According to studio biographies, she was born Jan Allyson to Arthur and Clare Allyson in Lucerne, Westchester County, New York. Actually, there’s no such town. The truth is that Allyson was born Katrina Ann Eleanor Van Geisman aka Eleanor “Ella” Geisman on October 7, 1917, in a three-room tenement on 143rd Street in the Bronx. Her father enrolled her in a local tap-dance school but after three lessons, she was barred from attending for non-payment. She was then confined to a wheelchair, having to wear a heavy steel brace to support her spine and a girdle with straps under her arms to hold the back straight. The one good thing about her hospital stay was that Ella had her first crush: a doctor who made her want to live again. She learned to walk again with the aid of Marie Spinoza, a swimming instructor. Therapy was expensive and her mother married Arthur Peters, manager of the transportation department for the Loft Candy Company. They now lived in a new apartment at 1965 or 1975 Bryant Avenue. Ella paid in advance for a dance course, but when she arrived for her first lesson, a sign on the door read “Closed for Bankruptcy.”
She enrolled in the Ned Wayburn Dancing Academy and entered every amateur dance competition in the neighborhood with the stage name of Elaine Peters. By this time, Allyson had acquired a boyfriend, Tommy Mitchell, a tall, lean singer who resembled James Stewart and had appeared in Sing Out the News. His old conservative family in the South frowned on him dating a chorus girl but Tommy loved her too much to ask her to give up her ambitions. Allyson bought him an inexpensive camera—her first gift to a man—because he was also a photographer. She also gave Tommy her virginity. She told her roommates that it was like sitting on a telephone, which ended the conversation. Because audiences liked Allyson in the role of Florrie, Richard Rodgers offered her the role in the national road company and she accepted. But she would not do the tour. Casting the new musical Best Foot Forward, George Abbott needed a funny little girl to ham up some scenes with the budding comedy star Nancy Walker and offered it to Allyson. The show centered on a self-centered actress (Rosemary Lane) who peps up her career by attending a college prom.
One night the cast heard that in the audience was Dick Powell, who had come to see Rosemary Lane. June Allyson saw him when she peeped through the curtain. When he appeared backstage after the show, Allyson was too shy to join the crowd around him and watched from the spiral staircase above. She noticed that Lane and Powell were both looking up at her with Lane later reporting that he had noticed the little blonde, the cutest thing anybody ever saw, with veins that stuck out like a garden hose and who boomed with a big, husky, funny voice. He had guffawed through her whole routine. Lane called to June to come down and she did; Lane said Powell had asked to meet her. June Allyson put out her hand and he held it as Powell grinned. Her mouth was open but nothing would come out. So she broke into a smile before the moment passed and someone else grabbed Powell to talk to him.
Allyson wrote that his wife Joan Blondell was with him but the women were not introduced. Blondell wrote about the meeting in her book Center Door Fancy, claiming Allyson simpered and cooed that she slept with a fan letter from Powell under her pillow every night. But Allyson had no letter from him and had never written to him or any other star. Blondell also wrote that Allyson was a tramp dressed as a little kid and had worked as a call girl in New York with exhibitions being her specialty, all these claims rather dubious that seemed to come from unfounded rumors. Actually, there is not anybody who has supported this kind of vicious slander Ms Blondell threw over Allyson. Powell’s backstage visit raised Allyson’s status in the show’s company. Rosemary Lane had previously been kind but now drew closer, fascinated at how he had singled Allyson out and insisted on meeting her. She shared many confidences about the actor, who was her dear friend and a nice man, unlike the usual arrogant movie stars.
Allyson felt she was not good enough for Hollywood, but she would be proved she was wrong. Even the very wise and experienced experts in Hollywood would not be able to explain just what she had. 20th Century–Fox had her make a screen test, which Allyson thought was terrible and which made her weep in despair when she saw it. Fox sent it to other studios. MGM producer Arthur Freed saw it and he ordered her to be signed immediately. The film version of Best Foot Forward (1943) was praised by Bosley Crowther in The New York Times and by Pauline Kael in 5001 Nights at the Movies. The Variety reviewer described June Allyson as a “looker and good vocalist.” Powell moved in with his father at Toluca Lake and took Allyson to meet him, telling his father this was the girl he loved. Allyson discovered that Powell was a take-charge kind of man and as a result her whole lifestyle changed. Allyson's co-star Peter Lawford in Good News (1947) was said to have been crazy about Allyson, describing her as "a little China doll, sweet, nice and intelligent". According to James Spada's biography of Peter Lawford (1991), June Allyson was annoyed by Lawford's British witticisms and managed to elude his repeteaded advances, ending with ill feelings on both sides. Lawford’s later manager reported that the actor then hated Allyson (who allegedly had hurt his feelings) and used to say the most uncomplimentary things about her.
June Allyson assured she was not having an affair with Alan Ladd, at least not in the way that people was saying. Allyson loved her husband but he was always going away and never came home from the office on time. One night, Powell rocked his wife against his shoulder. He trusted her and understood how she felt, but the man was also trying to build something worthy for the future. Someday they would have all the time together Allyson wanted and they would be relaxed enough to enjoy it. Powell described the ultimate dream house he wanted to design and build at Newport Beach and this time Allyson would be completely in charge of the décor. Allyson said that would be fine and her husband took her hand and led her to the bedroom where they made love passionately. The couple still felt the same passion for each other and Powell told her to remember that he would never let her go. But she had to be careful not to make more mistakes.
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Howard Hughes had wanted Dick Powell to run RKO but he had declined the offer, which was just as well as this would have given her even less time with his wife. Then Powell said he was finally ready to build their ultimate dream house, the retirement house on land in Newport, though Powell was delegating more rather than retiring from his business. June said she missed his attention and tenderness and felt lonely. And the jilted actress threatened not to be there when he got back from a business trip to Europe. Her women friends thought the actress was crazy—Powell took care of everything and wasn’t seeing other women. When he came back, Allyson and Powell went home and made love half the night, after which Powell told her that was what she would be missing. However, Allyson felt disillusioned and filed for divorce. Although Powell had not come to court to shout “Stop this divorce!”, the actress found him at home, sitting in front of the fireplace having a sandwich and a glass of milk. He asked his future ex-wife if she was satisfied with the court settlement (2,5 million) and Allyson asked what he was doing there as they were just divorcing. Powell suggested if they kept co-habiting, the legal action would be null and void. Suddenly life was very sweet again and they made love.
Powell joked to the press that the real truth was that the man missed her stew. His wife was generally a lousy cook but stew was the one thing she made well. The Powells then had their delayed second honeymoon with the family sailing his boat to Mexico. On January 3, 1962, Allyson’s interlocutory divorce decree was declared void since the Powells had reconciled. When the actress overheard Blondell tell her son Norman that she should have never divorced Powell, the words cut Allyson like a knife. In his last days, the Powells grew very close. She would sit beside his bed talking and laughing and keeping him company for hours. They never spoke about death but went over their lives together. They reminisced about Marilyn Monroe, Dwight D. and Mamie Eisenhower and the fun they had at Palm Springs and Firecliff. Powell talked about the retirement house, saying this time his wife would have the best dressing room yet, including the sunken tub she had always wanted. The actress wanted the house be done in her favored New England style and she wanted all her braided rugs back. At Powell's funeral (January, 4, 1963), Allyson commanded to play every song that Powell sang in his career—the songs he loved. There would be no eulogies or any fancy words said about him but rather the Lord’s Prayer and the Ten Commandments because that was his wish. Some of the people said it would be sacrilegious to play popular music in church and wouldn’t be allowed. But Andy Maree, the son of Morgan Maree, Powell’s friend and financial manager, said if this is what Allyson wanted, this is what she was getting. The memorial service was held on January 4 at Beverly Hills’ All Saint's Protestant Episcopal Church. Some of the attendants were Jimmy Stewart, Jack Benny, George Murphy, George Burns, Danny Thomas, “Buddy” Rogers, Edgar and Frances Bergen, Ronald Reagan, Jane Wyman, Jimmy Cagney, Richard and Pat Nixon, Walter Pidgeon, Ann Blyth, Johnny and Bonnie Green, Barbara Stanwyck and Joan Blondell. There were also those who waited outside the chapel listening to the service.
They played Powell’s signature songs “I Only Have Eyes for You,” “42nd Street” and “Hollywood Hotel,” and ended with “Don’t Give Up the Ship.” Sometimes when he had to go to New York to make a speech, Allyson packed for him but forgot the pants. Another time she forgot to get a pair of pants to the cleaners that he needed for the next day. Allyson found Powell a joy to live with, always either whistling or singing. He talked a lot and cried with happiness, and also cried over the deaths of people he did not know that were struck down in their prime. If Powell felt anger coming on, he would say “God is love” and just slow down, or work on his boat. ―June Allyson: Her Life and Career (2023) by Peter Shelley
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