June Allyson

Actress June Allyson, the perky blond with the husky voice who was one of Hollywood's most beloved stars in the 1940s and 1950s, has died. She was 88. Allyson died Saturday at her home in Ojai of pulmonary respiratory failure and acute bronchitis after a long illness, her daughter, Pamela Powell, told The Times on Monday. David Ashrow, Allyson's husband of 29 years, was at her side. "She was a joy to know," actress Ann Rutherford, who met Allyson at MGM in the 1940s, said Monday.

Actress June Allyson, the perky blond with the husky voice who was one of Hollywood's most beloved stars in the 1940s and 1950s, has died. She was 88. Allyson died Saturday at her home in Ojai of pulmonary respiratory failure and acute bronchitis after a long illness, her daughter, Pamela Powell, told The Times on Monday. David Ashrow, Allyson's husband of 29 years, was at her side. "She was a joy to know," actress Ann Rutherford, who met Allyson at MGM in the 1940s, said Monday.

June Allyson, fabulous movie star of the 1940s and '50s, was best known for her husky voice and weepy eyes. She's played the good but sexy wife opposite Jimmy Stewart, Van Johnson and her real-life husband, the late Dick Powell. She's been on numerous television shows. And for the last 13 years, she's been the spokeswoman for Depends, a diaper-like product for adults. These days, incontinence--the loss of bladder control--has become her banner.

June Allyson, fabulous movie star of the 1940s and '50s, was best known for her husky voice and weepy eyes. She's played the good but sexy wife opposite Jimmy Stewart, Van Johnson and her real-life husband, the late Dick Powell. She's been on numerous television shows. And for the last 13 years, she's been the spokeswoman for Depends, a diaper-like product for adults. These days, incontinence--the loss of bladder control--has become her banner.

JUNE ALLYSON Summers claimed in a sworn deposition that he was married to June Allyson. Allyson's manager said they never were married. 'She loaned him a credit card. That was it. He went to Europe and spent $3,000, and she got the bill,' her manager said. LIBERACE Summers surfaced in Liberace's palimony case, offering to provide information about Scott Thorson, who filed the suit, then offering to act as a go-between to settle the litigation.

We first prepared our year-ender eight months ago, after a prediction by psychics that an earthquake would destroy California on May 8 at 7:05 p.m. It didn't happen, but the oddities kept on coming, as our final wrap-up illustrates: * Cultural spectacular of the year: A couple made love on a ridge behind the Hollywood Bowl during the June Playboy Jazz Festival, apparently unaware that hundreds of spectators had binoculars trained on them.

Actress June Allyson, who starred in many musicals, admitted that she doesn't watch her musicals very often. That's a strange admission considering that she's been promoting videocassettes of musicals from the MGM vault that MGM/UA has been releasing at $29.95, including "Good News" (1947), which may be the best college musical ever. "I don't particularly like watching myself," Allyson, 68, insisted in a suite at Bally's Grand. "I see weird things about myself."

A record $110,000 was raised at the eighth annual Angels Ball, which benefits abused, abandoned and neglected children housed at Casa Pacifica's Camarillo campus. About 250 supporters of the nonprofit group, including actress June Allyson, attended the Dec. 7 event at the Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks. This year's black tie event exceeded last year's fund-raising record by $14,000.

A Wonderful Life: Jimmy Stewart was honored yet again Monday night, and, with almost 82 years and more than 70 films behind him, he once again refused to admit he might deserve it. "I'm just such a lucky man!" the master of movie understatement said at a fund-raiser for the Film Society of Lincoln Center, where a sold-out crowd of usually hard-nosed, big-city Easterners paid homage to him. Testimonials came from George C.

"Little Women," Louisa May Alcott's beloved novel, has been an indestructible Hollywood property. Katharine Hepburn played Josephine "Jo" March in the classic 1933 movie, directed by George Cukor; June Allyson starred in the 1949 remake; and Winona Ryder was in the 1994 film version. Now Sutton Foster, a Tony winner for her performance in "Thoroughly Modern Millie," will play Jo on Broadway in a new musical opening Jan. 20 at the Virginia Theatre.

We first prepared our year-ender eight months ago, after a prediction by psychics that an earthquake would destroy California on May 8 at 7:05 p.m. It didn't happen, but the oddities kept on coming, as our final wrap-up illustrates: * Cultural spectacular of the year: A couple made love on a ridge behind the Hollywood Bowl during the June Playboy Jazz Festival, apparently unaware that hundreds of spectators had binoculars trained on them.

Actress June Allyson, who starred in many musicals, admitted that she doesn't watch her musicals very often. That's a strange admission considering that she's been promoting videocassettes of musicals from the MGM vault that MGM/UA has been releasing at $29.95, including "Good News" (1947), which may be the best college musical ever. "I don't particularly like watching myself," Allyson, 68, insisted in a suite at Bally's Grand. "I see weird things about myself."

JUNE ALLYSON Summers claimed in a sworn deposition that he was married to June Allyson. Allyson's manager said they never were married. 'She loaned him a credit card. That was it. He went to Europe and spent $3,000, and she got the bill,' her manager said. LIBERACE Summers surfaced in Liberace's palimony case, offering to provide information about Scott Thorson, who filed the suit, then offering to act as a go-between to settle the litigation.

Officials with the Ventura campus of Cal State Northridge are hoping to raise $60,000 during a three-hour telethon and auction airing tonight on KADY-TV. "We are the only ones in the public university system who hold a telethon," said Joyce Kennedy, director of the CSUN-Ventura campus. Kennedy said a similar telethon in 1993 raised $45,000. The money will be used by the school to supplement its ever-decreasing state funding, Kennedy said.

Jo Ann Greer sang for such stars as Rita Hayworth, Esther Williams, June Allyson, Kim Novak and Gloria Grahame in the movies, but never received on-screen credit. On Saturday, the vocalist will make an appearance at a screening of the 1953 3-D film "Miss Sadie Thompson," in which she sang for Hayworth. She will answer questions about movie dubbing following the showing at 7:45 p.m., at the Vagabond Theatre, 2509 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles.