Singer, dancer, and actress Jane Powell (Suzanne Lorraine Burce)
Powell was born the only child to Paul E. Burce (a Wonder Bread employee)
and Eileen Baker Burce (a housewife) in Portland, Oregon, At five, she was
on the KGW radio children’s talent program Stars of Tomorrow. She attended
Beaumont Grade School and Grant High School in Portland.
During the summer of 1943, Jane and her parents went on a vacation to
Hollywood. where she appeared on Janet Gaynor‘s radio show Hollywood
Showcase: Stars over Hollywood. It was a talent competition, and Powell
won and soon auditioned with Louis B. Mayer at MGM as well as David O.
Selznick. Without even taking a screen test, Powell was then signed to a
seven-year contract with MGM.
As of 2013, Powell lives with her fifth husband, former child star Dickie
Moore, in New York City and Connecticut, and is still active in television
and theater.
1951
HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AND MANY MORE…