Look, Ma, She’s Dancing!—Jean Simmons

“I’m going to take dancing lessons,” announced Jean Simmons. Stewart Granger lifted an inquiring eyebrow. “To reduce my hips,” said Jean. Her husband cocked another eyebrow. “For ‘The Egyptian,’ ” his wife explained further. “The bulges show in those costumes. And everyone knows dancing is slimming?” “Hmm!” replied Stewart—and subsided into his newspaper.

The truth was, Jean had always wanted to dance, had even studied in England and once thought of opening a dancing studio. But movie stardom had interfered. Now, she thought, she could combine exercise with pleasure. Jean enlisted the aid of actor Dick Allan, who teaches dancing when he isn’t making pictures at 20th.

Dick started Jean with modern dancing. “You’re going to be stiff,” he warned her, “so we’ll take it easy at first.” Jean was—stiff! But in spite of her husband’s quizzical looks, Jean kept her groans to herself. Soon, she’d graduated into ballet and tap—and Dick was racking his brains, trying to figure out what steps to teach her next!

“Look, darling,” Jean said one day. And floated around the living room. “Hmm!” said her husband. But this time he didn’t subside into his newspaper. Instead he waltzed her around the room. “You know,” he said—and grinned, “maybe I ought to take lessons too. Then we could do a musical together!”

 

It is a quote. PHOTOPLAY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 1954