The girl next door--and how she grew
(Book)

"Jane Powell appeared in only nineteen movies, yet she is one of the best-known and most affectionately remembered actresses from the golden era of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals. [This book] is a vivid and compelling account of her life. As a small child she had a startlingly beautiful voice, and began performing at the age of two. She was encouraged and supported by her hardworking parents, who made many sacrifices to provide her with dancing, singing, and acting lessons, in the hope she would become the next Shirley Temple. At fourteen, little Suzanne Burce, the Victory Bond Girl from Oregon, was spotted by a talent scout, signed to a seven-year MGM contract, and given the name Jane Powell. Powell's peers at MGM included such mythic figures as Elizabeth Taylor, June Allyson, Judy Garland, and Debbie Reynolds. She also acted alongside stars like Gene Nelson, Walter Pidgeon, Louis Calhern, George Brent, Ann Sothern, Jeanette MacDonald, and the incomparable Fred Astaire, with whom she made the classic Royal Wedding. All these stars come to life in the pages of this book. [This] is also the story of a girl who never had a normal life, who, paying a price for all the glamour, never had a real friend, a true confidante, or a deeply loving relationship until she was in her middle fifties, despite four marriages and the births of three children. Beneath the dazzle and glitter and excitement of stardom lay loneliness and confusion. Finally, having reshaped her life, Powell confronted her past and became active with a number of projects: television appearances, musical tours, and her nationally acclaimed one-woman show, called The Girl Next Door and How She Grew."--Dust jacket.