Vera-Ellen (born Vera-Ellen Westmeier Rohe; February 16, 1921 - August 30, 1981) was an American dancer and actress. She is principally celebrated for her performances with partners Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Danny Kaye, and Donald O'Connor. She is best known for her starring roles in On the Town with Kelly and White Christmas (1954) with Kaye.
Video Vera-Ellen
Early life
Vera-Ellen Westmeier Rohe was born in Norwood, Ohio (a suburb of Cincinnati), to Martin F. Rohe, a piano dealer, and Alma Catherine Westmeier, both descended from German immigrants. Her hyphenated name originated in her mother's dream in which she had a daughter named "Vera-Ellen".
She began dancing at age 10 and quickly became proficient. One of her fellow dance students at Hessler Studio of Dancing was Doris Day. At age 13, she was a winner on the Major Bowes Amateur Hour and embarked upon a professional career.
Maps Vera-Ellen
Career
Stage
In 1939, she made her Broadway debut in the Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein musical Very Warm for May. She became one of the youngest Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall, although she was only 5'4". 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 1945 film Wonder Man.
Film
She danced with Gene Kelly in the Hollywood musicals Words and Music and On the Town, while also appearing in the last Marx Brothers film, Love Happy. She received top billing alongside Fred Astaire in the musicals Three Little Words and The Belle of New York. She had a co-starring role with Donald O'Connor in the Ethel Merman vehicle, Call Me Madam. Vera-Ellen's next to last film role was the 1954 blockbuster hit White Christmas, co-starring with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, and Rosemary Clooney. She starred in only one more film, the 1957 British production Let's Be Happy.
Television
Vera-Ellen was a reasonably frequent guest on US variety programming in the mid-to-late 1950s. Her final performances were on a November 22, 1958 television episode of The Perry Como Show and a February 14, 1959 broadcast of The Dinah Shore Show. Following that, Vera-Ellen retired from performing.
Personal life
She was married twice. Her first husband was a fellow dancer, Robert Hightower, to whom she was married from February 1941 to November 1946.
Her second husband was millionaire Victor Rothschild of the Rothschild family. They were married from 1954 to their 1966 divorce. While married to Rothschild, she gave birth to a daughter, Victoria Ellen, who died at three months of age from SIDS in 1963. Following the death of her only child, she withdrew from public life.
Death
Vera-Ellen died at The University of California Los Angeles Medical Center on August 30, 1981 of cancer. She was 60 years old. She is buried at Glen Haven Memorial Park in Sylmar, California, a Los Angeles suburb.
Filmography
Stage work
- Very Warm for May (1939)
- Higher and Higher (1940)
- Panama Hattie (1940)
- By Jupiter (1942)
- A Connecticut Yankee (1943)
Radio appearances
See also
Notes
References
Further reading
- Oderman, Stuart, Talking to the Piano Player 2: Stars, Writers, and Bandleaders Remember. BearManor Media, 2009. ISBN 1-59393-320-7.
- Soren, David, Vera-Ellen: The Magic and the Mystery. Luminary Press, Baltimore, 2003. ISBN 1-88766-448-3.
External links
- Vera-Ellen on IMDb
- Vera-Ellen at the Internet Broadway Database
- Vera-Ellen at Find a Grave
- Vera-Ellen at Virtual History
- Vera-Ellen Tribute
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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