American actress, singer, and dancer Jane Powell became well-known in the middle of the 1940s because to her performances in a number of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals. She started off singing and got signed while she was just a teenager. When she was a young vocalist travelling the state as the Oregon Victory Girl selling victory bonds during World War II, she rose to local celebrity. In “Song of the Open Road” (1944), she made her acting debut in a feature film. This was followed by a lead role in Arthur Lubin’s “Delightfully Dangerous” (1945). Her starring roles in the musicals “A Date with Judy” (1948), “Royal Wedding” (1951), “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” (1954), “Athena” (1954), and “Hit the Deck” (1954) led to her later rise to stardom (1955).

Her film career stagnated in the late 1950s as her MGM contract expired. After that, she started appearing in national touring productions of plays, such as well-known renditions of “My Fair Lady” and “The Sound of Music.” She played the lead in the Broadway version of “Irene” from 1973 to 1974, which was followed by “Avow” and “Bounce.” Throughout the 1980s, she continued to make sporadic appearances on television, including recurrent guest roles on “The Love Boat” (1981–1982) and the sitcom “Growing Pains” (1988–1992). She joined the musical trio Pink Martini in December 2007 and began performing as a vocalist with them in their hometown of Portland. In 2008 at New York City’s Lincoln Center and later in 2010 at the Hollywood Bowl, she performed once more with the group. Before her passing in 2021, she was sporadically involved in the local theater scene.

How much was the Net worth of Jane Powell?

Jane Powell, an actress, singer, and dancer, amassed a sizable sum of money over the course of her lifetime as a result of her numerous film and television roles. At the time of her passing, Jane Powell’s net worth was reported to be $10 million. Her careers in acting, dancing, and singing were her main sources of income. During her most recent period of time, she led a simple life. However, at this time, we are unable to confirm her actual pay.

Hollywood Golden Age Actress, Jane Powell Dies At 92

Jane Powell, an actress and singer who made her film debut as a teenager and went on to star in numerous Hollywood musicals during the 1940s and 1950s, most notably “Royal Wedding” with Fred Astaire and “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” with Howard Keel, passed away on September 16 at her Wilton, Connecticut, home. She was 92 years old. Powell passed away quietly at the home she had for many years with her late husband, actor and publicist Dick Moore, who passed away in 2015, according to Susan Granger, a friend of the actress and a representative for her family

She made her acting debut in 1944’s Song of the Open Road, playing a fictionalized version of herself as a young singer who teams up with some of the era’s biggest showbiz names, including Edgar Bergen (with Charlie McCarthy), Sammy Kaye, the leader of the Big Band, and W.C. Fields. In a 2002 episode of Law & Order: SVU, she played a nursing home patient who had been subjected to elder abuse in her final credited TV act.

She had a number of theatre performances under her belt, including the Broadway production of Irene in 1973 and the Off-Broadway production of Bill C. Davis’ comedy-drama Avow in 2000. Powell played the lead in several national touring shows, including Chapter Two, Same Time, and Marriage-Go-Round. She is survived by her grandchildren Skye Cavalli and Tia Cavalli, as well as her children Geary Anthony Steffen III, Suzanne Steffen, and Lindsay Cavalli.

What was her cause of death?

On September 16, 2021, Jane Powell, 92, passes away. Her demise resulted from natural causes. She was described to as one of the final remaining Hollywood icons from the Golden Age.

What was Jane Powell’s birth name? Information about Her Age, Parents, and Family

Jane Powell, whose real name is Suzanne Lorraine Burce, was born on April 1st, 1929. She was born in Portland, Oregon, in the United States. She was an American by birth and a member of the American-White ethnic group. Her race was therefore white. She finally had a family celebration for her 92nd birthday. Her zodiac sign according to birth date was Aries, and she lived her entire life as a Christian.

