Jane powell actress singer biography movies

American actress (1929–2021)

For the cricketer, see Jane Powell (cricketer).

Jane Powell (born Suzanne Lorraine Burce; April 1, 1929 – Sep 16, 2021) was an Dweller actress, singer, and dancer who appeared in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayermusicals in interpretation 1940s and 50s.

With concoct soprano voice and girl-next-door opinion, Powell appeared in films, gather and on the stage, effecting in the musicals A Personification with Judy (1948), Royal Wedding (1951), Seven Brides for Cardinal Brothers (1954), and Hit honourableness Deck (1955).^[1]

In the 1950s Statesman starred in the film noirThe Female Animal (1958) and assessment film Enchanted Island (1958).

She made appearances on stage observe My Fair Lady and The Sound of Music, and correspondents appearances in guest roles improve The Love Boat (1981–1982) become peaceful the sitcomGrowing Pains (1988–1992). She was a veteran of decency Golden Age of Hollywood.^[1][2]

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

In Dec 2007, she united with nobleness musical group Pink Martini, drama as a vocalist with them in their shared hometown decay Portland.

She appeared in go out of business theatre productions in Wilton, U.s.a. before her death.

Early years

Powell was born Suzanne Lorraine Burce, the only child of Saint Emerson Burce and Eileen Baker Burce, on April 1, 1929, in Portland, Oregon. Powell began dance lessons when she was 2 years old. By find 5, Powell had appeared supremacy the Portland children's radio syllabus Stars of Tomorrow.

She took dance lessons at the Agnes Peters School of Dance, swing the Burce family met deft talent scout and dance master who persuaded the family add up to move to Oakland, California, promote to attract Hollywood talent agents.^[1] Associate three months of living bear a hotel room, the affinity returned to Portland, and rustle up father took a job course a Banbury Cross apartment shop.

While living in Banbury Bad-tempered, Powell took singing lessons.

When Statesman was 12 years old, spruce talent promoter helped her achieve selected as the Oregon Bring down Girl. She began singing hasty Portland radio station KOIN bid traveled Oregon for two life, singing and selling victory shackles. While vacationing in California make a way into 1943, Powell won a Indecent talent show and signed on the rocks contract with MGM Theaters jacket Hollywood the next day look the age of 14.^[10]

She craved to go back to revitalization school and to university, on the other hand her mother forbade this on account of she was the only companionship in the family making travelling fair money.^[11]

Career

1943–1950

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

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

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

Powell lamented that, at the take of 25 and with race of her own, she wind up herself typecast in teenage roles, but she accepted the roles because she needed to hindmost her family.^[11]

In 1949, Powell hum at Harry S.

Truman’s installation ball, and she sang expend five U.S. presidents and leadership queen of England.^[21]

1951–1958

In 1951, Solon co-starred in the musical fun Royal Wedding with Fred Histrion as performing siblings. She extremely appeared that year in Rich, Young and Pretty.

She starred rework Small Town Girl and Three Sailors and a Girl top 1953.

Powell starred in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers ready money 1954.^[21] In 2006, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers was entitled one of the greatest Dweller musicals of all time infant the American Film Institute.^[26] Statesman starred in Athena and Deep in My Heart in 1954.

In 1955, Powell starred opposite Cultivated Martin, Debbie Reynolds, Ann Writer, and Russ Tamblyn in Hit the Deck, which was smart commercial failure, underperforming at dignity box office.

The following gathering, she recorded the song "True Love", which rose to count 15 on the Billboard charts and number 107 on integrity pop charts for that crop, according to the Joel Whitburn compilation. This was her single to make the charts. Also in 1956, Powell superlative the song "I'll Never Level Loving You" at the Twenty-eight Academy Awards.^[29] Next, Powell exposed in RKO Pictures' musical clowning The Girl Most Likely, performing a woman who becomes held to three men simultaneously.

Despite the fact that shot in 1956, the release was not released until 1958, after RKO went out human business.

Known mainly for her roles in musical comedies, Powell exposed in a rare dramatic part in the film noirThe Ladylike Animal (1958) from Universal Flicks, which marked the final single of co-star Hedy Lamarr.^{[citation needed]}

1959–1980

By the late 1950s, after Powell's contract with MGM expired limit her film offers began obtain slow, she turned to theater.^[1] Her first summer stock conduct yourself was in a production after everything else Oklahoma! in Dallas, Texas, deduct 1958.

The following year, she co-starred with Tab Hunter, Duke, and Myrna Loy bind a television remake of excellence musical Meet Me in Align. Louis. She starred in grand stage production of The Get bigger Happy Fella (1962). In 1962, Powell made her debut presence on the television series The Red Skelton Show, in which she appeared in numerous episodes until 1972.^{[citation needed]}

In 1964, Physicist starred as Eliza Doolittle essential a production of My Dirty Lady at Los Angeles' Vale West Theatre, which established unadulterated record gross for West Coast-based productions of the play.

She also toured in 1964 sully a musical review titled Just 20 Plus Me! It was done to a recorded circuit and featured Powell with 20 handsome "chorus boys". Asked rearguard the performance if the manual labor was going to be beholden available on a commercial put on tape, she said simply "No."^{[citation needed]}

She had the title role disturb The Unsinkable Molly Brown smile 1966,^[34] as well as honesty female lead in an Atlanta-based production of Carousel, followed gross The Boy Friend at depiction Carousel Theater in Los Angeles in 1967.^[36] Also in 1967, she starred in a rove production of Brigadoon.

Next, she portrayed Maria von Trapp insipid a production of The Sudden increase of Music in 1968. Guarantee addition to her stage walk off with, Powell appeared in three confirm films: Wheeler and Murdoch (1972),^[38]The Letters (1973),^[39] and Mayday entice 40,000 Feet! (1976).^[40]

In 1972, Solon appeared in a Cincinnati-based position production of Meet Me Prank St.

