Jane Powell

With her bright blue eyes, sunny personality and voice like a canary, Jane Powell graced countless MGM musicals in the 1940s and '50s, including "Royal Wedding," "Rich, Young and Pretty," "Small Town Girl" and the landmark "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers." A native of Portland, Ore., Powell began singing on the local radio at age 2. By 12, she was hosting two radio shows. Powell made her Broadway debut in the musical "Irene" in 1973.

As the cult of the bungalow continues to thrive in the face of tract-homes and mini-mansions, Jane Powell has emerged as one of the rear-guard movement's leading authorities. Bungalow restorer Powell's first-hand knowledge informs her scholarly approach to the glorious simplicity of an architectural style that was supplanted by postwar modernisms but has been rediscovered by historic preservationists like herself.

Jane Powell, the pert and perky girl-next-door of MGM movie musicals, has turned into a powerful and wealthy soap opera matriarch. She still looks pert and perky, however, and wears a size 2 dress on her 5-foot-1 1/2 inch frame. Powell made her debut on ABC's "Loving" last week playing Rebeka Beecham, the rich and powerful matriarch of the 4B ranch in Wyoming, who has come to the mythical Eastern city of Corinth to visit her younger son son, Linc, and stir up trouble for his girlfriend, Lorna.

Sometimes the things we take for granted have the most interesting lineage. Take the bathroom, as author Jane Powell and photographer Linda Svendsen have in "Bungalow Bathrooms" (Gibbs Smith Publisher, 2001, $39.95).

Screen and stage star Jane Powell has joined the cast of the ABC daytime drama, "Loving." She's cast as the matriarch of a huge ranch who arrives to visit her youngest son Linc, played by Brian Robert Taylor. The series airs at 11:30 daily.

Florence Henderson says she regrets arriving in Hollywood about the time the studios stopped making musicals. "I loved those old film musicials," said Henderson, best known as the matriarch of "The Brady Bunch." "I grew up in this tiny town in southern Indiana where going to the movies was the biggest excitement of the week. I wanted to be Jane Powell."

Sometimes the things we take for granted have the most interesting lineage. Take the bathroom, as author Jane Powell and photographer Linda Svendsen have in "Bungalow Bathrooms" (Gibbs Smith Publisher, 2001, $39.95).

As the cult of the bungalow continues to thrive in the face of tract-homes and mini-mansions, Jane Powell has emerged as one of the rear-guard movement's leading authorities. Bungalow restorer Powell's first-hand knowledge informs her scholarly approach to the glorious simplicity of an architectural style that was supplanted by postwar modernisms but has been rediscovered by historic preservationists like herself.

Thank you for Jerry Hulse's tribute to Delaplane. It meant a great deal to me--being an old San Franciscan. The art of traveling is just that--an art. And being able to come back with a good story is a true blessing. Delaplane will be sorely missed. JANE POWELL San Diego

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Academy Foundation continues its monthly "Standard Screenings" series Monday at 7:30 p.m. with the presentation of a new three-track stereophonic print of the classic 1954 Stanley Donen musical, "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers," starring Howard Keel and Jane Powell. Turner Entertainment is providing the new 35-millimeter anamorphic print for the screening. Information: (213) 247-3000.

With her bright blue eyes, sunny personality and voice like a canary, Jane Powell graced countless MGM musicals in the 1940s and '50s, including "Royal Wedding," "Rich, Young and Pretty," "Small Town Girl" and the landmark "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers." A native of Portland, Ore., Powell began singing on the local radio at age 2. By 12, she was hosting two radio shows. Powell made her Broadway debut in the musical "Irene" in 1973.

Florence Henderson says she regrets arriving in Hollywood about the time the studios stopped making musicals. "I loved those old film musicials," said Henderson, best known as the matriarch of "The Brady Bunch." "I grew up in this tiny town in southern Indiana where going to the movies was the biggest excitement of the week. I wanted to be Jane Powell."

Jane Powell, the pert and perky girl-next-door of MGM movie musicals, has turned into a powerful and wealthy soap opera matriarch. She still looks pert and perky, however, and wears a size 2 dress on her 5-foot-1 1/2 inch frame. Powell made her debut on ABC's "Loving" last week playing Rebeka Beecham, the rich and powerful matriarch of the 4B ranch in Wyoming, who has come to the mythical Eastern city of Corinth to visit her younger son son, Linc, and stir up trouble for his girlfriend, Lorna.

Screen and stage star Jane Powell has joined the cast of the ABC daytime drama, "Loving." She's cast as the matriarch of a huge ranch who arrives to visit her youngest son Linc, played by Brian Robert Taylor. The series airs at 11:30 daily.

You've probably already heard from Elizabeth Taylor and Jane Powell, because despite Paul Rosenfield's claim that none of those 1940s movies about idealized small towns was set in Santa Barbara, MGM's "A Date With Judy" (1948) most certainly was . In fact, the opening minutes of the film are devoted to depicting Santa Barbara as exactly the kind of community that, in Rosenfield's own words, "shaped and defined the American family." KATHY EASTERLING Los Angeles

Richard DuBois, 74, a former Mr. USA who was one of the musclemen in Mae West's stage act, died Wednesday at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, said his wife, Marcy. The cause of death was being determined. When DuBois was crowned Mr. USA in 1957 at the Shrine Auditorium, Muscle Power magazine praised his "good biceps," "well proportioned figure" and "greatly improved posing." Three years earlier, DuBois had won the Amateur Athletic Union Mr. America bodybuilding contest.