Vera-Ellen, Underrated Dancer
“I'm a dancer and I can never really get away from my career. On the days when I don't dance at the studio, I have to practice for at least an hour in the evening to keep in shape. Dancing is like breathing — missing a day doing either is very bad.”
“I'm a dancer and I can never really get away from my career. On the days when I don't dance at the studio, I have to practice for at least an hour in the evening to keep in shape. Dancing is like breathing — missing a day doing either is very bad.”
I was under the impression that I had seen quite a few of Vera's films but apparently until recently I had only seen White Christmas and On the Town. I've seen both films multiple times (White Christmas even a zillion times) so it feels like I have seen a lot of Vera-Ellen. I decided to improve this number and watched Big Leaguer last Sunday and The Belle of New York today. Come to think of it, I believe I have also seen The Kid from Brooklyn, Wonder Man and Call Me Madam in my childhood but since I literally cannot remember any of it (not even 100% sure if I have really seen them), I have not marked them as watched on my Letterboxd. I will definitely watch more of her films in the near future.
Vera-Ellen (16 February 1921 – 30 August 1981) was born Vera-Ellen Westmeier Rohe. Reportedly her mother dreamed she would have a baby girl called 'Vera-Ellen' with a hyphen, hence the hyphenated name. Vera-Ellen began to take dancing lessons at a young age for health reasons, at the same studio (Hessler Studio of Dancing) as Doris Day. It is said their parents used to carpool together when bringing their daughters to the studio.
Vera-Ellen became a member of The Rockettes, a dance company, which led to roles on Broadway. This caught the attention of Samuel Goldwyn who then cast her in two films with Danny Kaye, Wonder Man (her film debut) and The Kid From Brooklyn. She would go on to make a modest total of 14 films and would be mainly known for her dancing (her acting skills were limited and never developed and her light singing voice was usually dubbed). Because her dancing partners were none other than Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Danny Kaye and Donald O'Connor, some of her films became well known (especially White Christmas) and fortunately she hasn't been completely forgotten. With her career dying down when the musical became less popular, she retired early from making films. Her last film was Let's Be Happy (1957). When she developed severe arthritis following her retirement, she took dancing lessons again to combat her physical ailment.
As for her romantic life ... Vera-Ellen dated Rock Hudson for about three years. The fan magazines made it seem like a serious affair (there were even rumours of marriage) but the romance was in fact staged by Hudson's agent Henry Willson. Vera-Ellen and Rock did develop a genuine friendship. She was married twice, first to a dancer and secondly to a millionaire from the Rothschild family. During her second marriage she gave birth to her first child, being already in her forties. Her baby daughter died at the age of three months from SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) in 1963 and after this traumatic event Vera-Ellen virtually became a recluse. She died of ovarian cancer, only 60 years old.
Vera-Ellen was known to have the smallest waist in Hollywood, was very thin throughout her career, and it was rumoured that her neck was always covered with high-necked outfits or choker necklaces to hide a prematurely aged neck caused by anorexia. Her friends denied the neck rumour and indeed there are photos and footage on the internet to be found where her neck is exposed and appears to be normal. I also read reports that the neck covering was her trademark. Whether she suffered from an eating disorder or not, fact is that she devoted boundless energy to her dancing and her work ethic was legendary and I wonder whether she could have performed like she did if she would have suffered from anorexia.
When considering her dancing skills, it's actually astonishing she isn't better known because she was such a terrific and versatile dancer. Skilled in acrobatics, tap dance, ballet, jitterbug, romantic duets, jazz, whether solo or with a partner or prop, you name it, she could do it all. I think she must have been the greatest all-round female dancer of her time. Her dancing could be sultry and sexy as well as sweet and playful and she could play both the innocent girl-next-door and the seductive femme fatale. She displayed an infectious energy while sharing her joy in dancing with the public.
Her personal favourite dance number was the noir dance Slaughter on Tenth Avenue from Words and Music (1948), staged by Gene Kelly. Here she performed the role of a femme fatale.
