American leading woman whose sweet smile and sunny disposition made her the prototypical girl-next-door of American movies of the 1940s. Raised in semi-poverty in Bronx neighborhoods by her divorced mother, Allyson (nee Ella Geisman) was injured in a fall at age eight and spent four years confined within a steel brace. Swimming therapy slowly gave her mobility again, and she began to study dance as well. She began to enter dance contests after high school and was given roles in several musical short films. In 1938 she made her Broadway debut in the musical "Sing Out the News." After several roles in the choruses of various musicals, she was hired to understudy Betty Hutton in "Panama Hattie." Hutton's measles gave Allyson a shot at a performance and she impressed director George Abbott so much that he gave her a role in his next musical, "Best Foot Forward."

She subsequently was hired by MGM to recreate her role in the screen version. The studio saw what it had in her and offered her a contract. Her smoky voice and winning personality made her very popular and she made more than a score of films for MGM, most often in musicals and comedies. She became quite a box-office attraction, paired with many of the major stars of the day. In 1945 she married actor-director Dick Powell, with whom she occasionally co-starred. Following Powell's death from cancer in 1963, she retreated somewhat from film work, appearing only infrequently on screen and slightly more often in television films. Occasional nightclub appearances and commercials were her only other public performances since, and she died of pulmonary respiratory failure and acute bronchitis on July 8, 2006, after a long illness.
On contract to MGM for 12 years Was a good friend of Judy Garland. They were both under contract at MGM in the 40s, and Judy used to pick her up in her limousine every day and take her to the studio. She was just 5' 1" and weighed 99 lbs. in 1945. From 1963 to 1975 she had a long term (and ill-fated) romance with writer/director Dirk Wayne Summers, often announcing to the press that the couple would "be married soon." She and Summers were the lead item in Walter Winchell's (then) influential column more than a few times; they often traveled together through Europe. Although Summers apparently loved her and their life together, he refused her many proposals of marriage, much to her chagrin. After the death of first husband Dick Powell, she went through a bitter court battle with her mother over custody of her son Dick Powell Jr., and adopted daughter Pamela Powell. Reports at the time revealed that Dirk Wayne Summers was named legal guardian for Dick and Pamela, as a result of a court petition. Members of the nascent "jet-set," Allyson and Summers were frequently seen in Cap d'Antibes, Madrid, Rome and London (where they called Hugh M. Hefner's borrowed Mayfair penthouse "home"). Witnessed Joan Crawford's cruel treatment of her daughter Christina Crawford and claims Mommie Dearest is an honest account of how Joan treated her children After her film career was over she continued to do Broadway, off-Broadway plays, and television (including her famous Depends commercials) from the 1960s through the 1990s. She has been a valued resource in preserving information about Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) and Hollywood's golden years. She has been an spokesperson on the issue of incontinence, and has been instrumental in establishing the June Allyson Foundation for public awareness and medical research. She and husband, Dr. David Ashrow, have actively supported fund-raising efforts for both the James Stewart and Judy Garland Museums (Stewart and Garland were both close friends). Mother of Dick Powell Jr., from her marriage to Dick Powell. She also adopted Dick's daughter Pamela Powell. Separated from Powell once when she fell in love with actor Alan Ladd during filming of The McConnell Story. Ladd was also married at the time. Very seldom was able to break out of her spry "goody two shoes" types. The couple of times she did, however, were extreme. She played a harsh, cold-hearted wife to José Ferrer in The Shrike who nags him to the point of a nervous breakdown. Audiences would not accept her in the role and the movie failed at the box office. Another time she played a lesbian murderess in They Only Kill Their Masters, one of her final films. Filed for divorce once during her marriage to Dick Powell, but the turbulent marriage lasted until his death from cancer in 1963. She struggled with alcoholism following his death which may have triggered a custody battle against her mother. Her second husband, Glenn Maxwell, was Dick Powell's hairdresser. Her last husband, David Astrow, who survived her, was a dentist. Her father, an alcoholic, abandoned the family when she was six months old. When she was eight years old, she was crushed by a falling tree limb while riding a bicycle. She wore a back brace for four years and taught herself to dance by watching Fred and Ginger's movies. She was told that the childhood accident would prevent her from having children and her first child, Pamela Powell, was adopted in 1948. In 1950, however, she gave normal birth to her son Dick Powell Jr.. In 1945, Harvard Lampoon voted her worst actress of the year. Worst actor was regular co-star Van Johnson. Longtime friend of Esther Williams. Along with her husband Dick Powell, she persuaded future President of the United States Ronald Reagan to switch from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party in 1962.