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Eleanor Torrey Powell (November 21, 1912 – February 11, 1982) was an American film actress and dancer of the 1930s and 1940s, known for her exuberant solo tap dancing. This work is copyrighted. ...
This work is copyrighted. ...
Broadway Melody of 1938 is a 1937 musical film, produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by Roy Del Ruth. ...
November 21 is the 325th day of the year (326th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ...
1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...
February 11 is the 42nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ...
1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...
The 1940s decade ran from 1940 to 1949. ...
Tap dance was born in the United States during the 19th century, and today is popular all around the world. ...
Biography
Eleanor Torrey Powell was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. A dancer since childhood, she was discovered at the age of 11 by the head of the Vaudeville Kiddie revue, Gus Edwards. When she was 17, she brought her graceful, athletic style to Broadway, where she starred in various revues and musicals. During this time, she was dubbed "the world's greatest tap dancer" due to her machine-gun footwork, and in the early 1930s appeared as a background performer in a couple of early, inconsequential musical films. Nickname: City of Homes Springfield, Massachusetts - View from Highway Settled: 1636 – Incorporated: 1636 Zip Code(s): 01103 01107 01108 01119 01129 – Area Code(s): 413 Official website: http://www. ...
Note on spelling: While most Americans use er (as per American spelling conventions), the majority of venues, performers and trade groups for live theatre use re. ...
Road to Hollywood In 1935, the leggy, fresh-faced Powell made the move to Hollywood and did a specialty number in her first major film, George White's 1935 Scandals which she later described as a disaster due in part to her accidentally being made up to look like an Egyptian due to a mix-up prior to filming her scene. The experience left her unimpressed with Hollywood. Nonetheless, she was courted by MGM, but initially refused their offers of a contract. Reportedly, Powell attempted to dissuade the studio by making what she felt were unreasonable salary demands, but MGM agreed and she finally accepted. The studio groomed her for her future stardom making minimal changes in her makeup and conduct. 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...
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George Whites 1935 Scandals was an American musical film produced in 1935 by Fox Film Corporation (before it became part of 20th Century Fox). ...
MGM logo Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer or MGM, is a large media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of cinema and television programs. ...
Film stardom She was well-received in her first starring role in 1935's Broadway Melody of 1936 (in which she was supported by Jack Benny and Frances Langford), and delighted 1930s audiences with her endless energy and enthusiasm, not to mention her stunning dancing. According to dancer Ann Miller, quoted in the "making-of" documentary about That's Entertainment! III, MGM was headed for bankruptcy in the late 1930s, but the films of Eleanor Powell, particularly Broadway Melody of 1936 were so popular they made the company profitable again. Miller also credits Powell for inspiring her own dancing career, which would eventually lead her to become an MGM musical star a decade later. Broadway Melody of 1936 is a musical film released by MGM in 1935, despite the title. ...
Jack Benny caricatured by Sam Berman for 1947 NBC promotion book Jack Benny (February 14, 1894, Chicago, Illinois – December 26, 1974, Beverly Hills, California), born Benjamin Kubelsky, was an American comedian, vaudeville performer, and radio, television, and film actor. ...
Frances Langford Frances Newbern Langford (April 4, 1913 – July 11, 2005) was a successful singer and entertainer during the Golden Age of Radio, who also made occasional film appearances. ...
This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...
Ann Miller was born on April 12, 1923 and died on January 22, 2004. ...
This article is about the 1974 MGM documentary film. ...
 Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell dance to "Begin the Beguine" in Broadway Melody of 1940. Powell would go on to star opposite many of the decade's top leading men such as Jimmy Stewart, Robert Taylor, Fred Astaire, George Murphy, Nelson Eddy, and Robert Young. Films she made during the height of her career in the mid-to-late 1930s co-starred these men and others and included Born to Dance (1936), Rosalie (1937), Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937), Honolulu (1939), and Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940). All of these movies featured her amazing solo tapping, although her increasingly huge production numbers began to attract criticism. Her characters also often sang, but Powell's singing voice was usually (but not always) overdubbed (this would also happen to one of Powell's successors, Cyd Charisse). Broadway Melody of 1940, in which Powell starred opposite Fred Astaire, featured an acclaimed musical score by Cole Porter. Together, Astaire and Powell danced to Porter's "Begin The Beguine", which is considered by many to be one of the greatest tap sequences in film history. According to accounts of the making of this film, including a documentary included on the DVD release, Astaire was somewhat intimidated by Powell, who was considered at the time the only female dancer capable of out-dancing Astaire. In his autobiography Steps in Time, Astaire remarked: "She 'put 'em down like a man', no ricky-ticky-sissy stuff with Ellie. She really knocked out a tap dance in a class by herself." Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (454x648, 112 KB) This work is a copyrighted publicity photograph. ...
Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (454x648, 112 KB) This work is a copyrighted publicity photograph. ...
Jimmy Stewart, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1934 James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American film actor beloved for his persona as an average guy who faces adversity and tries to do the right thing, an image which was largely reflected in his own...
Robert Taylor in Quo Vadis? Robert Taylor (August 5, 1911, Filley, Nebraska - June 8, 1969, Santa Monica, California), was an American actor. ...
Fred Astaire (May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987), born Frederick Austerlitz in Omaha, Nebraska, was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. ...
George Murphy George Lloyd Murphy (July 4, 1902 – May 3, 1992) was an American dancer, actor and politician. ...
Nelson Eddy Nelson Ackerman Eddy (born June 29, 1901; died March 6, 1967) was an American singer and film actor. ...
Robert Young (February 22, 1907 - July 21, 1998) was a popular American actor, who was the son of an Irish immigrant father and an American-born mother. ...
Eleanor Powell, dances in the Swingin the Jinx finale of Born to Dance. ...
1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...
Rosalie is an American musical play first produced in 1928. ...
1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...
Broadway Melody of 1938 is a 1937 musical film, produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by Roy Del Ruth. ...
1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...
Honolulu is an American musical film that was released by MGM in 1936. ...
1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...
Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell dance to Begin the Beguine in Broadway Melody of 1940. ...
Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ...
Cyd Charisse Cyd Charisse is an American dancer and actress. ...
Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell dance to Begin the Beguine in Broadway Melody of 1940. ...
Fred Astaire (May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987), born Frederick Austerlitz in Omaha, Nebraska, was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. ...
Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter from Indiana. ...
Decline in popularity Following Broadway Melody of 1940 Powell was sidelined for many months following a gall stone operation and things changed somewhat for the worse, at least as far as Powell's movie career was concerned. 1941's Lady Be Good gave Powell top billing and a classic dance routine to "Fascinatin' Rhythm", but Robert Young and Ann Sothern were the actual stars of the film. The same happened with Red Skelton in Ship Ahoy (1942) and I Dood It (1943), although in Ship Ahoy her character nonetheless played a central role in the story, and Powell's dance skills were put to practical use when she manages to tap out a morse code message to a secret agent in the middle of a dance routine. In medicine, gallstones are crystalline bodies formed within the body by accretion or concretion of normal or abnormal bile components. ...
Lady Be Good is the title of an MGM musical film which was released in 1941. ...
Ann Sothern Ann Sothern (January 22, 1909 – March 15, 2001) was an American film actress. ...
Richard Bernard Red Skelton (July 18, 1913 – September 17, 1997) was an American comedian whose greatest impact — in a career which began as a teen circus clown and graduated to vaudeville, Broadway, MGM films, and radio — began when he reached television stardom with The Red Skelton Show (NBC, 1951–1952...
Ship Ahoy is the title of a 1942 musical-comedy motion picture produced by MGM. The film stars Eleanor Powell as Tallulah Winters, a dancing star who is hired to perform on an ocean liner. ...
I Dood It is the title of a 1943 musical-comedy motion picture produced by MGM and starring Red Skelton and dancer Eleanor Powell. ...
1922 Chart of the Morse Code Letters and Numerals Morse code is a method for transmitting information, using standardized sequences of short and long marks or pulses — commonly known as dots and dashes — for the letters, numerals, punctuation and special characters of a message. ...
She was signed to play opposite Dan Dailey in For Me and My Gal in 1942, but the two actors were removed from the picture during rehearsals and replaced by Gene Kelly and Judy Garland. Later, production of a new Broadway Melody film that would have paired Powell with Kelly was also cancelled. Daniel James Dailey Jr. ...
For Me and My Gal is a 1942 American Musical directed by Busby Berkeley. ...
Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996), better known as Gene Kelly, was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. ...
Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922 – June 22, 1969) was an American film actress considered by many to be one of the greatest singing stars of Hollywoods Golden Era of musical film. ...
