Vera-Ellen


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Vera Ellen

Vera-Ellen in Happy Go Lovely (1951)
Born Vera Ellen Westmeier Rohe
February 16, 1921(1921-02-16)
Norwood, Ohio
Died August 30, 1981 (aged 60)
Los Angeles, California
Spouse(s) Robert Hightower (1941-1946)
Victor Rothschild (1954-1966)

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

Biography

She was born Vera Ellen Westmeier Rohe in Norwood, Ohio to Martin Rohe and Alma Catherine Westmeier, both descended from German immigrants.[1] 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 in Panama Hattie, By Jupiter, and A Connecticut Yankee, where she was spotted by Samuel Goldwyn, who cast her opposite Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo in the film Wonder Man (1945).

Vera-Ellen in Happy Go Lovely (1951)

She appeared in several 1950s 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), with Donald O'Connor in Call Me Madam (1953), and in Let's Be Happy (1957). During the 1950s, she was reputed to have the "smallest waist in Hollywood".[2] and is believed to have suffered from anorexia nervosa.[1] She retired from the screen in 1957.

Vera-Ellen was married twice. Her first husband was fellow dancer Robert Hightower (from 1941 to 1946).[3] Her second husband, from 1954 to 1966, was millionaire Victor Rothschild. Both marriages ended in divorce. While married to Rothschild, she gave birth to a daughter, Victoria Ellen Rothschild, who died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in 1963. Following this traumatic event, Vera-Ellen further withdrew from public life.

Little was heard from Vera-Ellen for the remainder of her life. On August 30, 1981 she died of cancer in Los Angeles, California.

Filmography

References

  1. ^ a b Soren, Devid (2003). Vera-Ellen - The Magic and the Mystery. Luminary Press. ISBN 978-1887664486. 
  2. ^ Vera-Ellen at the Internet Movie Database
  3. ^ cf. Soren, p.71-72: "The stable happy marriage with Bob Hightower lasted from their wedding day on February 4, 1941 (some sources say February 1942 or March 17, 1943) to their official separation in 1946...Photos of...Vera Ellen hit the newspapers on November 28, 1946 when a default divorce was granted in Los Angeles"
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