Jane Powell
Jane Powell (born Suzanne Lorraine Burce; April 1, 1929 – September 16, 2021) was an American actress, singer, and dancer who appeared in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals in the 1940s and 50s. With her soprano voice and girl-next-door image, Powell appeared in films, television and on the stage, performing in the musicals A Date with Judy (1948), Royal Wedding (1951), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), and Hit the Deck (1955).[1]
For the cricketer, see Jane Powell (cricketer).
Jane Powell
September 16, 2021 (aged 92)
- Actress
- singer
- dancer
1941–2007
3
In the 1950s Powell starred in the film noir The Female Animal (1958) and adventure film Enchanted Island (1958). She made appearances on stage in My Fair Lady and The Sound of Music, and television appearances in guest roles on The Love Boat (1981–1982) and the sitcom Growing Pains (1988–1992). She was a veteran of the Golden Age of Hollywood.[1][2]
Powell starred in off-Broadway productions of Avow and Bounce in 2000.[3][4]
In December 2007, she united with the musical group Pink Martini, performing as a vocalist with them in their shared hometown of Portland. She appeared in local theatre productions in Wilton, Connecticut before her death.
Early years[edit]
Powell was born Suzanne Lorraine Burce, the only child of Paul Emerson Burce and Eileen Baker Burce, on April 1, 1929, in Portland, Oregon.[5] Powell began dance lessons when she was 2 years old.[6] By age 5, Powell had appeared on the Portland children's radio program Stars of Tomorrow.[7] She took dance lessons at the Agnes Peters School of Dance, where the Burce family met a talent scout and dance instructor who persuaded the family to move to Oakland, California, to attract Hollywood talent agents.[8][1] After three months of living in a hotel room, the family returned to Portland, and her father took a job managing a Banbury Cross apartment building.[9] While living in Banbury Cross, Powell took singing lessons.[7]
When Powell was 12 years old, a talent promoter helped her get selected as the Oregon Victory Girl. She began singing on Portland radio station KOIN and traveled Oregon for two years, singing and selling victory bonds. While vacationing in California in 1943, Powell won a Hollywood talent show and signed a contract with MGM Theaters in Hollywood the next day at the age of 14.[10]
She wanted to go back to high school and to university, but her mother forbade this as she was the only one making good money.[11]
Career[edit]
1943–1950[edit]
After signing with MGM, Powell was lent to United Artists for her first film, Song of the Open Road (1944), where she played the character of Jane Powell and took that as her professional name.[12] In 1945, Powell sang "Because" at the wedding of Esther Williams and Ben Gage.[13]
Powell's second feature film was Delightfully Dangerous (1945), then she appeared in Holiday in Mexico (1946), where she met Roddy McDowall, who became a life-long friend.[14][15]
Personal life[edit]
On November 5, 1949, Powell married former figure skater Gearhardt Anthony Steffen.[50] The union produced two children, Gearhardt, III, (July 21, 1951) and Suzanne Ilene, (November 21, 1952).[12][51] In 1953, Powell began an affair with Gene Nelson, her married co-star in Three Sailors and a Girl. Powell and Nelson planned to marry after divorcing their spouses, but after divorcing his wife, Nelson backed out of marrying Powell.[1][52]
Insecure and alone, Powell married car dealer Patrick W. Nerney on November 8, 1954.[53] Their daughter, Lindsay Averill, was born on February 1, 1956.[54] Powell and Nerney divorced in May 1963.[55]
In 1965, Powell married Hollywood publicist and manager Jim Fitzgerald, who managed her career. They divorced in 1975.[56] She married David Stellar Parlour in 1978 and divorced him in 1981.
Powell married child star Dickie Moore in 1982. After Moore died in 2015, Powell moved to their home in Wilton, Connecticut, where she died of natural causes on September 16, 2021, at the age of 92.[47][57][58][59]
Jane Powell played main roles as guest star in 4 musicals with Gordon McRae in a series of musicals («Railroad Hour»)on radio in 1949. «Sweethearts», «Music in the Air», «Brigadoon» and «Good News».