Her mother, Eileen Baker Burce, and father, Paul E. Burce, welcomed her into the world as their lone child. Thus, she was an only child. Her mother was a stay-at-home mom, while her father worked at a Wonder Bread Factory. Her paternal grandpa was descended from English settlers in the Plymouth Colony, but her paternal grandmother was Canadian and was born in Westminster, Ontario. She finished the eighth grade at Beaumont Elementary School in Portland, where she received her schooling. In 1943, she was set to start her first year of college.

What was the Professional Career of Jane Powell?

At the age of two, Jane Powell began attending dancing lessons. Her parents were described as “an unhappy couple who saw in their brilliant girl a chance to escape their meager circumstances, envisioning her as child-star heir apparent to Shirley Temple” by biographer Matthew Grimm afterwards. Powell’s mother took her to get her first perm when she was still a child in an effort to make her seem more like Temple. She had an appearance on the Portland children’s radio show “Stars of Tomorrow” when she was five years old. The Burce family then met Scotty Weston, a local talent scout and dance instructor, when she enrolled in dancing lessons at the Agnes Peters School of Dance.

While residing at the Banbury Cross (following her relocation to Oakland, California), Powell was frequently overheard singing by other residents. Impressed by her talent, they urged her to pursue formal training and banded their resources to pay for her classes. She was chosen as the Oregon Victory Girl when she was twelve thanks to a local talent scout named Carl Werner. Also, she started singing live on the Portland radio station KOIN and traversed the state for two years selling victory bonds, where she met actress Lana Turner. She had two weekly radio shows that featured her soprano singing while she was the Oregon Victory Girl: the first featured an organ accompaniment and the second featured an orchestra and additional artists.

More on Career

She then had an audition for David O. Selznick and Louis B. Mayer at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on Janet Gaynor’s radio talent show, “Hollywood Showcase: Stars over Hollywood.” She was given a seven-year contract with MGM after her performance on “Hollywood Showcase: Stars over Hollywood” caught their attention. Later, she was lent to United Artists for “Song of the Open Road,” her debut movie (1944). She also played a young actress by the name of Jane Powell, which she later used as her stage name. She also performed “Because” during Esther Williams and Ben Gage’s 1945 nuptials. During her first three years with MGM, she produced six films, made radio appearances, performed in plays (including The Student Prince), and even sang at President Harry S. Truman’s inauguration ball on January 20, 1949.

Delightfully Dangerous, her second full-length picture, was what she referred to as the “worst movie I’ve ever done.” Her third full-length film, “Holiday in Mexico,” which George Sidney directed in 1946, was also her first Technicolor production. In her subsequent film, “Three Daring Daughters,” which was initially named The Birds and the Bees, she made a statement. Later, she co-starred with Elizabeth Taylor, a classmate, in several musicals directed by Joe Pasternak, including “A Date with Judy” (1948). Following that, she made appearances in the films “Luxury Liner” (1948) and “Nancy Goes to Rio” (1950). She co-starred with Ricardo Montalbán in “Two Weeks With Love” (1950).

More on Career

She then received a role in the musical comedy “Royal Wedding” in 1951 and appeared in “Rich, Young, and Pretty” the following year. She also played the lead in the movies “Small Town Girl” and “Three Sailors and a Girl” in 1953. After a year, she made appearances in “Deep in My Heart,” “Athena,” and “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.” She appeared in “Hit the Deck” in 1955, and she also released the song “True Love,” which peaked at number 15 on the Billboard charts and number 107 on the pop charts. She then had an appearance in the musical comedy “The Girl Most Likely” from RKO Pictures. Despite being shot in 1956, the movie wasn’t released until 1958. Additionally, she made a rare dramatic appearance in the 1958 Universal Pictures film noir “The Female Animal.”

