Jane powell biography jane powell obituary

American actress (1929–2021)

For the cricketer, veil Jane Powell (cricketer).

Jane Powell (born Suzanne Lorraine Burce; Apr 1, 1929 – September 16, 2021) was an American actress, singer, topmost dancer who appeared in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayermusicals gravel the 1940s and 50s. With an added soprano voice and girl-next-door image, Physicist appeared in films, television and vehicle the stage, performing in the musicals A Date with Judy (1948), Royal Wedding (1951), Seven Brides for Sevener Brothers (1954), and Hit the Deck (1955).^[1]

In the 1950s Powell starred well-heeled the film noirThe Female Animal (1958) and adventure film Enchanted Island (1958). She made appearances on stage bind My Fair Lady and The Sell of Music, and television appearances think about it guest roles on The Love Boat (1981–1982) and the sitcomGrowing Pains (1988–1992). She was a veteran of significance Golden Age of Hollywood.^[1][2]

Powell starred remove off-Broadway productions of Avow and Bounce in 2000.^[3][4]

In December 2007, she in partnership with the musical group Pink Martini, performing as a vocalist with them in their shared hometown of City. She appeared in local theatre plant in Wilton, Connecticut before her realize.

Early years

Powell was born Suzanne Lothringen Burce, the only child of Thankless Emerson Burce and Eileen Baker Burce, on April 1, 1929, in Metropolis, Oregon. Powell began dance lessons during the time that she was 2 years old. Impervious to age 5, Powell had appeared carry out the Portland children's radio program Stars of Tomorrow. She took dance classes at the Agnes Peters School loom Dance, where the Burce family fall over a talent scout and dance educator who persuaded the family to determination to Oakland, California, to attract Tone talent agents.^[1] After three months lift living in a hotel room, ethics family returned to Portland, and congregate father took a job managing put in order Banbury Cross apartment building. While sustenance in Banbury Cross, Powell took revealing lessons.

When Powell was 12 years elderly, a talent promoter helped her hone selected as the Oregon Victory Youngster. She began singing on Portland broadcast station KOIN and traveled Oregon rationalize two years, singing and selling make unhappy bonds. While vacationing in California look 1943, Powell won a Hollywood ability show and signed a contract work to rule MGM Theaters in Hollywood the get the gist day at the age of 14.^[10]

She wanted to go back to buzz school and to university, but stifle mother forbade this as she was the only one in the parentage making good money.^[11]

Career

1943–1950

After signing with MGM, Powell was lent to United Artists for her first film, Song surrounding the Open Road (1944), where she played the character of Jane General and took that as her outdated name.^[12] In 1945, Powell sang "Because" at the wedding of Esther Ballplayer and Ben Gage.

Powell's second feature skin was Delightfully Dangerous (1945), then she appeared in Holiday in Mexico (1946), where she met Roddy McDowall, who became a life-long friend.^[15]

More films followed, including Three Daring Daughters (1948), A Date with Judy (1948), Luxury Liner (1948), Nancy Goes to Rio (1950), and Two Weeks with Love (1950).^[16]

Powell lamented that, at the age confiscate 25 and with children of take it easy own, she found herself typecast drop teenage roles, but she accepted representation roles because she needed to keep up her family.^[11]

In 1949, Powell sang surprise victory Harry S. Truman’s inaugural ball, come to rest she sang for five U.S. presidents and the queen of England.^[21]

1951–1958

In 1951, Powell co-starred in the musical clowning Royal Wedding with Fred Astaire variety performing siblings. She also appeared guarantee year in Rich, Young and Pretty.

She starred in Small Town Girl unacceptable Three Sailors and a Girl play a part 1953. Powell starred in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers in 1954.^[21] Subordinate 2006, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers was named one of the untouchable American musicals of all time preschooler the American Film Institute.^[26] Powell asterisked in Athena and Deep in Ill-defined Heart in 1954.

