Classic Movie Travels: Vera-Ellen
Vera-Ellen was born Vera-Ellen Rohe on February 16, 1921, in Norwood, Ohio, to Alma Westemeier and Martin Rohe. Her father worked as a piano tuner. Both parents were of German descent.
Her mother wished to one day have a girl named Vera-Ellen, insisting that the hyphen be included in the name.
Rohe began dancing by the age of 10, attending dance classes at the Hessler Studio of Dancing in Cincinnati, Ohio, alongside fellow Ohioan, Doris Day—then still Doris Kappelhoff. The girls would often carpool together. At the age of 13, she placed as a winner on the Major Bowes Amateur Hour, soon initiating her professional career.
Vera-Ellen dropped her last name and was billed solely by her hyphenated first name when she made her Broadway debut in 1939 in the Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein musical Very Warm for May. She was also among the youngest Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. These experiences soon led to more Broadway roles, including participating in productions of Panama Hattie, By Jupiter, and A Connecticut Yankee.
Vera-Ellen married fellow dancer, Robert Hightower, in 1941. They divorced in 1946.
While performing in A Connecticut Yankee, she was noticed by producer Sam Goldwyn. He ultimately cast her opposite Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo in Wonder Man (1945). While her singing voice was dubbed in Wonder Man, her vocals can be heard in two songs on the Decca Broadway Original Cast Album of the 1943 revival of A Connecticut Yankee: “I Feel at Home with You” and “You Always Love the Same Girl.”
Vera-Ellen danced with Gene Kelly in Words and Music (1948) as well as On the Town (1949). She also performed in the final Marx Brothers film, Love Happy (1949). Vera-Ellen worked alongside Fred Astaire in Three Little Words (1950) and The Belle of New York (1952). She co-starred with Donald O’Connor in Call Me Madam (1953). Her penultimate film role was in White Christmas (1954), co-starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, and Rosemary Clooney. Her final film role was in Let’s Be Happy (1957).
Vera-Ellen married oilman Victor Bennet Rothschild in 1954. In 1963, she gave birth to a daughter, Victoria Ellen, who passed away at just three months old from SIDS. The couple divorced in 1966.
In addition to her film roles, Vera-Ellen also made frequent guest appearances on television. Some of her final performances include her appearances on The Perry Como Show and The Dinah Shore Show, before retiring.
Vera-Ellen maintained a slim figure as she never discontinued her dance lessons and was an avid swimmer. Rumors of an eating disorder have not been proven and have been discredited by several of her friends and her niece by marriage.
Vera-Ellen passed away at the Los Angeles County General Hospital on August 30, 1981, from ovarian cancer. She was 60 years old. Her memorial service was held at Westwood Village Memorial Park and Mortuary. She is at rest at Glen Haven Memorial Park in Sylmar, California, next to her daughter and parents.
Hessler School of Dance has since been converted into a private residence. The structure stands at 1033 Monastery St., Cincinnati, Ohio.
In 1930, she and her parents lived at 2218 Cathedral Ave., Norwood, Ohio. This home stands.
In 1941, she and Hightower lived at 37 W. 88th St., New York, New York. This also remains.
By 1945, she lived at 1414 E. 14th St., Long Beach, California, which also stands.
In 1950, she and her mother resided at 4557 Camellia Ave., North Hollywood, California, which stands.
In 1958, she, Rothschild, and her mother lived at 1451 Miller Way, Los Angeles, California, which stands.
She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, honoring her work in motion pictures. It is located at 7083 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, California.
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Glen Haven Memorial Park is located at 13017 N. Lopez Canyon Rd., Sylmar, California.
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–Annette Bochenek for Classic Movie Hub
Annette Bochenek pens our monthly Classic Movie Travels column. You can read all of Annette’s Classic Movie Travel articles here.
Annette Bochenek, Ph.D., is a film historian, professor, and avid scholar of Hollywood’s Golden Age. She manages the “Hometowns to Hollywood” blog, in which she profiles her trips to the hometowns of classic Hollywood stars. She has also been featured on the popular classic film-oriented television network, Turner Classic Movies. A regular columnist for Classic Movie Hub, her articles have appeared in TCM Backlot, Silent Film Quarterly, Nostalgia Digest, The Dark Pages Film Noir Newsletter, and Chicago Art Deco Society Magazine.
