Vera Ellen biography
Vera-Ellen (Westmyer) Rohe was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on February 16, 1921. Many sources say she was born in 1926, but it has been proven that 1921 was the real date.
She began dancing for health reasons at the age of 10. During her early career, she appeared in nightclub acts, as one of the youngest Rockettes, and a Broadway dancer.
Her movie career began in 1945, when she appeared with Danny Kaye in "Wonder Man". She was known as "Twinkletoes", and I've heard very few mean words said against her. She appeared in many movies, all of them musicals, until the late 1950's.
Vera-Ellen was married twice: once to fellow dancer Robert Hightower, and once to millionaire Victor Rothschild. Both marriages ended in divorce.
She dated Rock Hudson over a period of three years. This romance was really a publicity event, devised by Rock's agent. Though rumour has it that Rock really wanted to marry Vera- Ellen, it does appear that they were good friends for real.
The reason for her disappearance from the movies is complicated. It is quite obvious that she became alarmingly thin in her thirties. Her peculiar eating habits are well documented. Always a reclusive person, she started to withdraw from Hollywood as her apparent anorexia took its toll on her. This was also during a time when Hollywood simply stopped making many musicals. Although Vera-Ellen could act as well as dance, MGM didn't take her talents seriously enough to give her many non-dancing parts.
One of the side effects of anorexia is that she began to age rapidly. Many people have asked why Vera-Ellen always covers her neck in "White Christmas" - it is because that is where she started to age. She also had a daughter, Victoria Ellen Rothschild, who died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. This was very traumatic for her.
Even though she did retire from public life, Vera-Ellen continued to take dancing lessons, partly to combat the arthritis she suffered later.
Vera-Ellen died of cancer in Los Angeles, California, on August 30, 1981.
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