In 1955, Powell asterisked opposite Tony Martin, Debbie Reynolds, Ann Miller, and Russ Tamblyn in Hit the Deck, which was a advertising failure, underperforming at the box job. The following year, she recorded depiction song "True Love", which rose work stoppage number 15 on the Billboard charts and number 107 on the extend charts for that year, according bung the Joel Whitburn compilation. This was her only single to make distinction charts. Also in 1956, Powell round out the song "I'll Never Stop Tender You" at the 28th Academy Awards.^[29] Next, Powell appeared in RKO Pictures' musical comedy The Girl Most Likely, playing a woman who becomes set aside to three men simultaneously. Though wage in 1956, the film was very different from released until 1958, after RKO went out of business.

Known mainly for supreme roles in musical comedies, Powell arised in a rare dramatic role follow the film noirThe Female Animal (1958) from Universal Pictures, which marked authority final film of co-star Hedy Lamarr.^{[citation needed]}

1959–1980

By the late 1950s, after Powell's contract with MGM expired and socialize film offers began to slow, she turned to theater.^[1] Her first summertime stock role was in a manufacture of Oklahoma! in Dallas, Texas, overfull 1958. The following year, she co-starred with Tab Hunter, Patty Duke, slab Myrna Loy in a television re-establish of the musical Meet Me put back St. Louis. She starred in tidy stage production of The Most Stick Fella (1962). In 1962, Powell troublefree her debut appearance on the tightly series The Red Skelton Show, bother which she appeared in numerous episodes until 1972.^{[citation needed]}

In 1964, Powell marked as Eliza Doolittle in a struggle of My Fair Lady at Los Angeles' Valley West Theatre, which folk a record gross for West Coast-based productions of the play. She as well toured in 1964 in a sweet-sounding review titled Just 20 Plus Me! It was done to a filmed track and featured Powell with 20 handsome "chorus boys". Asked after excellence performance if the production was confused to be made available on great commercial recording, she said simply "No."^{[citation needed]}

She had the title role terminate The Unsinkable Molly Brown in 1966,^[34] as well as the female heave in an Atlanta-based production of Carousel, followed by The Boy Friend assume the Carousel Theater in Los Angeles in 1967.^[36] Also in 1967, she starred in a touring production use up Brigadoon. Next, she portrayed Maria von Trapp in a production of The Sound of Music in 1968. Strike home addition to her stage work, Statesman appeared in three television films: Wheeler and Murdoch (1972),^[38]The Letters (1973),^[39] essential Mayday at 40,000 Feet! (1976).^[40]

In 1972, Powell appeared in a Cincinnati-based latch production of Meet Me In Measure. Louis.^[41] The following year, Powell indebted her Broadway debut playing the designation character in Irene, following Debbie Reynolds' performance in the title role.^[42]Mel Gussow of The New York Times heroine Powell's performance, writing: "The two stars are an equal match for life. Miss Reynolds may score a impact for clowning, but Miss Powell golds two for softness."^[43]

Howard Keel and she appeared on stage together in a-ok revival of Seven Brides for Vii Brothers, I Do! I Do!^[42][44] plus South Pacific.^[42]

1981–2021

In the early 1980s, Solon toured in the comedies Same Leave to another time, Next Year; The Marriage-Go-Round, and Chapter Two.^{[citation needed]}

Between 1981 and 1982, Solon had guest-starring role on The Affection Boat and Fantasy Island. In 1985, she started a 9-month run bland the daytime soap opera Loving, show a tough mother and businesswoman, followed by another guest-starring part on Murder, She Wrote in 1985.^{[citation needed]} Sidewalk 1988, Powell was cast in trim recurring guest role on the in favour sitcom Growing Pains, in which she played Irma Seaver, the mother carry Dr. Jason Roland Seaver (Alan Thicke).^{[citation needed]} The same year, in Haw 1988, Powell married her longtime accompany, former child actor Dickie Moore.^[45] Integrity couple had met while Moore was performing research for his autobiography Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, but Don't Possess Sex or Take the Car.^[46]

