Jeanne McCully was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on May 1, 1918.
She started dance training at Mamy Barth's School of Dance at the age
of three. As a professional dance teacher, Mamy Barth organized many
dance shows and recitals, featuring ballet, tap, acrobatic dance,
fashion, and other related events in Pittsburgh and its surrounding
areas. Also, Mamy Barth trained many other young dancers besides
Jeanne, including the dancer and model, Dorothy Parker, to become
professionals.
Mamy Barth's School of Dance was a completely professional school, with
Professional Guest Instructors from New York, such as dancer Jack
Barry, and other professional dancers, who taught Jeanne and the other
dance students all their professional techniques. Jeanne remembers very
well how she learned many professional dance steps from these fully
professional dancers, who taught her, and the other students, all
aspects of being professional dancers.
Jeanne advanced rapidly through initial dance training to professional
levels of ballet, acrobatic dance, tap, interpretive dance, and all
forms of ballroom dancing.
Even before the age of 13, Jeanne danced professionally, for pay,
at Lion's club, and other similar organizations' events, including the
prestigious "New Penn" club, in the Pittsburgh area.
In 1933, at age 15, Jeanne, her parents, and brother, Gary, moved to
the New York City area, where she obtained professional agent
representation, and began performing in top clubs and theaters in and
around Manhattan.
At that time, some of Jeanne's earliest paid bookings were movie
theaters that would present live shows after movies. These live shows
would frequently first include a Beauty Contest, which would be decided
by the amount of audience applause. Because Jeanne was the most
beautiful girl there, she usually always won.
After the Beauty Contest, there would be a stage show, in which Jeanne
danced near, or at, the end, in order for the show to have a "Big
Finish." Because Jeanne's tap, acrobatic, and interpretive dancing was
always very popular, she always got a tremendous round of applause from
the sophisticated New York audiences, which pleased the theater owners,
and resulted in Jeanne receiving many of these early bookings.
After obtaining a job as a "line girl" in the well-known Hollywood
Restaurant in midtown Manhattan, Jeanne also performed there as a
featured dancer, doing her specialty routine that combined tap,
acrobatic, ballet, and interpretive dance.
At this time, even though Jeanne was already a professional, more
training constantly occurred, from standard "ballet bar" training,
which stretches muscles and builds dancers' strength, to "the Swivel
Belt." The "Swivel Belt" trains dancers to do forward and reverse
"backflips," in which the dancer touches the floor with his or her
hands. Jeanne successfully completed this training by mastering the
more advanced, complete flip overs known as "Round-offs," in which she
did not touch the floor as she whirled completely around in the air,
and ended up landing on her feet.
After many different "One-Night" engagements, Jeanne got a steady
dancing job at Billy Rose's prestigious Café De Paree / Café De Paris,
located at 254 West 54Th Street in New York City. Formerly the site of
the Gallo Opera House, New York club owner Billy Rose had the theater
seating removed, and installed tables and chairs. The now beautifully
decorated nightclub had full dining and bar service in elegant
surroundings, with a stage show featuring headliners, more dancers, and
a full band, with a singer, and Master of Ceremonies. In the 1970's,
that long-established entertainment location again became famous as
"Studio 54," and it is still operating under that name today.
After many more fascinating in-person bookings in the Manhattan area,
Jeanne married Actor, Singer, night club Master of Ceremonies, and
later, Radio and Television Writer, and Producer, Douglas MacCrae. Doug
and Jeanne then began their family, even while Jeanne continued her
dancing career in clubs and other venues all across the country.
Jeanne is now Award Pictures' President of Animation and Family
Features, and has created, written, and designed characters for Award
Pictures' principal flagship animated properties.
