Vera-Ellen
Vera-Ellen in 1941
Born
Vera-Ellen Rohe

February 16, 1921
Norwood, Ohio, U.S.
DiedAugust 30, 1981(1981-08-30) (aged 60)[1]
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting placeGlen Haven Memorial Park, Sylmar, California
Occupation(s)Dancer, actress
Years active1937–1959
Spouses
Robert Hightower
​
​
(m. 1941; div. 1946)​
    Victor Rothschild
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1954; div. 1966)​
    Children1

    Vera-Ellen (born Vera-Ellen Rohe; February 16, 1921 – August 30, 1981) was an American dancer and actress. She is remembered for her solo performances as well as her work with partners Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Danny Kaye, and Donald O'Connor. She is best known for her starring roles in On the Town (1949) with Gene Kelly and White Christmas (1954) with Danny Kaye.

    Early life

    Vera-Ellen Rohe was born in Norwood, Ohio, to Martin F. Rohe, a piano dealer,[2] and Alma C. Westmeier. Both were descended from German immigrants.[3] Her mother dreamed she would have a girl named Vera-Ellen, including the hyphen.[4]

    She began dancing at age 10 and quickly became proficient. One of her fellow dance students at Hessler Studio of Dancing was Doris Day.[5] At age 13, she was a winner on the Major Bowes Amateur Hour[6] and embarked upon a professional career.

    Career

    Left to right: June Haver, Vera-Ellen, and Vivian Blaine in Three Little Girls in Blue (1946)

    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. 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.

    Dubbing

    Starting in 1945 with Wonder Man, her first film, her singing was dubbed. However, the Decca Broadway Original Cast Album of 1943's revival of A Connecticut Yankee has two vocals by Vera-Ellen, "I Feel at Home with You" and "You Always Love the Same Girl," both duets with Chester Stratton. Her style is of a comic soubrette.

    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. She also starred in the 1951 musical comedy 'Happy Go Lovely' alongside David Niven and Cesar Romero. Vera-Ellen's penultimate 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.[6]

    Television

    Vera-Ellen was a 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[7] and a February 14, 1959, broadcast of The Dinah Shore Show.[8] Following that, Vera-Ellen retired from performing.

    Personal life

    According to Hollywood chronicler Brian Cronin, what he describes as Vera-Ellen's "extremely thin"[9] appearance led to rumors during her career that she had an eating disorder.[9] A rumor that her neck was always covered during the filming of White Christmas because of wrinkling caused by supposed anorexia persists to this day. However, pictures and video taken at the same time show her neck appearing normal and undamaged.[9] A friend, Bill Dennington, who knew her during the last 20 years of her life, dismissed the story about her neck and added that he hated "that people think of her as 'the dancer with anorexia' and not just the fabulous dancer who has been so overlooked."[9]

    Her niece by marriage, Ileana Rothschild, born in 1967, remembered that her aunt "never stopped taking dance classes and maintained her slim figure always." She was also an "avid swimmer," who used a swimming program to recover from a mild stroke late in her life. According to Rothschild, she had no eating disorder.[9]

    Vera-Ellen was married twice. Her first husband was a fellow dancer, Robert Hightower, to whom she was married from February 1941 to November 1946.[10] Her second husband was oilman Victor Rothschild. They were married from 1954 to 1966 when they divorced. While married to Rothschild, she gave birth to a daughter, Victoria Ellen, who died in 1963 at three months from SIDS. Following the death of her only child, she withdrew from public life.

    Death

    Vera-Ellen died at the Los Angeles County General Hospital on August 30, 1981, of ovarian cancer. She was 60 years old.[11]

    Filmography

    Year Title Role Notes
    1945Wonder ManMidge MallonSinging voice dubbed by June Hutton
    1946The Kid from BrooklynSusie SullivanSinging voice dubbed by Suzanne Ellers
    Three Little Girls in BlueMyra ChartersSinging voice dubbed by Carol Stewart
    1947Carnival in Costa RicaLuisa MolinaSinging voice dubbed by Pat Friday
    1948Words and MusicHerself
    1949Love HappyMaggie Phillips
    On the TownIvy Smith
    1950Three Little WordsJessie BrownSinging voice dubbed by Anita Ellis
    1951Happy Go LovelyJanet JonesSinging voice dubbed by Eve Boswell
    1952The Belle of New YorkAngela BonfilsSinging voice dubbed by Anita Ellis
    1953Call Me MadamPrincess MariaSinging voice dubbed by Carol Richards
    Big LeaguerChristy
    1954White ChristmasJudy HaynesSinging voice dubbed by Trudy Stevens
    1957Let's Be HappyJeannie MacLeanSinging voice dubbed by Joan Small
    (final film role)

    Stage work

    Radio appearances

    YearProgramEpisode/source
    1953Stars over HollywoodHasty Retreat[12]

    References

    1. ↑ "Vera-Ellen, Dancer in Movies". The New York Times. 2 September 1980. p. 17. Retrieved 2011-07-03.
    2. ↑ Handsaker, Gene (March 22, 1946). "Hollywood". Altoona Tribune. p. 14. Retrieved June 27, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
    3. ↑ Soren, David (2003). Vera-Ellen: The Magic and the Mystery. Luminary Press. ISBN 978-1-887664-48-6.
    4. ↑ West, Alice (April 12, 1953). "Behind Scenes at Hollywood". The Ogden Standard-Examiner. p. 20. Retrieved June 27, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
    5. ↑ Kiesewetter, John (December 13, 2012). "Vera-Ellen danced into hearts". Cincinnati.com. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
    6. 1 2 "Vera-Ellen dead at age 55". Ukiah Daily Journal. September 1, 1981. p. 17. Retrieved June 27, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
    7. ↑ "Perry Como Show". The Decatur Daily Review. November 22, 1958. p. 6. Retrieved June 27, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
    8. ↑ "TV Listings". The Oregon Statesman. February 14, 1959. p. 11. Retrieved June 27, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
    9. 1 2 3 4 5 "Did Vera-Ellen's Neck Have to be Covered During the Filming of White Christmas Because it was Ravaged by the Effects of Anorexia?". legendsrevealed.com. 2012-09-13. Retrieved 2018-12-24.
    10. ↑ Cf. Soren, pp. 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"
    11. ↑ "Vera-Ellen, Dancer in Movies", The New York Times, Hollywood, Associated Press, September 2, 1981
    12. ↑ Kirby, Walter (May 10, 1953). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". The Decatur Daily Review. p. 50. Retrieved June 27, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon

    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.
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