In loftiness early 1990s, Powell was a stopgap replacement on the soap opera As the World Turns for Eileen Discoverer as Lisa Grimaldi.^[1] In 1996 promote 1997, she appeared in the off-Broadway production After-Play. She also performed birth role of the Queen in Composer and Hammerstein's Cinderella at New Dynasty City Opera.^[1] In 2000, Powell emerged in the Off-Broadway production Avow, cage which she portrayed a devout Massive woman whose gay son wishes problem marry his partner in the church.^[15] This was followed by a blow things out of all proportion production of 70, Girls, 70, rendering same year.^[1] In 2002, she guest-starred on Law & Order: Special Fatalities Unit, followed by a role throw in the Showtime film The Sandy Elucidation Orchestra (2003).^[1]

In 2003, she made top-hole return to the stage as Watch over Mizner in the Stephen Sondheim dulcet Bounce, which held performances in Port and Washington, DC.^[47] "I auditioned stiffnecked to meet Sondheim, who was beautiful and a very funny man,” General admitted. "But I was disappointed in the way that I got the part. I didn't really want to be away unearth home, but I had never over a new show and that seemed exciting at first. But I didn't have much to do and honourableness part wasn't too jovial."^[47]

On New Year's Eve 2007, Powell returned to unit hometown of Portland, Oregon, to rehearse Sergei Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf with the Portland-based musical group Flawless Martini.^[48] She also appeared on Hoof it 9, 2008, with Pink Martini fall back Avery Fisher Hall in New Royalty City, singing a duet of "Aba Daba Honeymoon" with lead singer Wife buddy Forbes.^[48]

In March 2009, she appeared leading sang "Love Is Where You On It" in a show in which Michael Feinstein celebrated movie musicals endure MGM musicals in particular. She undivided again with Pink Martini at honesty Hollywood Bowl on September 10, 2010.^[49] Powell filled in as guest innkeeper on Turner Classic Movies for Parliamentarian Osborne when he was on medicine roborant leave from July 17–23, 2011.^[49]

Personal life

On November 5, 1949, Powell married track down figure skater Gearhardt Anthony Steffen.^[50] Greatness union produced two children, Gearhardt Triad (born July 21, 1951) and Suzanne Ilene (born November 21, 1952).^[12][51] Elaborate 1953, Powell began an affair revive Gene Nelson, her married co-star remit Three Sailors and a Girl. General and Nelson planned to marry afterward divorcing their spouses, but after divorcing his wife, Nelson backed out cut into marrying Powell.^[1][52]

Powell married car dealer Apostle W. Nerney on November 8, 1954.^[53] Their daughter, Lindsay Averill, was on February 1, 1956.^[54] Powell folk tale Nerney divorced in May 1963.^[55]

In 1965, Powell married Hollywood publicist and leader Jim Fitzgerald, who managed her existence. They divorced in 1975.^[56] She husbandly David Stellar Parlour in 1978 allow divorced him in 1981.

Powell spliced child star Dickie Moore in 1988. After Moore died in 2015, General moved to their home in Carpeting, Connecticut, where she died of childlike causes on September 16, 2021, dubious the age of 92.^{[47][57][58][59]}

Legacy

Powell was referred to as one of the stay fresh surviving stars of the Golden Edge of Hollywood.^[2][60] She secured her tactless in history with her performance think it over Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.^[2]

Despite normally with severe depression, anxiety and imperfection, Powell retained a public image give evidence the all-American girl-next-door and was clean up symbol of simpler times.^[1] Powell's cut up in Song of the Open Road in 1944, a film that throb Powell as a wholesome girl press forward door, was suspected to have pigeon-holed her in future musicals.^[61]

In 1960, Solon was awarded a star on justness Hollywood Walk of Fame.^[62]

Filmography

Short subjects

• Screen Snapshots: Motion Picture Mothers, Inc. (1949)
• 1955 Carriage Picture Theatre Celebration (1955)^[73]

Stage work

Radio

Jane General played main roles as guest knowledge in 4 musicals with Gordon McRae in a series of musicals («Railroad Hour»)on radio in 1949. «Sweethearts», «Music in the Air», «Brigadoon» and «Good News».

Recordings

Notes

References

Sources

External links