Gower Champion
Acting
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).
Known for
Till the Clouds Roll By
Dance Specialty
That's Entertainment, Part II
(archive footage)
Words and Music
Specialty Dancer (uncredited)
The All-Star Christmas Show
Self
Show Boat
Frank Schultz
Mr. Music
Gower Champion
42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage
Self (archive footage)
Jupiter's Darling
Varius
Give a Girl a Break
Ted Sturgis
Three for the Show
Vernon Lowndes
Lovely to Look at
Jerry Ralby
Rhapsody in Blue
Tap Dancer at Remick's (uncredited)
