Eleanor Powell

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Birth Name: Eleanor Torrey Powell

Born: 21 November 1912 Died: 11 February 1982

Country of origin: United States

Height: 5' 6"

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My Favourite Old Hollywood Hairstyles (519 items)
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Published 8 years, 2 months ago

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Eleanor Powell Videos

Begin The Beguine

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Added 13 years ago

Amazing Tap Dance with trained dog

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Added 13 years ago

Eleanor Powell - "Duchess of Idaho" Cameo

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Added 13 years ago

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Description: Eleanor Powell was born in 1912 in Springfield, Massachussetts, and got her professional start in Atlantic City clubs, from where she moved into in revue in New York at the Ritz Grill and Casino de Paris at the age of sixteen. She started her career on Broadway in 1929, where her machine-gun foot work gained her the title of world champion in tapping. In 1935 she came to Hollywood where she starred in the great MGM musicals in the late 1930s, establishing herself as a Queen of Ra-Ta-Taps. In spite of the fact that she was primarily a solo performer she also danced with Fred Astaire and George Murphy. After her marriage she wasn' Eleanor Powell was born in 1912 in Springfield, Massachussetts, and got her professional start in Atlantic City clubs, from where she moved into in revue in New York at the Ritz Grill and Casino de Paris at the age of sixteen. She started her career on Broadway in 1929, where her machine-gun foot work gained her the title of world champion in tapping. In 1935 she came to Hollywood where she starred in the great MGM musicals in the late 1930s, establishing herself as a Queen of Ra-Ta-Taps. In spite of the fact that she was primarily a solo performer she also danced with Fred Astaire and George Murphy. After her marriage she wasn't seen on the screen, except for a short number in the Duchess of Idaho (1950). After her divorce she started a short but successful night-club career.

In 1954, following a period of retirement, she was asked to host The Faith of Our Children (1953), a non-denominational religious program which featured appearances from film and sports stars. The show lasted three seasons and Eleanor received a regional Emmy Award for children's programming.

One of her earliest New York jobs was working with the legendary Bill Robinson in private shows (c. 1928) given at parties held in the palatial homes of New York's high society. This was by working with Robinson that Powell first discovered tap dancing.

With a preference toward ballet and acrobatics (notably her splits), she did not initially tap in her early career. In fact, she disliked the style which she considered lacking in grace. It was only when she lost a number of musical roles in New York because she could not tap that she realized the need to learn. Due to her aerial style, she was taught to tap by being forced to wear army surplus ammunition belts with sandbags attached to ground herself. She was taught by Jack Donohue who at time gave private lessons in tap, reportedly paying him $35 for a course of 10 lessons.

Her parents separated when she was 11 months and divorced when she was two. Her mother told Eleanor as a child that her father had died to protect them from outside scandal, but Eleanor's father reintroduced himself to Eleanor in 1935 during the Boston run of "At Home Abroad". ... (more)