Juliet Prowse by Juliet Prowse, aunt and niece, dancer and author
Remember dynamic dancer Juliet Prowse who graced both stage and screen from the 1960s to the 1990s? Yes, the South African dancer who burst into the international spotlight in her first Hollywood movie CanCan with Frank Sinatra, followed up by G.I. Blues with Elvis Presley. As a dynamic talent, Juliet caught the media’s attention, and her love triangle with Elvis and Ol’ Blue Eyes, who she was briefly engaged to, fueled their fascination further.
Now, a new biography called Juliet Prowse: Born to Dance has been written by Juliet’s niece, also called Juliet Prowse. It charts the dancer’s triumphs and challenges as an entertainer and delves into her personal life of her high profile romances. The idea of a book started when little Juliet, the author, discovered a red suitcase in her parent’s attic filled to the brim with newspaper articles about her dancing aunt. Another find was a box of 640 letters largely written by big Juliet, the dancer, to her mother throughout her career. This biography is an honest reflection – it uses Juliet’s own words as she navigated the entertainment industry from 1950s London to Hollywood and Las Vegas with the grit, hard work and determination required to “make it” in the industry.
Juliet was a trained ballet dancer and a fortuitous meeting with Hermes Pan (Fred Astaire’s choreographer) got her a seven-year 20th Century Fox contract. But, a battle about screen versus stage projects led to its breakdown and Juliet broke her contract. 20th Century Fox threatened to deport her back to South Africa, so Juliet created her own company to produce her first nightclub act and musical theater. Her belief to work with the best meant that she asked Sinatra’s Academy-Award-winning composer-lyricist duo of Jimmy van Heusen and Sammy Cahn to write original material for her. Juliet continued producing her show for another 21 years in Las Vegas, and was also one of the highest paid dancers at the time on a $1 million Vegas contract
Juliet’s favourite role was working with Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon as Sweet Charity in Las Vegas and London where she won awards. She was a lead in the television series, Mona McCluskey and on over 100 variety and talk shows, but preferred musical theatre such a Mame. By the late 1970s, Juliet had won Female Entertainer of the Year in Las Vegas four times in the era of Liza Minnelli, Barbra Streisand, and Shirley MacLaine.
This biography is personal as it’s written by Juliet’s niece and includes family anecdotes and stories from people who worked with Juliet. It doesn’t shy away from the nuances that make Juliet Prowse human and highlights elements such as Juliet’s drive to create a show to open on Broadway, but the challenges within a changing industry over decades. As theatre reviewer Robyn Sassen, said: “This is the kind of book, written very ably and engagingly in the first person, that lends status and credibility to the subject, without becoming a tired gesture in the name of showbiz. It’s a text which shows love without being abashed and maudlin, yielding a robust and eminently sparkly read.” Little Juliet wrote this biography as a love letter to her aunt, big Juliet as they were affectionately known in the Prowse household.
About the author: Juliet E Prowse is a first-time author who researched extensively to write about her famous aunt and namesake. She read over 400 articles and 640 letters written by the dancer to her mother (the author’s grandmother), and interviewed 20 people who performed with the dancer. Juliet has a BSc, an MBA and ran for South Africa. She lives in Cape Town where she is an avid theater-goer and sports lover.
Juliet Prowse: Born to Dance is available on Amazon. For more information, contact the author or go to http://www.julietprowse.com
Juliet Prowse/Prowse Media
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Juliet Prowse is a first-time author who self-published the book about her aunt under Prowse Media. She is a freelance communication specialist
This release was published on openPR.
