Jane Powell

Jane Powell enjoyed a successful career in movie musicals primarily throughout the '40s and '50s -- usually typecast as an innocent, "girl next door" teenager. Born Suzanne Bruce in Portland, Oregon on April 1, 1929, the youngster began going by the name of Jane Powell at an early age as her parents signed her up for singing and dance lessons in hopes of her becoming another Shirley Temple. Powell eventually landed jobs performing at nightclubs during World War II, which led to her own local radio show. After her family relocated to Los Angeles during the '40s, Powell's career truly took off, as she appeared on further radio programs, eventually leading to a contract with MGM. Powell's movie career began in 1944, as she appeared for the next ten years or so mostly in musicals and comedies. In the late '40s, Powell launched a recording career, issuing several albums on both the Columbia and MGM labels (including such titles as A Date with Jane Powell, Alice in Wonderland, Two Weeks with Love, and Can't We Be Friends?, among others). Powell's movie career didn't truly take off until 1951, when she appeared in Royal Wedding with dance legend Fred Astaire. But Powell continued to be typecast as the innocent teenager, until she landed a more mature role in what is probably her best-known movie, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, in which she starred alongside Howard Keel. By the late '50s, however, it appeared as though Powell's movie career had come to a halt, which led to appearances on television, stage work, and a nightclub act choreographed by Gower Champion. Powell starred in a Broadway revival of Irene in 1973 (replacing Debbie Reynolds), which led to more work in summer stock and road shows, including The Jane Powell Show, My Fair Lady, Peter Pan, The Unsinkable Molly...