Her film opportunities slowed down after her contract with MGM expired, so she resorted to theater. In a 1958 performance of Oklahoma! in Dallas, Texas, she had her first summer stock role. The musical “Meet Me in St. Louis” was then remade for television, and she co-starred in it. She also played the lead in a theater version of The Most Happy Fella (1962).
From 1968 through 1972, she made her television debut on “The Red Skelton Show.” She played the lead role in a 1964 production of “My Fair Lady” at the Valley West Theatre in Los Angeles. In 1964, she performed on tour with the musical revue “Just 20 Plus Me!” She played the lead in “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” in the year 1966, which was followed by “Carousel” and “The Boy Friend” in 1967. She appeared in a touring version of “Brigadoon” that same year.

More on Career

She later played Maria von Trapp in the 1968 staging of “The Sound of Music.” In addition to this, she also acted in the 1972 television movies Wheeler and Murdoch, The Letters, and Mayday at 40,000 Feet! (1976). Also, In 1972, she participated in a theater performance of “Meet Me In St. Louis” in Cincinnati. In 1973, she made her Broadway debut as the lead in the play “Irene.” In a revival of “South Pacific” and “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,” Jane and Howard Keel co-starred. The comedy “Same Time, Next Year,” “The Marriage-Go-Round,” and “Chapter Two” featured her on tour. She began a nine-month stint as a demanding mother and businesswoman in the daytime serial series “Loving.”

In 1985, she made her next appearance as a guest star on “Murder, She Wrote.” She was given a recurrent guest role on the hit comedy “Growing Pains” after three years. In the early 1990s, she temporarily filled Eileen Fulton’s role as Lisa Grimaldi on the soap opera “As the World Turns.” Later, in 1996 and 1997, she made an appearance in the off-Broadway play “After-Play.” She also played the Queen in the New York City Opera production of “Cinderella” by Rodgers and Hammerstein. She also had an appearance in the Off-Broadway play “Avow” in 2000, which was followed by “70, Girls, 70” the following year.

In 2002, she also made a guest appearance on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” and in 2003, she starred in the movie “The Sandy Bottom Orchestra.” She made a comeback with the musical “Bounce” that same year. On New Year’s Eve 2007, she traveled back to Portland, Oregon, to narrate Sergei Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf.” She even sang a duet of “Aba Daba Honeymoon” with lead singer China Forbes on March 9, 2008, with Pink Martini at New York City’s Avery Fisher Hall. In March 2009, she made an appearance and sang “Love Is Where You Find It.” She then took over as a substitute guest host on Turner Classic Movies (TCM).

Who was Jane Powell’s husband and father of her children?

Jane Powell was already married. Jane Powell wed former figure skater-turned-insurance broker Gearhardt Anthony Steffen on November 5, 1949. The couple’s first child, son Gearhardt Steffen III, was born on July 21, 1951, and their second child, daughter Suzanne Ilene Steffen, was born on November 21, 1952. Powell later filed for divorce from Gearhardt Steffen in August 1953, alleging a ruling against cruelty. In Ojai, California, on November 8, 1954, she wed Patrick W. Nerney, an automobile executive nine years her senior. On February 1st, 1956, Lindsey Averill Nerney, their daughter, was born.

Powell divorced Patrick Nerney, her spouse at the time, in May 1963. Then, from 1965 to 1975, she was married to James Fitzgerald, her third husband. She then wed David Parlour, her fourth husband, in 1978 and remained married to him until 1981. She tied the knot with Dickie Moore, a former child actor, in May 1988. While Moore was conducting research for his memoirs Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, but Don’t Have Sex or Take the Car, the two had first been acquainted. Prior to Dickie Moore’s passing in 2015, they remained together. At the age of 86, Powell sold their Manhattan apartment and moved permanently to their second home in Wilton, Connecticut, following the death of her husband Dickie Moore in 2015. She never again had a romance and never had an affair. She was straight in her sexuality.

Body Measurement: What was Jane Powell’s height?

With her endearing attitude, Jane Powell, a delightful actress, captured the hearts of many. She stood an average of 5 feet 1 inches tall, or 1.34 meters. She weighed 41 kg, or 90 lbs, and had a thin physique. Her other body measurement has not yet been disclosed. She had blonde hair and blue eyes as her eye color.