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5 unusual facts about Eleanor Powell


Eleanor Powell

Together, Astaire and Powell danced to Porter's "Begin the Beguine", which is considered by many to be one of the greatest tap sequences in film history.

Powell would go on to star opposite many of the decade's top leading men, including James Stewart, Robert Taylor, Fred Astaire, George Murphy, Nelson Eddy, and Robert Young.

Marjorie Lane

Marjorie Lane (February 21, 1912 – October 2, 2012) was an American singer of the 1930s who is best known for dubbing the voice of actress Eleanor Powell in the movies Born to Dance (1936), Broadway Melody of 1936 (1936),

Rat Terrier

Eleanor Powell trained a little dog named Buttons for a tap dance scene in Lady Be Good.

Spin Little Pinball

"Spin Little Pinball" is a novelty musical number from the 1944 musical motion picture Sensations of 1945 featuring Eleanor Powell in her last major film role prior to her retirement.


Born to Dance

Sung and danced by Eleanor Powell and The Foursome; Eleanor Powell's vocals dubbed by Marjorie Lane

Broadway Rhythm

The movie was originally slated to star Eleanor Powell and Gene Kelly but Louis B. Mayer and MGM loaned Kelly out to Columbia to play opposite Rita Hayworth in Cover Girl (1944).

The Great Morgan

Segments include a musical number featuring dancer Eleanor Powell cut from one of her early 1940s musicals (some sources erroneously state the scene comes from Broadway Melody of 1936, but in fact it was a scene cut from her 1939 film Honolulu), several songs by Carlos Ramirez, and a musical number by Virginia O'Brien backed by Tommy Dorsey and orchestra.


see also

Born to Dance

The film stars dancer Eleanor Powell and was a follow-up to her successful debut in Broadway Melody of 1936.

Broadway Melody of 1936

In an interview promoting That's Entertainment! III, Ann Miller stated that MGM was on the verge of bankruptcy at the time Broadway Melody of 1936 was made, and it, along with subsequent films starring Eleanor Powell, were so successful the company was rescued.