- Born
- Died
- Birth nameEleanor Geisman
- Nickname
- Junie
- Height5′ (1.52 m)
- American leading lady whose sweet smile and sunny disposition made her the prototypical girl-next-door of American movies of the 1940s. Raised in semi-poverty in Bronx neighborhoods by her divorced mother, Allyson (nee Ella Geisman) was injured in a fall at age eight and spent four years confined within a steel brace. Swimming therapy slowly gave her mobility again, and she began to study dance as well. She entered dance contests after high school and earned roles in several musical short films. In 1938, she made her Broadway debut in the musical "Sing Out the News." After several roles in the chorus of various musicals, she was hired to understudy Betty Hutton in "Panama Hattie." Hutton's measles gave Allyson a shot at a performance and she impressed director George Abbott so much that he gave her a role in his next musical, "Best Foot Forward." She was subsequently hired by MGM to recreate her role in the screen version. The studio realized what it had in her and offered her a contract.
Her smoky voice and winning personality made her very popular and she made more than a score of films for MGM, most often in musicals and comedies. She became a box-office attraction, paired with many of the major stars of the day. In 1945, she married actor-director Dick Powell, with whom she occasionally co-starred. Following Powell's death from cancer in 1963, she retreated somewhat from film work, appearing only infrequently on screen and slightly more often in television films. Occasional nightclub appearances and commercials were her only other public performances since, and she died of pulmonary respiratory failure and acute bronchitis on July 8, 2006, after a long illness.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net>
- SpousesDavid Ashrow(October 30, 1976 - July 8, 2006) (her death)Alfred Glenn Maxwell(April 1, 1966 - March 17, 1970) (divorced)Alfred Glenn Maxwell(October 13, 1963 - April 20, 1965) (divorced)Dick Powell(August 19, 1945 - January 2, 1963) (his death, 2 children)
- Children
- ParentsRobert GeismanClara Josephine Provost
- Her husky speaking and singing voice
- Full Bottom Lip
- Initially wanted to be a doctor, and got into acting merely as a way to make money to pay for medical school. She ended up sticking with it, and instead paid for her brother to become a doctor. She took a lifelong interest in health and medical research.
- Filed for divorce once during her marriage to Dick Powell, but the turbulent marriage lasted until his death from cancer in 1963. She struggled with alcoholism following his death which may have triggered a custody battle against her mother.
- Was a good friend of Judy Garland. They were both under contract at MGM in the 1940s, and Judy used to give June rides in Judy's car to the studio whenever possible. In interviews after Garland's passing, Allyson said that she could hardly talk about Garland without getting tears in her eyes because she was such a special lady who didn't have appropriate help available to her in her lifetime.
- When she was eight years old, she was crushed by a falling tree limb while riding a bicycle. She wore a back brace for four years and taught herself to dance by watching Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies. She was told that the accident would prevent her from having children. Her first child, Pamela Powell, was adopted in 1948. In 1950, however, she gave birth to her son, Richard Powell.
- Witnessed Joan Crawford's cruel treatment of her daughter Christina Crawford and claims the book and film adaptation Mommie Dearest (1981) are honest accounts of how Joan treated her children.
- In real life I'm a poor dressmaker and a terrible cook - anything in fact but the perfect wife.
- MGM was my mother and father, mentor and guide, my all-powerful and benevolent crutch. When I left them, it was like walking into space.
- [on Joan Crawford] I tried to be a good listener. I decided that was what she wanted all along - not so much a friend as an audience.
- [assessing her appeal as a performer] I have big teeth. I lisp. My eyes disappear when I smile. My voice is funny. I don't sing like Judy Garland. I don't dance like Cyd Charisse. But women identify with me. And while men desire Cyd Charisse, they'd take me home to meet Mom.
- I couldn't dance, and, Lord knows, I couldn't sing, but I got by somehow. Richard Rodgers was always keeping them from firing me.
- The Opposite Sex (1957) - $3,000 /day
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