White Christmas And The Other Local Connection: Vera-Ellen Rohe
Rosemary Clooney's On-Screen Sister Took Her First Steps To Fame In Cincinnati
We all know about the Rosemary Clooney connection to our region (Augusta/Maysville,KY), but did you know that the other half of the fictional Haynes Sisters group in the film White Christmas was a Cincinnati native?
Vera Ellen Westmeier Rohe was born in Norwood, OH on February 16, 1921 to Alma Catherine Westmeier and Martin Rohe. Martin, a piano tuner had a thriving business in Cincinnati.
The family initially lived on Markbreit Ave, then on Carthage Ave in 1924, Minot Ave in 1926, and finally that same year settling at 2218 Cathedral Ave. This is the residence Vera-Ellen considered her childhood home.
Vera-Ellen grew up a small, frail child. She as shy, meek, and often could be found with her head inside a book. When she reached nine years of age, her mother decided it was time to introduce exercise and dance into her life:
“I was called a bookish child. Mother sent me to a ballet teacher when I was nine years old…When I found out I liked to dance and people liked to watch me, I was determined to go places.”
Vera-Ellen
The Rohe’s signed Vera-Ellen up for lessons at Eleanor and Harry H. Hessler’s Dance Studio in Mt. Adams. The Depression had hit the Rohe family particularly hard, considering piano tuning was not tops on the priority list during the worst economic struggle in American history. But Martin was able to pay for Vera-Ellen’s lessons by tuning the studio piano.
Vera-Ellen often carpooled to the studio with none other than local neighbor and future Hollywood star, Doris Day. In dancing, Vera-Ellen had found her calling.
By the time Vera-Ellen reached her teen years, she was fast becoming a rising star in the Queen City performing at local clubs. In 1936, at 15, she was now an instructor at Hessler’s and attended a dance instructor convention in New York City. That New York City experience forever changed Vera-Ellen’s life. Not long after that trip, she convinced her parents to allow her to continue her studies in New York. Along with her mother, Vera-Ellen left for the big city in October of 1936. She almost instantly became a star, getting a spot on the Major Bowes Amateur Radio Show on January 21, 1937. It was “Cincinnati Night” on the program and Vera-Ellen sang and tap danced to “When You’re Smiling”, winning the amateur contest and setting her path with destinty.
Winning the contest meant a trip back to her hometown, where she would appear in the “Major Bowes All Girls Revue” dance troupe at the Shubert Theater. Vera-Ellen couldn’t wait to return home to play the large theater in front of friends and family.
But mother nature had other plans.
Cincinnati was in the midst of the worst flood in the history of the city and a snowstorm compounded problems, forcing Union Terminal to discontinue service into the station. The New York Central Line, on which Vera-Ellen and her mother were aboard, was forced to stop at the Lockland Depot. After hours of trying to reach Martin, he finally responded and drove the family back into town. But the flood got worse, and the Shubert was forced to close, cancelling the homecoming of Cincinnati’s newest star.
After a week, the trains were up and running again and Vera and the dance revue headed to St. Louis and spent the next few months on the road where Vera-Ellen gained incredible experience. She returned to New York, along with her mother, continuing her studies. The following year, a chance meeting with renowned band leader Ted Lewis, would set her in motion for Hollywood stardom. She joined the Ted Lewis traveling show and was finally given a hometown welcome of sorts, albeit across the river, when the show came to the Beverly Hills Country Club in Southgate, KY that fall. Many friends and former teachers came to the club to watch the starlet steal the show.
After dazzling the New York club circuit, Vera-Ellen was offered a chance to perform at the 1939-1940 New York World’s Fair. And in a twist of fate, another big break occurred. She was placed in the program to follow the famous Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, not an ideal billing. But Robinson was late. VERY late. The show director was just about to have Vera-Ellen take his place, when Robinson, rushed onto the stage. He quickly exclaimed to the audience that something had come up and he would be unable to perform, but in his place, his “protégé” would dance in his place. Of course, the two had never met, but Vera-Ellen seized the sudden opportunity and left the audience stunned with her tap-dancing skills. This performance got her a gig with the Rockettes, which landed her many Broadway jobs, which then led to Hollywood.
On August 9, 1945, Cincinnatians flocked to the RKO Palace Theater to see Vera-Ellen make her silver screen debut with Danny Kaye in the film Wonder Man.
The following year, in August of 1946, her second film, The Kid from Brooklyn also with Danny Kaye, opened at the Palace.
From there, it was a role with Gene Kelly in 1948 with Words and Music followed by On the Town (1949), Three Little Words (1950), The Belle of New York (1952), and Call Me Madam (1953) among other films.
But in 1954, it was the film White Christmas that endeared her to Cincinnatians and fans around the world. A film that still resonates today. The film premiered in Cincinnati at Keith’s Theater downtown on October 28, 1945.
The musical genre started to decline in the late 50s and unfortunately, so did the career of Vera-Ellen. Her final film was Let’s Be Happy in 1957.
Severe arthritis and back pain plagued Vera-Ellen as she got older. And her dream of starting a family ended tragically when after nine years of marriage, and at the age of 42 in 1963, she lost her only child, Victoria, to SIDS. Vera-Ellen fought many ailments through the years and stayed out of public life, turning down many offers to return to the big screen.
Vera-Ellen passed away from ovarian cancer on August 30, 1981 at the age of 60 at UCLA Medical Center.
But Vera-Ellen Rohe of Cincinnati lives on, and every holiday season, we watch her dazzle us again.
To learn more about the life of this remarkable Cincinnatian, I encourage you to read:
Vera-Ellen: The Magic and the Mystery by David Soren
https://www.amazon.com/Vera-Ellen-Magic-Mystery-David-Soren/dp/1887664815
Thank you to all who support this newsletter. The subscriptions really help with the costs of local films and projects. It means so much to me to be able to share our wonderful history. Have a wonderful holiday and here’s to more in 2024!
Cam