Gower Champion
Biography
Gower Carlyle Champion (June 22, 1919 – August 25, 1980) was an American actor, theatre director, choreographer, and dancer.
Champion was born on June 22, 1919, in Geneva, Illinois, as the son of John W. Champion and Beatrice Carlisle. He was raised in Los Angeles, California, where he graduated from Fairfax High School. He studied dance from an early age and, at the age of fifteen, toured nightclubs with friend Jeanne Tyler billed as "Gower and Jeanne, America's Youngest Dance Team". In 1939, "Gower and Jeanne" danced to the music of Larry Clinton and his Orchestra in a Warner Brothers & Vitaphone film short-subject, "The Dipsy Doodler" (released in 1940).
Filmography
42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage
2006
as Self (archive footage)
That's Entertainment, Part II
1976
as (archive footage)
The All-Star Christmas Show
1958
as Self
- No poster
What Day Is It?
1956
as Conroy Gregory
Three for the Show
1955
as Vernon Lowndes
Jupiter's Darling
1955
as Varius
Give a Girl a Break
1953
as Ted Sturgis
Everything I Have Is Yours
1952
as Chuck Hubbard
Lovely to Look At
1952
as Jerry Ralby
Show Boat
1951
as Frank Schultz
Mr. Music
1950
as Gower Champion
Words and Music
1948
as Specialty Dancer (uncredited)
Till the Clouds Roll By
1946
as Dance Specialty
Rhapsody in Blue
1945
as Tap Dancer at Remick's (uncredited)