"Hit the Deck" Jane Powell Hand Signed 3X5 Card COA

Description: Up for auction "Hit the Deck" Jane Powell Hand Signed 3X5 Card. ES - 6029 Jane Powell (born Suzanne Lorraine Burce; April 1, 1929) is an American singer, dancer and actress who rose to fame in the mid-1940s with roles in various Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals. Powell was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, where she achieved local fame as a singer, touring the state as the Oregon Victory Girl selling victory bonds. As a teenager, she relocated to Los Angeles, California, where she signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Powell's vocal, dancing, and acting talents were utilized for lead and supporting roles in musicals such as A Date with Judy (1948, with friend Elizabeth Taylor), Royal Wedding (1951, with Fred Astaire), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954, with Howard Keel) and Hit the Deck (1955). By the late 1950s, her film career slowed, leading her to transition to theatre with performances in various touring shows as well as two Broadway productions. In 1985, Powell relocated with her fifth husband, former child star Dickie Moore (who died in 2015), to New York City and Wilton, Connecticut, where she is occasionally active in local theatre. Jane Powell was born Suzanne Lorraine Burce, the only child born to Paul E. Burce (a Wonder Bread employee) and Eileen Baker Burce (a housewife), on April 1, 1929, in Portland, Oregon. Powell began dance lessons at the age of two. In an attempt to liken her appearance to Shirley Temple, Powell's mother took her to get her first perm the same year she began dance lessons. Aged five, she appeared on the children's radio program Stars of Tomorrow. She also took dance lessons with Agnes Peters, and there the Burce family met Scotty Weston, a talent scout and dance instructor. He convinced the family to move to Oakland, California for Powell to take dance lessons in hopes of her being discovered. However, Weston's lessons were held in a large, dark, damp ballroom packed full of other starlet hopefuls, and after three months of living in a hotel room and eating meals cooked on a hot plate, the family moved back to Portland. Paul Burce had quit his job of 14 years to move to Oakland, and was unable to get it back when they returned. The family moved into an apartment building owned by friends, and Paul soon became the manager after the friends left. While there, and while helping her father take the garbage out, Powell would sing. Tenants insisted that she should take lessons, and after saving their money, bought singing lessons for her. At 12, Powell had her career taken over by a local promoter, Carl Werner, who helped her get selected as the Oregon Victory Girl. She began singing live on the local Portland radio station, KOIN, and traveled the state for two years, singing and selling victory bonds. During this time, she first met Lana Turner. Powell presented her with flowers and sang for her. Years later, when they met again at MGM, Turner did not remember her. According to Powell, even after meeting her many times, Turner never remembered who she was. During her time as the Oregon Victory Girl, Powell had two weekly radio shows. During the first, she sang with an organ accompaniment, and during the second, she sang with an orchestra and other performers. At one time she was billed singing alongside Johnnie Ray, also from Oregon. She had attended Beaumont Grade School in Portland. In summer 1943, Paul and Eileen Burce took their daughter on vacation to Hollywood. There, she appeared on Janet Gaynor's radio show Hollywood Showcase: Stars over Hollywood.[5] The show was a talent competition, and among the other contestants were Kathie Lee Gifford's mother, Joan Epstein. Powell won the competition, and soon auditioned for Louis B. Mayer at MGM, as well as for David O. Selznick. Without even taking a screen test, Powell was then signed to a seven-year contract with MGM. Within two months, Powell was loaned to United Artists for her first film, Song of the Open Road. Powell's character in Song of the Open Road was named Jane Powell, and her stage name was taken from this. In 1945, Powell sang "Because" at the wedding of Esther Williams and Ben Gage.

Price: 39.99 USD

Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

End Time: 2025-01-22T13:19:58.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD