Eleanor Powell - a Great Dancer

Eleanor Torrey Powell – born November 21, 1912 in Springfield, Massachusetts passed away on February 11, 1982 in Beverly Hills, California of lung cancer.

Powell was one of MGM’s greatest tap dancers of Hollywood’s Golden Age and a beloved actress.

Powell is known as one of the most versatile and athletic female dancers of the Hollywood studio era.

Just as her career was peaking and critics hailed her “eloquent feet” she stunned the all and walked away from her career and became a wife – to actor Glenn Ford – and mother to their son, Peter Ford.

I’m writing this piece in part because I hadn’t heard of Eleanor Powell before. It’s surprising since I’m one who researches the lives and careers of Old Hollywood movie stars.

So, let me give you an example of what some of the greatest male dancers in Hollywood said about Powell at the time. It’s an extraordinary contrast to what she left it for and why.

Fayard Nicholas of the Nicholas Brothers dance team had the absolute highest praise for Powell. —- If you’re not sure who the Nicholas Bros. are this video will knock your socks off. You’ll never forget it.

Fayard Nicholas says this,

“Eleanor Powell was one of the very greatest, period, bar none. Not one of the greatest woman dancers—one of the greatest, period.”

Nicholas then said, “She was a musician.”

This is a term tap dancers use as their highest praise.

Dubbed the Queen of Tap, Gene Kelly called her simply “the best dancer ever put on film.”

However, it was Fred Astaire who seemed to be the most intimidated by Powell’s dancing prowess.

For many years, fans of Astaire and Powell begged the studios to let them work together.

Finally, in 1940, it happened.

Have a look at the clip below to see their first dance off experience together.

Astaire said of Powell in interviews as well as, in his autobiography, Steps in Time,

“Eleanor Powell, one of our greatest talents, is a bit too powerful for me,” he said. “I love Eleanor Powell, but she dances like a man. She’s a remarkable dancer, but she has a very mannish style, and she’s a little big for me.”

Fred also conceded, “In Eleanor Powell, I’ve met my match.”

High praise indeed, even if he was clearly intimidated.

Below is a solo dance she does that showcases her absolute precision and athleticism.

Another spectacular dance piece where Powell wows with her strength, artistry and discipline.

However, Eleanor Powell had always promised herself and her mother that when she got married and had children she would walk away from her career.

That’s exactly what she did when she fell in love with actor, Glenn Ford.

She was quite popular at the time. She and Glenn rented a small place together and she just stopped dancing and performing. The were soon married and quickly became parents.

Soon after they married, Eleanor retired from films in the mid-1940s. She would take jobs to perform on occasion, such as the specialty dance scene in Thousands Cheer.

BELOW ELEANOR POWELL WITH HER HUSBAND — GLENN FORD

Although Eleanor and Glenn’s love was strong, Ford was known to have many affairs.

One of the most enduring was rumored to be with Rita Hayworth. They had an on again and off again love affair for 40 years.

After his divorce from Powell, in 1960, it was reported that Ford bought the lot next to the Beverly Hills home Hayworth shared with her husband James Hill.

When Hayworth died in 1987 at age 68, he was among the pallbearers that helped lay her to rest.