I must confess to always having something of a crush on Marge Champion. I have always had a weakness for dancers, and Marge Champion is one of the most beautiful of them all. What is more she is an extremely talented dancer who did things in her career that very few other dancers have ever done. Indeed, she was the model for Snow White's movements in Disney's
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). She would go onto model the movements of characters in other Disney films, including the Blue Fairy in
Pinocchio (1940), the dancing hippos in
Fantasia (1940), and Maid Marion in
Robin Hood (1973).
In 1947 Marge married fellow dancer Gower Champion and the two of them formed a very successful dance team. They appeared on nearly every major variety show on television in the late Forties and the Fifties, and they even had their own show,
The Marge and Gower Champion Show, during the summer of 1957. Marge and Gower Champion would appear in several films together, including such movies as
Show Boat (1951),
Lovely to Look At (1952),
Everything I Have Is Yours (1952),
Give a Girl a Break (1953), and
Three for the Show (1955).
Marge and Gower Champion divorced in 1973, but Marge continued to have a busy career without him. She served as both choreographer and dialogue coach on the mini-series
The Awakening Land and
Ike: The War Years, as well as a dialogue coach on the mini-series
Masada in the Eighties. She served a dialogue coach on the television movie
The Diary of Anne Frank and the choreographer on the TV movie
When the Circus Came to Town. Marge also continued to appear in front of the camera, not only appearing on several variety shows, but also the movies
The Party (1968),
The Swimmer (1968), and
Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County (1970). She guest starred on the TV show
Fame in the Eighties.
In tribute to Marge Champion on her 95th birthday, here are a few photos from her career.
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| Still Marjorie Belcher, here she is in costume for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Photo © Disney |
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| Marjorie with some of the art for the Blue Fairy from Pinocchio |
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| Marge and Gower Champion from the 7 March 1949 issue of Life |
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| A publicity shot of Marge Champion and co-star Debbie Reynolds from Give a Girl a Break |
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| Marge and Gower Champion with their son Gregg in 1957 |
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| Marge Champion circa 1952 |
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