She parted ways with MGM in 1943 after her next film, Thousands Cheer, in which she appeared only for a few minutes to perform a specialty number (as part of an all-star cast), and the same year married Canadian-born lead actor Glenn Ford. She danced in a giant pinball machine in Sensations of 1945 (1944) for United Artists, but this picture was a critical and commercial disappointment, Powell's performance overshadowed by what was to be the final film appearance of W.C. Fields. Powell retired from the cinema afterwards to concentrate on raising her son, actor Peter Ford, who was born that year (although she did appear in a couple of documentary-style short subjects about celebrities in the late 1940s). Overseas audiences did get to see one additional Powell dance performance in 1946, however, when the compilation The Great Morgan was released, which included a number that had been cut[1] from Honolulu. MGM logo Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer or MGM, is a large media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of cinema and television programs. ...
Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ...
Thousands Cheer was an American musical-comedy released by MGM in 1943. ...
Glenn Ford in 1979 Gwyllyn Samuel Newton Glenn Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006) was an acclaimed Canadian-American actor from Hollywoods Golden Era with a career that spanned seven decades. ...
Sensations of 1945 is an American musical-comedy film which was released by United Artists in 1944. ...
The current United Artists logo (a variant was used during the 1980s). ...
W. C. Fields (January 29, 1880 - December 25, 1946) was an American comedian and actor. ...
The Great Morgan is an American musical-comedy film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1946. ...
Honolulu as seen from the International Space Station Honolulu is the largest city and the capital of the U.S. state of Hawai‘i. ...
In 1950, Powell returned to MGM one last time for a cameo in Duchess of Idaho, starring Esther Williams. Appearing as herself in a nightclub scene, a hesitant Powell is invited to dance by Van Johnson's character, and she begins with a staid, almost balletic performance until she is chided by Johnson for being lazy. She then strips off her skirt, revealing her famous legs, and proceeds to perform a "boogie-woogie"-style specialty number very similar to the one she performed in Thousands Cheer seven years earlier. Williams, in her autobiography The Million Dollar Mermaid, writes of being touched watching Powell rehearsing until her feet bled in order to make her brief cameo as perfect as possible. 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...
MGM logo Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer or MGM, is a large media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of cinema and television programs. ...
Duchess of Idaho is a musical romantic comedy produced in 1950 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. ...
Esther Jane Williams (born August 8, 1921[1] or 1922[2]) was a United States competitive swimmer and movie star, famous for her musical films that featured elaborate performances with swimming and diving. ...
Van Johnson Van Johnson (born Charles Van Johnson on August 25, 1916, in Newport, Rhode Island) is an American film and television actor. ...
Later career: TV and stage After Duchess of Idaho, Powell returned to private life. In May 1952, she emerged as a guest star on an episode of Four Star Revue with Danny Thomas and June Havoc. Around this time, she was ordained a minister of the Unity Church and later hosted an Emmy Award-winning Sunday morning TV program for youth entitled The Faith of Our Children (1953 - 1955). Her son, Peter Ford, was a regular on this show and would later find his own success as a rock and roll singer and as an actor. In 1955, Powell made her last-ever film appearance when she appeared in Have Faith in Our Children, a three-minute short film produced for the Variety Club of Northern California in which Powell asked viewers to donate to the charity. The short, which other than its title had no relation to the TV series, marked the only time Powell appeared on screen with her husband, Glenn Ford. Danny Thomas (January 6, 1914 – February 6, 1991) was an American nightclub comedian and television and film actor of Lebanese Maronite descent. ...
June Havoc (born Ellen Evangeline Hovick on November 8, 1916 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) is an actress and dancer. ...
Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ...
An Emmy Award. ...
1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday. ...
1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Glenn Ford in 1979 Gwyllyn Samuel Newton Glenn Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006) was an acclaimed Canadian-American actor from Hollywoods Golden Era with a career that spanned seven decades. ...
Powell divorced Ford in 1959, and that year, encouraged by Peter, launched a highly-publicized nightclub career, maintaining her good figure and looks well into middle age. Her live performances continued well into the 1960s. During the early 1960s she made several guest appearances on variety TV programs, including The Ed Sullivan Show and The Hollywood Palace. Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Ed Sullivan The Ed Sullivan Show was an American television variety show that ran from June 20, 1948 to June 6, 1971, and was hosted by former entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. ...
The Hollywood Palace was an hour-long television variety show produced by Nick Vanoff. ...
