Vera-Ellen (on the right when the video begins) Trivia:
- Vera-Ellen was born in Cincinati, Ohio in 1921
- Nicknamed “Bunny,” she was an only child.
- Vera was painfully shy as a child and, by nine, had developed health problems.
- She began dancing at 10.
- This beautiful musical star silently battled anorexia before doctors even understoon the condition.
- When musicals faded out in the 1950’s, Vera-Ellen sort of disappeared from the radar.
- During the filming of White Christmas, the costumes were made to cover Vera-Ellen’s neck because, due to anorexia, it appeared much older than her face.
- Once said, “Fred Astaire will never say, though he’s always asked, which of his dancing ladies was his favorite partner. If you ask me, he preferred the solo turns.”
Rosemary Clooney (on the left when the video begins) Trivia:
- George Clooney is her nephew.
- Was Mother in Law to singer Debby Boone.
- Once Rosemary was performing with singer/pianist Michael Feinstein at the Hollywood Bowl. Before taking the stage, they were both noticably nervous. Expecting Rosemary to give him words of strength and encouragement, Michael Feinstein was shocked when she told him, “Don’t think this ever gets any easier.”
- Her brother, veteran television newscaster Nick Clooney, gave a eulogy at the end of the hour-long traditional Catholic funeral mass. Actor George Clooney, Nick’s son, sat with more than three dozen family members and was one of 10 pallbearers. Also in the crowd were singer Debby Boone, Clooney’s daughter-in-law; actors Al Pacino and Beverly D’Angelo; and Maysville native and former Miss America Heather Renee French, the wife of Kentucky Lt. Gov. Steve Henry.
- One of her more interesting quotes (and she had a lot of them!) was: “In the final analysis, it’s true that fame is unimportant. No matter how great a man is, the size of his funeral usually depends on the weather.”
