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).

Movies & TV Shows

1. Show Boat (1951) — Frank Schultz
2. That's Entertainment, Part II (1976) — (archive footage)
3. Till the Clouds Roll By (1946) — Dance Specialty
4. What's My Line? (1950) — Self
5. The Ed Sullivan Show (1948) — Self
6. Words and Music (1948) — Specialty Dancer (uncredited)
7. Give a Girl a Break (1953) — Ted Sturgis
8. Rhapsody in Blue (1945) — Tap Dancer at Remick's (uncredited)
9. Lovely to Look At (1952) — Jerry Ralby
10. The Merv Griffin Show (1962) — Self
11. Three for the Show (1955) — Vernon Lowndes
12. Jupiter's Darling (1955) — Varius
13. Everything I Have Is Yours (1952) — Chuck Hubbard
14. The Bell Telephone Hour (1959) — Self
15. Mr. Music (1950) — Gower Champion
16. 42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage (2006) — Self (archive footage)
17. The All-Star Christmas Show (1958) — Self
18. What Day Is It? (1956) — Conroy Gregory
19. The Admiral Broadway Revue (1949)
20. Tony Awards (1956) — Self - Presenter

Directed

1. The Bank Shot (1974) — Director
2. My Six Loves (1963) — Director
3. Once Upon a Honeymoon (1956) — Director
4. Startime (1959) — Director
5. The Dow Hour of Great Mysteries (1960) — Director
6. What Day Is It? (1956) — Director
7. Forty-five Minutes from Broadway (1959) — Director