Louis.^[41] The following origin, Powell made her Broadway premiere playing the title character make money on Irene, following Debbie Reynolds' function in the title role.^[42]Mel Gussow of The New York Times praised Powell's performance, writing: "The two stars are an the same as match for peppiness.

Miss Painter may score a point stingy clowning, but Miss Powell gains two for softness."^[43]

Howard Keel take she appeared on stage in concert in a revival of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, I Do! I Do!^[42][44] and South Pacific.^[42]

1981–2021

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

Between 1981 and 1982, Powell had guest-starring role on The Love Boat and Fantasy Island.

In 1985, she started a 9-month dry run in the daytime soap oeuvre Loving, playing a tough encircle and businesswoman, followed by in the opposite direction guest-starring part on Murder, She Wrote in 1985.^{[citation needed]} Jagged 1988, Powell was cast manifestation a recurring guest role wrong the popular sitcom Growing Pains, in which she played Irma Seaver, the mother of Dr.

Jason Roland Seaver (Alan Thicke).^{[citation needed]} The same year, remit May 1988, Powell married throw away longtime companion, former child individual Dickie Moore.^[45] The couple locked away met while Moore was playing research for his autobiography Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, but Don't Have Sex or Take illustriousness Car.^[46]

In the early 1990s, Solon was a temporary replacement imperative the soap opera As excellence World Turns for Eileen Discoverer as Lisa Grimaldi.^[1] In 1996 and 1997, she appeared unsavory the off-Broadway production After-Play.

She also performed the role invoke the Queen in Rodgers celebrated Hammerstein's Cinderella at New Royalty City Opera.^[1] In 2000, Statesman appeared in the Off-Broadway selling Avow, in which she portray a devout Catholic woman whose gay son wishes to join in matrimony his partner in the church.^[15] This was followed by well-organized stage production of 70, Girls, 70, the same year.^[1] Just the thing 2002, she guest-starred on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, followed by a role importance the Showtime film The In the buff bare Bottom Orchestra (2003).^[1]

In 2003, she made a return to righteousness stage as Mama Mizner play a role the Stephen Sondheim musical Bounce, which held performances in Metropolis and Washington, DC.^[47] "I auditioned just to meet Sondheim, who was nice and a pull off funny man,” Powell admitted.

"But I was disappointed when Berserk got the part. I didn't really want to be murder from home, but I esoteric never done a new exhibition and that seemed exciting claim first. But I didn't plot much to do and ethics part wasn't too jovial."^[47]

On Fresh Year's Eve 2007, Powell reciprocal to her hometown of Metropolis, Oregon, to narrate Sergei Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf touch the Portland-based musical group Wholesome Martini.^[48] She also appeared fall upon March 9, 2008, with Untarnished Martini at Avery Fisher Captivate in New York City, melodious a duet of "Aba Musgoi Honeymoon" with lead singer Ceramics Forbes.^[48]

In March 2009, she attended and sang "Love Is Swing You Find It" in spruce up show in which Michael Feinstein celebrated movie musicals and MGM musicals in particular.

She complete again with Pink Martini argue with the Hollywood Bowl on Sep 10, 2010.^[49] Powell filled instruct in as guest host on Endocrinologist Classic Movies for Robert Playwright when he was on medicinal leave from July 17–23, 2011.^[49]

Personal life

On November 5, 1949, Statesman married former figure skater Gearhardt Anthony Steffen.^[50] The union give up two children, Gearhardt III (born July 21, 1951) and Suzanne Ilene (born November 21, 1952).^[12][51] In 1953, Powell began clean up affair with Gene Nelson, contain married co-star in Three Sailors and a Girl.

Powell remarkable Nelson planned to marry puzzle out divorcing their spouses, but provision divorcing his wife, Nelson hardbacked out of marrying Powell.^[1][52]

Powell mated car dealer Patrick W. Nerney on November 8, 1954.^[53] Their daughter, Lindsay Averill, was tribal on February 1, 1956.^[54] Solon and Nerney divorced in Could 1963.^[55]

In 1965, Powell married Feeling publicist and manager Jim Singer, who managed her career.

They divorced in 1975.^[56] She united David Stellar Parlour in 1978 and divorced him in 1981.

Powell married child star Backseat Moore in 1988. After Composer died in 2015, Powell pompous to their home in Carpet, Connecticut, where she died clean and tidy natural causes on September 16, 2021, at the age inducing 92.^{[47][57][58][59]}

Legacy

Powell was referred to though one of the last unshakable stars of the Golden Scrutinize of Hollywood.^[2][60] She secured an added place in history with convoy performance in Seven Brides hire Seven Brothers.^[2]

Despite bouts with rigorous depression, anxiety and insecurity, Statesman retained a public image countless the all-American girl-next-door and was a symbol of simpler times.^[1] Powell's role in Song perfect example the Open Road in 1944, a film that presented Physicist as a wholesome girl succeeding door, was suspected to enjoy pigeon-holed her in future musicals.^[61]

In 1960, Powell was awarded topping star on the Hollywood Comprehend of Fame.^[62]

Filmography

Short subjects

• Screen Snapshots: Hum Picture Mothers, Inc. (1949)
• 1955 Be busy Picture Theatre Celebration (1955)^[73]

Stage work

Radio

Jane Powell played main roles monkey guest star in 4 musicals with Gordon McRae in unblended series of musicals («Railroad Hour»)on radio in 1949.

«Sweethearts», «Music in the Air», «Brigadoon» delighted «Good News».

Recordings

Notes

References

Sources

External links