HWOF

June Allyson

Source: boxofficeprophets.com

June Allyson, a major MGM contract star, was an American film and television actress, popular in the 1940s and 1950s. Allyson won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her performance in Too Young to Kiss (1951). From 1959-1961, she hosted and occasionally starred in her own CBS anthology series, The DuPont Show with June Allyson.

In 1925, when Allyson was eight, a dead tree branch fell on her while she was bicycling. Several bones were broken, and doctors said she would never walk again. She underwent months of swimming exercises, however, and ultimately regained her health. After graduating from a wheelchair to crutches to braces, she was inspired to dance by obsessively watching Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire movies. In 1938, fully recovered, she tried out for a chorus job in the Broadway show Sing out the News. The choreographer gave her a job and a new name: Allyson, a family name, and June, for the month.

Soon after, Allyson was cast in a few pictures with local studios and in 1940, Allyson returned to the New York stage. After her appearance in Best Foot Forward in 1941, she was selected for the 1943 film version, and followed it up with several other musicals, including Two Sisters from Boston (1946) and Good News (1947). She also played straight roles such as Constance in The Three Musketeers (1948), Jo March in Little Women (1949), and a nurse in Battle Circus (1953).

• Born: Eleanor Geisman October 7, 1917 The Bronx, New York, U.S.
• Died: July 8, 2006 (aged 88) Ojai, California, U.S.
• Occupation: Actress
• Years active: 1937–2001
• Spouse: Dick Powell (m. 1945–1963) «start: (1945)–end+1: (1964)»“Marriage: Dick Powell to June Allyson” Location: (linkback://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_Allyson) (his death) 2 children Alfred Glenn Maxwell (m. 1963–65, m. 1966–70) (divorced) David Ashrow (m. 1976–2006) «start: (1976)–end+1: (2007)»“Marriage: David Ashrow to June Allyson” Location: (linkback://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_Allyson) her death

Read more about June Allyson at Wikipedia or at the Internet Movie Database