Eleanor Powell, American actress and dancer (b. 1912)
Eleanor Torrey Powell (November 21, 1912 – February 11, 1982) was an American dancer and actress. Best remembered for her tap dance numbers in musical films in the 1930s and 1940s, she was one of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's top dancing stars during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Powell appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and most prominently, in a series of movie musical vehicles tailored especially to showcase her dance talents, including Born to Dance (1936), Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937), Rosalie (1937), and Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940). She retired from films in the mid 1940s and settled into a career on television hosting a Christian children's show, but resurfaced for the occasional specialty dance scene in films such as "Thousands Cheer" and eventually headlined a successful nightclub act in Las Vegas. She died from cancer at 69 years of age. Powell is known as one of the most versatile and powerful female dancers of the Hollywood studio era.