Vera-Ellen

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Vera-Ellen with Fred Astaire in "Thinking of You" from Three Little Words (1950)
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Vera-Ellen with Fred Astaire in "Thinking of You" from Three Little Words (1950)

Vera-Ellen (February 16, 1921 - August 30, 1981), American actress and stage and film dancer, principally celebrated for her filmed dance partnerships with Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor. Ellen excelled in tap, ballet, acrobatic, and modern dance.

Vera-Ellen Westmeier Rohe was born in Norwood, Ohio to Martin Rohe and Alma Catherine Westmeier, both descended from German immigrants. She began dancing at the age of 9 and quickly became very proficient. At 16, she was a winner on the Major Bowes Amateur Hour, and entered upon a professional career.

In 1939, Vera-Ellen made her Broadway theatre debut in the Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein musical Very Warm For May at the age of 18. She became one of the youngest Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall, although she was not tall. This led to roles on Broadway, where she was spotted by Samuel Goldwyn, who cast her opposite Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo in the film Wonder Man (1945).

She appeared in several films, including White Christmas (1954), On the Town (1949), the "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" dance in Words and Music (1948) -- the last two with Gene Kelly. Vera-Ellen was also one of the stars in the last Marx Brothers film, Love Happy (1949). She took top billing alongside Fred Astaire in Three Little Words (1950) and The Belle of New York (1952), and with Donald O'Connor in Call Me Madam (1953).

During the 1950s, she was reputed to have the "smallest waist in Hollywood", probably because she suffered from anorexia, which contributed to her premature aging [1].

She died of cancer at her home in California at the age of 60 in 1981.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] References

David Soren, Vera-Ellen, The Magic and the Mystery, Luminary Press, ISBN 1-887664-48-3

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