HISB94H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: The King Steps Out, Culver City, California, Josef Von Sternberg
Document Summary
Verdon was born in culver city, california, the second child of gertrude lilian (n e standring; October 24, 1896 october 16, 1956) and joseph william verdon (december 31, 1896 june 23, 1978), british immigrants to the united states by way of canada. Verdon (august 1, 1923 june 10, 1991). Her father was an electrician at mgm studios, and her mother was a former vaudevillian of the denishawn dance troupe, as well as a dance teacher. As a toddler, she had rickets, which left her legs so badly misshapen she was called "gimpy" by other children and spent her early years in orthopedic boots and rigid leg braces. Her mother put the three-year-old in dance classes. Further ballet training strengthened her legs and improved her carriage. By the time she was six, she was already dancing on stage. She went on to study multiple dance forms, ranging from tap, jazz, ballroom and flamenco to balinese.