For the magazine Motion Picture and Television Magazine of July 1952, Vera-Ellen tells journalist Charles Samuels in an interview: "Until I did Slaughter, I had done only light taps and other frothy kinds of dancing in pictures. Nevertheless, Gene asked MGM to get me for the number. At first, I wasn't sure whether I should take it. I knew I could do the steps, but I was going to have to portray a girl who was a floozy. It shocked me a little, I'll admit. But Gene, the old master, when I told him about my doubts, sent me down to see Marie Bryant, a colored dancing teacher who lives in the heart of the Negro section, on Central Avenue. Her whole place smelled of stale beer, and there were burned-out cigarettes everywhere I looked. I'd gone down there wearing a rehearsal outfit with puffed sleeves. Marie Bryant shook her head. 'Honey,' she said, 'you can't wear that dress if you're gonna do the kinda dance Mr. Gene Kelly told me to teach you. I can't see your body in such an outfit. I gotta see it, 'cause you talk with your body in this dance. I gotta see it to know what you're saying with your body as you move around.' Marie brought out a couple of kerchiefs, which I put on. Here and there! I worked hard all that day. But when we finished she said, 'You're dancing fine honey, but what are you thinking about?' I told her I was just thinking about the steps. She said that was no good, not enough. I had to think of what that sexy dance tried to say. 'If you don't think of men and sex while you're dancing,' she told me, 'your body won't say anything about those things to the folks watching you.'" Consequently Vera-Ellen visited Marie Bryant every day for a month and learned to think of sex while dancing.
But when she started to rehearse with Gene Kelly, there was a slight problem because he taught her to dance with more power and strength, like a man. So she had to do both, dance like a woman thinking of sex and love and dance forcefully like a man. She told Charles Samuels in the interview: "I'm getting better parts all the time now (…) But I'll never have a dance I loved more than Slaughter on Tenth Avenue, I'll never stop being grateful to Gene Kelly for giving me my chance at doing it with him." "They play the music of Slaughter over the air even now. If I hear it while driving, I have to stop the car, pull over on the side of the road — and listen to it, hearing that music makes me shiver and quake, I get goose-flesh at the memory, though we rehearsed it for six weeks, it lasted exactly seven minutes on the screen, the greatest seven minutes of my professional life." Even though this interview dates from 1952 and Vera-Ellen still had to make her most famous film White Christmas, the seven minute ballet Slaughter on Tenth Avenue stayed her all-time favourite dance number.
Vera-Ellen (known as 'Twinkletoes') seemed to be well loved among her colleagues and her dancing was held in high esteem. Fred Astaire said about her, "She was a real accomplished dancer, that girl. Ballet, tap dancing, anything you wanted to do." Although not as well known as many of her dancing peers, she can be considered one of the true Hollywood dancing legends and one of the few actresses to have danced with both Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. I'm eager to see more of her films and can't wait to watch Slaughter on Tenth Avenue.
My favourite Vera-Ellen dance numbers so far:
*Abraham with John Brascia (from White Christmas);
*The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing with Danny Kaye (from White Christmas);
As for her romantic life ... Vera-Ellen dated Rock Hudson for about three years. The fan magazines made it seem like a serious affair (there were even rumours of marriage) but the romance was in fact staged by Hudson's agent Henry Willson. Vera-Ellen and Rock did develop a genuine friendship. She was married twice, first to a dancer and secondly to a millionaire from the Rothschild family. During her second marriage she gave birth to her first child, being already in her forties. Her baby daughter died at the age of three months from SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) in 1963 and after this traumatic event Vera-Ellen virtually became a recluse. She died of ovarian cancer, only 60 years old.
Vera-Ellen was known to have the smallest waist in Hollywood, was very thin throughout her career, and it was rumoured that her neck was always covered with high-necked outfits or choker necklaces to hide a prematurely aged neck caused by anorexia. Her friends denied the neck rumour and indeed there are photos and footage on the internet to be found where her neck is exposed and appears to be normal. I also read reports that the neck covering was her trademark. Whether she suffered from an eating disorder or not, fact is that she devoted boundless energy to her dancing and her work ethic was legendary and I wonder whether she could have performed like she did if she would have suffered from anorexia.
When considering her dancing skills, it's actually astonishing she isn't better known because she was such a terrific and versatile dancer. Skilled in acrobatics, tap dance, ballet, jitterbug, romantic duets, jazz, whether solo or with a partner or prop, you name it, she could do it all. I think she must have been the greatest all-round female dancer of her time. Her dancing could be sultry and sexy as well as sweet and playful and she could play both the innocent girl-next-door and the seductive femme fatale. She displayed an infectious energy while sharing her joy in dancing with the public.
Her personal favourite dance number was the noir dance Slaughter on Tenth Avenue from Words and Music (1948), staged by Gene Kelly. Here she performed the role of a femme fatale.
