Jean Veloz
Jean Veloz | |
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Los Angeles, California , U.S. | |
| Died | January 15, 2023 (aged 98) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1943–2020 |
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Jean Grinnell Veloz (
Early life
Jean Grinnell Phelps was born in
Career
After winning a dance contest at the Hollywood Legion Stadium, Phelps earned herself a Screen Actors Guild card and a role in the musical comedy Swing Fever (1943) at age 19, dancing opposite swing dancers portraying servicemen.[2]
Other credits include Where Are Your Children? (1943), Jive Junction (1943), and The Horn Blows at Midnight (1945).[1] Veloz also appeared with Arthur Walsh in Groovie Movie (1944), a short film depicting the history of swing dance.[1]
She continued to work on and off throughout a long career. For example, in 2017, Veloz appeared on NBC on Little Big Shots hosted by Steve Harvey, where she danced to "One Girl and Two Boys". At age 95, Veloz danced at the Spanish Ballroom in Glen Echo Park and at the Rock That Swing festival in Munich.[2]
Personal life and death
In 1947, Phelps married Harold Davi, but the two later divorced. In 1963, she married her dance partner Frank Veloz, of Veloz and Yolanda. They remained together until his death in 1981. She had no children, with her only survivor being her niece, Stacey.[1][2][3]
Veloz died at her home in Los Angeles on January 15, 2023, at the age of 98, after suffering from declining health.[1][2]
References
- ^ a b c d e f Barnes, Mike (January 16, 2023). "Jean Veloz, Famed Lindy Hop Dancer, Dies at 98". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ a b c d e f g Smith, Harrison (January 18, 2023). "Jean Veloz, celebrated 1940s Lindy Hop dancer, dies at 98". The Washington Post.
- ^ Akinwumi, Stella (January 17, 2023). "Famed Lindy Hop dancer Jean Veloz dies at 98". Metro.
External links
- Jean Veloz at IMDb