Reintroduction
 1943's Thousands Cheer was Powell's first color film, and her last MGM film until 1950. Powell was reintroduced to audiences in the popular That's Entertainment! documentary in 1974, and its sequels That's Entertainment Part II (1976) and That's Entertainment! III (1994) which spotlight her dancing from films such as Broadway Melody of 1940, Lady Be Good, and Born to Dance. Image File history File linksMetadata EPThousandsCheer. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata EPThousandsCheer. ...
Thousands Cheer was an American musical-comedy released by MGM in 1943. ...
This article is about the 1974 MGM documentary film. ...
2004 DVD release Thats Entertainment! is a 1974 documentary released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to celebrate its 50th anniversary. ...
2004 DVD release Thats Entertainment! is a 1974 documentary released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to celebrate its 50th anniversary. ...
Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell dance to Begin the Beguine in Broadway Melody of 1940. ...
Lady Be Good is the title of an MGM musical film which was released in 1941. ...
Eleanor Powell, dances in the Swingin the Jinx finale of Born to Dance. ...
Eleanor Powell died of cancer at the age of 69, and was interred in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood. It has been suggested that Cancerous tumor be merged into this article or section. ...
Hollywood Forever Cemetery is located at 6000 Santa Monica Boulevard in the Hollywood district of the City of Los Angeles, California. ...
In more recent years most of Powell's films have lapsed into relative obscurity, with only Broadway Melody of 1940 currently available on DVD in North America as of 2006, although two of her production numbers from Broadway Melody of 1936 were included as bonus features on the 2002 special edition DVD release of Singin' in the Rain, and a clip from Honolulu can be glimpsed in a documentary included as a bonus feature with the 2005 DVD release of The Wizard of Oz. In addition, the three That's Entertainment films are also available on DVD. That's Entertainment! III is notable for including behind-the-scenes footage of her "Fascinatin' Rhythm" routine from Lady Be Good. Her films play regularly on the cable network Turner Classic Movies. Singin in the Rain is a 1952 musical film starring Gene Kelly, Donald OConnor, and Debbie Reynolds and directed by Kelly and Stanley Donen, with Kelly also handling the choreography. ...
For the novel, see The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; For comparison of book and film, see The Wizard of Oz book to film comparison; For the history of The Wizard of Oz on television, see The Wizard of Oz on television; For other senses of this title, see The Wizard...
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is a cable television channel featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and Warner Bros. ...
Filmography Features: Short Subjects: Queen High is the title of an early musical-comedy produced by Paramount Pictures on 1930. ...
1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link is to a full 1930 calendar). ...
George Whites 1935 Scandals was an American musical film produced in 1935 by Fox Film Corporation (before it became part of 20th Century Fox). ...
1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...
Broadway Melody of 1936 is a musical film released by MGM in 1935, despite the title. ...
Eleanor Powell, dances in the Swingin the Jinx finale of Born to Dance. ...
1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...
Broadway Melody of 1938 is a 1937 musical film, produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by Roy Del Ruth. ...
1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...
Rosalie is an American musical play first produced in 1928. ...
Honolulu is an American musical film that was released by MGM in 1936. ...
1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...
Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell dance to Begin the Beguine in Broadway Melody of 1940. ...
Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ...
Lady Be Good is the title of an MGM musical film which was released in 1941. ...
For the movie, see 1941 (film). ...
Ship Ahoy is the title of a 1942 musical-comedy motion picture produced by MGM. The film stars Eleanor Powell as Tallulah Winters, a dancing star who is hired to perform on an ocean liner. ...
Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ...
Thousands Cheer was an American musical-comedy released by MGM in 1943. ...
Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ...
I Dood It is the title of a 1943 musical-comedy motion picture produced by MGM and starring Red Skelton and dancer Eleanor Powell. ...
Sensations of 1945 is an American musical-comedy film which was released by United Artists in 1944. ...
1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ...
Duchess of Idaho is a musical romantic comedy produced in 1950 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. ...
1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...
- No Contest! (1934)
- Screen Shapshots Series 15, No. 12 (1936)
- Screen Snapshots: Famous Hollywood Mothers (1947)
- Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Holiday (1948)
- Have Faith in Our Children (1955)
1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...
1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...
Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ...
To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...
1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
External links The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about actors, films, television shows, television stars, video games and production crew personnel. ...
The Internet Broadway Database (IBDB) is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. ...
References Margie Schultz: Eleanor Powell: A Bio-Bilbiography, Greenwood Press, 1994, ISBN 0-313-28110-6
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