“Forgotten Hollywood”- A Champion in Cinema…
Manny P. here…
“`Marge Champion was a dancer and actress. At fourteen, she was hired as a dance model for Walt Disney Studios animated films. Later, she performed as an actress and dancer in movie musicals, and in 1957 had a television show based on song and dance.
“`Marjorie began dancing at an early age as her sister had done. She began dancing as a child under the instruction of her father, Ernest Belcher, a noted Hollywood ballet coach who trained Shirley Temple, Joan Crawford, Betty Grable, Cyd Charisse, and Gwen Verdon.
MARGE CHAMPION SNOW WHITE
“`She was hired by the Walt Disney Studio as a dance model for their animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Her movements were copied to enhance the realism of the animated Snow White figure. Marge also posed for figures created in Dumbo, Fantasia, and Pinocchio.
“`Marge married Art Babbitt, an animator at Disney and the creator of Goofy. They divorced three years later. She wed dancer Gower Champion in 1947. As a dance team, the Champions starred in musicals of the 1940s and 1950s, including MGM’s Till the Clouds Roll By, Show Boat, and Everything I Have is Yours. MGM wanted the couple to remake Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers films, but only one, Lovely to Look At, a re-boot of Roberta, was completed.
“`On Broadway, Marge appeared on stage, including a revival of Follies, and later, acted as a choreographer in a number of productions, including the original presentation of Hello Dolly.
“`Marge Champion was 101.
Until next time> “never forget”
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