contract which she broke after making a few forgettable films. She signed on to do several films at Warner Bros,. including 42cd Street (1933) which was one of the most profitable films of the year. She got the role by dating Mervyn LeRoy, the original director for the film, who suggested to her that she take the role of "Anytime Annie." Although Leroy had to drop out of directing because of illness, Ginger was kept on by the studio.

Ginger then signed with Fox for a few films and RK0 where she launched her legendary career as Fred Astaire's partner in the nine films they made there from 1933 to 1939 with such hits as Top Hat (1935), Follow the Fleet (1936), Swing Time (1936), and Shall We Dance (1937). Together they revolutionized the Hollywood musical with elegant ance routines set to songs composed for them by some the greatest pop composers of the day. The team reunited in 1949 for The Barkleys of Broadway after Judy Garland dropped out after some mental health challenges. In commenting on Ginger and Fred, Katherine Hepburn who costarred with Ginger in Stage Door (1937), recalled that "Ginger gave him sex and he gave her class." However, one of the most remembered quotes on te pair was by Faith Whittlesey, a former Republican politician and Ronald Regan White House Senior Staff member who once commented, "Remember, Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but she did it backwards and in high heels.”

Ginger was one of the most popular actresses of the 1930s and 40s and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Kitty Foyle (1940). However, comedy was her real forte. She was a master of the wisecrack and the deadpan, and became one of the major actresses of the screwball comedy era. Some of her most notable films of the 40s including Roxie Hart (1942) which was later turned into the Broadway hit Chicago, and The Major and the Minor (1942). Her career began to tank in the 1950s when substantive roles for older actresses were a near impossibility.

Unlike most of Hollywood, Ginger was a radical right winger, a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and a Christian Scientist. She was married five times, and allegedly was once engaged to Howard Hughes. So on Ginga's birthday, we recommend renting a copy of Follow the Fleet, and, since we all need a little ginger to spice up our lives from time to time, celebrating the day with Stir-Fry Ginger Beef.

Stir- Fry Ginger Beef

Marinade Ingredients
Beef and Stir-Fry Ingredients

2 TB unseasoned rice vinegar
5 TB soy sauce
1 TB honey
1 TB peeled, grated fresh ginger
1 tsp chili pepper flakes
1 tsp ground cumin

1&1/2 lb top sirloin steak
1 TB corn starch
2 TB vegetable oil
1 TB sesame oil (optional)
3-4 green onions, cut on a diagonal, 1/2-inch apart, including the greens
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2-3 hot chiles, preferably red serranos, seeded, sliced
1-inch nob of ginger, peeled, cut lengthwise into matchstick shapes
1/2 cup loosely packed, chopped cilantro

Instructions

Chill the steak in the freezer for 30 minutes before you slice it, this will make it easier to cut in thin slices. Slice the steak first crosswise in 1/2-inch thick slices. The cut each slice lengthwise into strips.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the marinade ingredients; the soy sauce, vinegar, grated ginger, honey, red chile flakes, and cumin. Mix the beef in with the marinade to coat and let it sit for at least 30 minutes, and up to 4 hours, in the fridge.
In a small bowl, mix the corn starch with 2 TB of cold water to make a slurry.
Heat the oil in a wok, or a large sauté pan, over high heat until it is nearly smoking. As the oil is heating up, pat the beef dry and separate it into small batches no larger than what can fit into the palm of your hand. Working in batches, sauté beef until just brown outside but rare inside, no more than 1 minute. Transfer beef to a bowl.
When all of the beef is cooked, put the chiles and garlic into the pan and stir-fry 30-45 seconds. Add the julienned ginger and cook for 30-45 seconds more. Add the beef back to the pan. Add the cornstarch slurry. Add the scallions and mix everything together. Cook for 1 minute.
Turn the heat off and mix in the cilantro. Serve at once with steamed white rice.

Serves 4-6.