For the magazine Motion Picture and Television Magazine of July 1952, Vera-Ellen tells journalist Charles Samuels in an interview: "Until I did Slaughter, I had done only light taps and other frothy kinds of dancing in pictures. Nevertheless, Gene asked MGM to get me for the number. At first, I wasn't sure whether I should take it. I knew I could do the steps, but I was going to have to portray a girl who was a floozy. It shocked me a little, I'll admit. But Gene, the old master, when I told him about my doubts, sent me down to see Marie Bryant, a colored dancing teacher who lives in the heart of the Negro section, on Central Avenue. Her whole place smelled of stale beer, and there were burned-out cigarettes everywhere I looked. I'd gone down there wearing a rehearsal outfit with puffed sleeves. Marie Bryant shook her head. 'Honey,' she said, 'you can't wear that dress if you're gonna do the kinda dance Mr. Gene Kelly told me to teach you. I can't see your body in such an outfit. I gotta see it, 'cause you talk with your body in this dance. I gotta see it to know what you're saying with your body as you move around.' Marie brought out a couple of kerchiefs, which I put on. Here and there! I worked hard all that day. But when we finished she said, 'You're dancing fine honey, but what are you thinking about?' I told her I was just thinking about the steps. She said that was no good, not enough. I had to think of what that sexy dance tried to say. 'If you don't think of men and sex while you're dancing,' she told me, 'your body won't say anything about those things to the folks watching you.'" Consequently Vera-Ellen visited Marie Bryant every day for a month and learned to think of sex while dancing.
“I was called a bookish child. Mother sent me to a ballet teacher in Cincinnati when I was nine years old. I guess I was an awkward child and the family wanted me to be graceful. When I found out I liked to dance and people seemed to like to watch me, I was determined to go places.”
But when she started to rehearse with Gene Kelly, there was a slight problem because he taught her to dance with more power and strength, like a man. So she had to do both, dance like a woman thinking of sex and love and dance forcefully like a man. She told Charles Samuels in the interview: "I'm getting better parts all the time now (…) But I'll never have a dance I loved more than Slaughter on Tenth Avenue, I'll never stop being grateful to Gene Kelly for giving me my chance at doing it with him." "They play the music of Slaughter over the air even now. If I hear it while driving, I have to stop the car, pull over on the side of the road — and listen to it, hearing that music makes me shiver and quake, I get goose-flesh at the memory, though we rehearsed it for six weeks, it lasted exactly seven minutes on the screen, the greatest seven minutes of my professional life." Even though this interview dates from 1952 and Vera-Ellen still had to make her most famous film White Christmas, the seven minute ballet Slaughter on Tenth Avenue stayed her all-time favourite dance number.
Vera-Ellen (known as 'Twinkletoes') seemed to be well loved among her colleagues and her dancing was held in high esteem. Fred Astaire said about her, "She was a real accomplished dancer, that girl. Ballet, tap dancing, anything you wanted to do." Although not as well known as many of her dancing peers, she can be considered one of the true Hollywood dancing legends and one of the few actresses to have danced with both Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. I'm eager to see more of her films and can't wait to watch Slaughter on Tenth Avenue.
My favourite Vera-Ellen dance numbers so far:
*Abraham with John Brascia (from White Christmas);
*The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing with Danny Kaye (from White Christmas);
*Main Street with Gene Kelly (from On the Town);
*Miss Turnstiles Ballet with Ensemble (from On the Town);
*Baby Doll with Fred Astaire (from The Belle of New York);
*A Bride's Wedding Day Song (Currier And Ives), especially the summer dance routine, with Fred Astaire (from The Belle of New York);
*Naughty But Nice, solo dance (from The Belle of New York).
PHOTOS/GIFS IN THIS POST FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:
*On the Town (1949) with Vera-Ellen; (screenshot by me)
*Love Happy (1949) with Vera-Ellen;
*Vera-Ellen with Rock Hudson, presumably out on a date;
*Words and Music (1948) with Vera-Ellen and Gene Kelly performing Slaughter on Tenth Avenue;
*Vera-Ellen, dancer;
*White Christmas (1954) with Vera-Ellen and Danny Kaye;
*White Christmas (1954) with Danny Kaye, Vera-Ellen and Bing Crosby;
*White Christmas (1954), behind the scenes with Danny Kaye, Vera-Ellen and Bing Crosby;
*Three Little Words (1950) with Vera-Ellen and Fred Astaire on set;
*On the Town (1949) with Vera-Ellen; (screenshot by me)
*Love Happy (1949) with Vera-Ellen;
*Vera-Ellen with Rock Hudson, presumably out on a date;
*Words and Music (1948) with Vera-Ellen and Gene Kelly performing Slaughter on Tenth Avenue;
*Vera-Ellen, dancer;
*White Christmas (1954) with Vera-Ellen and Danny Kaye;
*White Christmas (1954) with Danny Kaye, Vera-Ellen and Bing Crosby;
*White Christmas (1954), behind the scenes with Danny Kaye, Vera-Ellen and Bing Crosby;
*Three Little Words (1950) with Vera-Ellen and Fred Astaire on set;
*Happy Go Lovely (1951) with Vera-Ellen on set.